Having a system in place is your key to enjoying a stress-free holiday.

There's no need to be overly anxious about your construction business during this period (this week, between Christmas and New Year, for instance) as long as you have a few basic precautions. It's never too late to start building a system; you never know when you might need a break for a momentous occasion or your health and well-being.

Back up all your important documents and information and store the backups in a secure place off-site. It also makes sense to take this one step further and check that you can restore your systems from your backup.

Arrange for a responsible staff member or someone independent of your business to monitor your premises (if you have one).

Alternatively, install security systems if you haven't already: fire alarms/sprinkler systems and break-in monitoring by a security firm. This is something to consider if you haven't done this yet.

It's also good to ensure you have appropriate insurance coverage and that your insurance policies haven't lapsed.

Practice the Art of Delegating - yes, this is possible even if you're a one-person company. You can outsource small tasks and hire a specialist for a more specialized job in many ways. A virtual assistant can communicate and respond to inquiries, emails, and social media. A construction bookkeeper can take care of your last bits of receipts and payroll.

You can also:

• Plan for contingencies. What would you do if staff fell ill? Who should be contacted if there are any unexpected calamities?
• Discuss your team's concerns and your own.
• Pick the right people for the right jobs. This is critical if you want your construction business to continue to operate well in your absence; you'll be relying on your staff while you are away. It is essential that you prepare them.
• Ensure everyone is familiar with the contingency plans – discuss, revise, and practice them before departure.

As a construction business owner, taking time away from work is essential. But worrying about whether staff are meeting deadlines and suppliers are happy translates to more stress and less time enjoying your holiday.

With some staff communication and planning beforehand, you needn't worry that your business won't be able to cope in your absence.

If you can't switch off from work mode or something urgent pops up, technology can be a great way to check in and ensure things are ticking along.

Is it time to start over?

For those of you who are using this week to rethink your administration and paperwork processes, I might be able to help you clear some bookkeeping blunders. Sometimes, a contractor's QuickBooks (or bookkeeping) file is a hopeless mess, and fixing it would cost more than simply starting over would cost. Here is a list of warning signs that can help you decide:

1. Nothing inside QuickBooks makes any sense to you.
2. None of the Financial or Job Costing Reports make sense to you.
3. Your QuickBooks bank or credit card balance differs entirely from your last Bank Statement.
4.  Worse yet, your bookkeeper puts all the credit card statement charges in bulk using Journal Entries.

Time flies when everyone is busy. Start now and review your records for the following items:

• Missing Federal Tax IDs and requesting the W-9.
• Have all your employees verify their pay stubs for the correct address.
• Check Apartment numbers and zip codes. Have any of the neighborhoods been annexed into the city?

Year-End Accounting Clean Up

• Your Tax Accountant will send your booklet with what they want for records. 
• What are the loose odds and ends missing for this year?
• Do you have a formal Accounting System?
• Do you need to clean up the Accounting beyond the last few months? 
• Do you have bank statements? 
• Can you find all your receipts?

Tax Accountants do "workarounds" to file your annual taxes. At some point, the Tax Accountant may refuse to clean up and deal with the Lack of Good Records or Messy Records. Tax accountants will have more clients who want their taxes done as the economy improves. 

A good tax accountant can do Many Simple or Less Complicated Returns in the same amount of time it takes to do a Messy, Complex Business Return. More Tax Returns become more complex than is necessary because the documents or lack of records make them messy and complicated to deal with. 

A tax accountant will assume you gave them everything you had. In reality, you gave The Tax Accountant only what You thought The Tax Accountant needed versus all of the records that might save you additional money in taxes. 

A sound accounting system will help you decide better what to buy and what jobs to accept. When did you afford to take payment plans from your clients? When is the need or ability to raise your prices? Only you can decide if the lack of good records was worth the low price.

Final thoughts

If you're taking time over the holidays, really take time. Don't take time off but then spend that time constantly checking for work-related texts and emails or attending meetings. Put your cell phone away. Stop checking your email. Set an outgoing email that lets people know when you'll respond to their messages, and change your voicemail to note your days off. That way, you can rest, relax, and enjoy your break.

As the year ends, whether you are resting or restarting, don't wait until the last minute to get your accounting in order - start early to avoid any potential issues or penalties. Let me know if you need help with your year-end accounting. Contact us to find out how we can help you bring more balance to your business.

The New Year is three days away. Are you ready?