With fall just a couple of days away, and the holidays closing in fast, you’re probably looking forward to some much-needed rest, relaxation, and time with family.

But if you own a business, before you can enjoy any of that, you’ve got to get through what is likely your busiest time of the year.

And whether it’s the pressure to meet increased demand, working longer hours, ensuring sufficient staffing, dealing with inventory issues, or something else entirely, this time of year can overwhelm even the most seasoned business owners.

With that in mind, rather than waiting until it’s too late, and scrambling at the last minute, now’s the perfect time to set your business up for success with a fall financial review.

To be fair, when there’s this much going on, it might seem like there’s no time for this sort of thing, but if you put a solid strategy in place by doing a financial check-in now, you can avoid a ton of stress later on and ensure you and your business are ready to make the most of the holiday rush.

So, if you’re ready to increase your profits over the holidays, gain greater clarity, make more informed decisions, and start the season feeling more confident and organized, you’re going to want to keep reading.

Harvest More Revenue During the Holidays With a Fall Financial Review

If you want to be in a better position to handle the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, and have greater peace of mind as it arrives, preparing ahead of time with a fall financial review is one of the best things you can do.

Taking the time to do this will allow you to enter the holidays feeling more organized, less stressed, and ready to capitalize on the holiday rush.

With that in mind, the following tips will help you assess the financial health of your business, identify potential problem areas, and be as prepared for the holidays as you can possibly be.

Review Your Financial Statements

If you want to conduct a thorough financial review, your first step is to take a detailed look at your financial statements, including your balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.

Each of these documents provides crucial insights into the financial health of your business, and here’s how:

• Balance Sheet: This document shows your business’ assets, liabilities, and equity at a specific point in time.

• Reviewing this is important, as it will help you understand how much capital you have available and what debts need to be settled before the holiday season.

• Income Statement: Your business’ revenue and expenses over a specific period of time are reflected on this document, and reviewing it can help you identify trends in revenue and expenses, which is especially important as you prepare for the potentially high expenses and revenues that go along with the holiday season.

• Cash Flow Statement: Cash flow is king, particularly during the busy holiday season, and a thorough review of your cash flow will help you determine whether you have enough liquid assets to cover increased operating costs during the holidays for things like extra inventory, seasonal staffing, and marketing campaigns.

Identify Opportunities to Reduce Costs

Once you’ve reviewed your financial statements, it’s now a good time to look for opportunities to reduce unnecessary costs.

With that in mind, here are some areas where you might find savings:

• Inventory Management: Over-purchasing inventory for the holidays can lead to excess stock and tied-up capital, but by analyzing your sales trends from previous holiday seasons, you can make more informed purchasing decisions and reduce waste.

• Subscriptions and Recurring Expenses: Many business owners pay for recurring services that they may no longer need or can downgrade.

• That being said, this is the time to audit those expenses and eliminate or reduce them wherever possible.

• Streamlining Operations: In an effort to reduce costs, you may also want to consider automating certain aspects of your business, like accounting or customer service, which can save you a ton of time and money in the long run, especially as demand increases during the holidays.

Finding ways to save in these areas is important for a fall financial review, as it allows you to reinvest that money in things like marketing or extra staff, which will directly contribute to your success this holiday season.

Set Realistic Revenue Goals

The holiday season is a great time to boost your revenue, but it’s important to set realistic revenue goals that are based on your past performance and current market conditions.

Having said that, here’s how to establish clear, actionable targets:

• Analyze Past Holiday Sales: Start by looking at your sales data from previous holiday seasons so you can identify which products or services sold the best and which months or weeks saw the highest sales volume.

• This will help you predict demand and set sales goals for the upcoming holiday rush.

• Consider Market Trends: Next, you should think about whether there are any emerging trends in your industry that could impact holiday sales.

• For instance, if you own a retail business, you might want to ask yourself if there are specific products that are predicted to be in high demand.
• In any case, considering these aspects will ensure your revenue goals are grounded in reality.

• Factor in External Challenges: Things like inflation, supply chain disruptions, and changing consumer behaviours can all impact holiday sales, so make sure to account for these external factors when setting your revenue targets.

Then, once you’ve established your revenue goals, try breaking them down into smaller, more manageable targets.

For instance, you can set weekly or even daily sales targets to help you stay on track.

Assess Your Cash Flow and Plan for Extra Expenses

The holiday season often requires additional spending on everything from inventory to seasonal employees.

So, after reviewing your cash flow, you should begin to plan for these extra expenses.

That being said, here are some key considerations to make regarding cash flow and extra expenses during the holidays:

• Holiday Inventory: If you sell physical products, now is the time to assess whether you’ll need to purchase additional inventory in order to meet holiday demand.

• In doing so, make sure to use your past sales data so you can make smart purchasing decisions, avoiding both stockouts and overstocking.

• Marketing: The holidays are a competitive time, so investing in marketing is essential.

• As such, you should allocate part of your budget for holiday-specific marketing efforts, as running targeted holiday promotions, social media campaigns, or even paid ads during this busy time can significantly boost your revenue over the holidays.

• Seasonal Staffing: Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to hire temporary staff to help manage the holiday rush.

• If this is the case, make sure to plan for these additional payroll expenses during your financial review, and ensure you have enough capital to cover them.

• Emergency Fund: It’s always a good idea to have an emergency fund in place, especially during the holiday season, as unexpected expenses, like shipping delays, vendor issues, or equipment breakdowns can arise.

At any rate, having a financial cushion will ensure that these problems don’t derail your business during the holidays.

Audit Your Payment Processes

During the holiday season, your sales volume will more than likely increase, so now is a great time to audit your payment processing systems and ensure everything runs smoothly.

Here’s what you’re going to need to consider:

• Payment Options: Are you offering a variety of payment options to accommodate all types of customers?

• Consumers appreciate the flexibility to pay with credit cards, mobile wallets, and other digital payment methods, and if you don’t offer it, they may choose to go elsewhere.
• So, if you want to avoid turning customers away, you should make sure you’ve got a seamless, secure payment system that will accept all forms of payment.

• Fees and Costs: Payment processing fees can add up, especially during the holiday season when transaction volumes increase.

• Having said that, you should look for opportunities to negotiate better rates with your payment processor or explore alternative providers that might offer lower rates.

• Security: With increased transactions comes a heightened risk of fraud, so it’s crucial that you make sure your payment systems are up to date with the latest security protocols so you can protect your business and your customers from any data breaches or fraudulent activities.

Revisit Your Pricing

As part of your financial check-in, it’s worth revisiting your pricing strategy ahead of the holidays.

The increased demand during this time offers a great opportunity to adjust prices, but it’s important to do so strategically by doing things like:

• Seasonal Promotions: Offering limited-time discounts or bundled deals can entice customers to spend more during the holiday season. But you should make sure that your promotional prices still allow for healthy profit margins.

• Price Adjustments for Increased Costs: If you anticipate higher costs for inventory, staffing, or shipping, you might want to consider adjusting your prices accordingly.

• However, you should be mindful of not pricing yourself out of the market and conduct competitive research to make sure your prices remain attractive to consumers.

Plan Your Marketing Strategy

If you want to increase your profits during the holidays, a robust marketing strategy is essential.

So, during your fall financial check-in, make sure to allocate some funds for your holiday marketing efforts and ensure your strategy is well-planned. Here are some ideas:

• Email Campaigns: Email marketing offers a great way to start building excitement with a series of holiday-themed email campaigns. These emails can offer sneak peeks of upcoming deals, special promotions, or gift guides to entice your audience to spend more.

• Social Media Promotions: You can also use social media to engage your audience and boost holiday sales with festive content, giveaways, and limited-time offers.

• Moreover, paid ads on platforms like Instagram and Facebook can also help you to drive traffic, increase visibility, and boost your revenue over the holidays.

• Website and eCommerce Readiness: This goes without saying, but you should ensure your website and/or eCommerce platform is ready to handle the increased traffic that comes during the holiday rush, as a smooth, user-friendly experience can boost conversion rates and entice customers to keep coming back over the holiday season.

• Collaborations and Partnerships: Another great marketing strategy, especially during the holidays, is to partner with complementary businesses for cross-promotions.

• For example, if you sell home décor, you might want to consider teaming up with a local florist or furniture store to offer joint discounts.

• Referral/Loyalty Programs: One of the best ways to encourage word-of-mouth is by offering incentives to existing customers who refer friends or family, as a discount for both the referrer and the new customer can be a powerful motivator.

• What’s more, you can also boost repeat business by offering loyalty points or discounts to customers who make multiple purchases during the holiday season.

• Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with influencers who are relevant to your industry can help give your brand additional exposure, as they can showcase your offerings in holiday gift reviews, explainer videos, and other festive content.

In any case, by reviewing your financial statements, and doing things like cutting unnecessary costs, setting realistic revenue goals, planning for seasonal expenses, and strategically marketing your business, you can ensure a more successful and profitable holiday season.

And with the right strategies in place, you can avoid the stress that comes with the holiday rush, and instead, turn it into a season of growth and opportunity for your business.

If you’d like to share the results of your fall financial review, go ahead and leave a comment below. I’m interested to know how it goes!

Looking to boost the success of your business? Why not set up a free 30-minute consultation with me to find out how we can help?

About the Author, Susan Friesen

Located in the lower mainland of B.C., Susan Friesen is a visionary brand strategist, entrepreneur, and founder of British Columbia’s premiere boutique web development and digital marketing agency, eVision Media.

With over 20 years of experience in the industry, she is an expert in helping businesses establish their online presence and create a strong brand identity.

Her passion for empowering entrepreneurs and small business owners to succeed in the digital world has earned her a reputation as a leading authority in the branding and marketing industry.

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