How to Get Your Administration in Order for Q4

Q4 is the quarter when a lot comes together at once. It’s peak season for many industries, the end of the year is approaching, and administrative tasks are piling up as sales increase. However, most of this can be handled in advance. Here are six tips on things you can do to make December much less hectic.

Keep your receipts in one place

Receipts scattered across your wallet, email, and an app always make for a tedious afternoon in January. Choose one method and stick to it. Take a photo right when you make the purchase, let the app send it to your accounting software, and don’t throw away the original until you know the image is legible. It takes just a few minutes per receipt at the time, but can take hours if you do it all at once later.

Reconcile accounts receivable on time

An invoice that’s thirty days overdue can usually be resolved with an email. One that’s ninety days overdue requires a phone call, a reminder, and sometimes a debt collection case. Go through the list of unpaid invoices now, while most of them are still in the first category. If you don’t have a reminder routine, fall is a good time to set one up, with an automatic reminder sent a few days after the due date.

Schedule administrative tasks in your calendar

Administrative tasks that are usually done whenever there’s time are often put off until December. Instead, set aside one hour each week—preferably on the same day and at the same time—and use that time for invoicing, reconciling accounts, and preparing supporting documentation. It’s harder to put off a set time than a vague intention.

Review the contracts that are up for renewal at the end of the year

Many subscriptions and service agreements run for twelve months with automatic renewal and a notice period of one to three months before the end of the year. Compile a list of what the company pays each month and go through it line by line. Some items can be canceled, others can be renegotiated, and there may be some you’ve forgotten you’re paying for.

Take stock of your inventory before the peak season

Inventory that remains on the shelves ties up capital that is needed for other purposes during the final months of the year. Review what hasn’t sold well throughout the year and decide what to do with it before placing orders for November and December. Items that don’t sell during an October promotion rarely sell in March.

Plan your cash flow for the months when everything is happening at once

In Q4, purchases, payroll, sales tax, and sometimes estimated tax payments are all due around the same time, while revenue comes in after sales. If you lay out the next four months in a simple spreadsheet with outgoing payments in one row and incoming payments in another, it will be easier to see if you have enough cash flow.

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