As the year winds down towards the holiday season, it’s always wise that businesses do a checklist, marking off various duties that need to be taken care of before the office closes. They might be minor administrative tasks which are often overlooked while other work is in progress, or important tasks that are specifically allocated to the end of the year. Make sure you’ve ticked these tasks off your list.

Conduct an inventory

It’s always a good idea to take stock of your company equipment at the end of the year and make sure you have the right amount of office supplies you need for the coming year ahead. If you feel there are certain items of office stationery that need replenishing, then you can order and receive them before business closes.

• READ MORE: Manage and maintain your office supplies more thoroughly

Back up your data

There is no doubt a significant amount of important company data that needs to be backed up on a regular basis. This could include accounting information, employee records or point of sales systems. Whatever it constitutes, make sure it’s all safely backed up before your company closes for the holiday season. It’s always good to be safe rather than sorry, and one more back-up before closing down won’t do any harm.

Update employee information

Do an audit of all the information you have on your employees in order to ensure that it’s up-to-date. This could include contact details and payroll information. You’ll also have the chance to review and update the status of new and former employees, which might include evaluating whether or not they have access to computer systems or financial information.

• READ MORE: Protecting your company when an employee leaves

Consider your staffing requirements

When assessing your company’s performance over the past 12 months and planning your business goals for the upcoming year, one of your priorities should be staffing. You might feel as if an extra team member or two would help your company flourish and achieve more goals. It might be a good idea to add a new employee to your team, or even hire an intern to help out with minor tasks.

Review the past year’s revenue goals

You would have started your year by establishing revenue goals for your company, and no doubt reviewed them on a regular basis, say every quarter. Before you close, do one last check in order to ascertain whether your company’s on the right track or whether certain adjustments need to be made in preparation for the new year.

Celebrate business accomplishments

The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on what your company has accomplished, be it the onboarding of new clients or gaining substantial revenue. Also consider what each individual employee has accomplished and celebrate their accomplishments with them. There is nothing like an end-of-year function to celebrate your various successes. It’s a great way of boosting morale amongst your workforce and signing the working year off on a positive note.

The approaching year end always brings with it a flurry of activity, so don’t forget to create a list of duties that need taking care of and ticking them off one by one before your company closes. Take stock and replenish office supplies, back up important data, review revenue goals and employee information and take note of possible staffing requirements. Also, don’t forget to celebrate your company’s various successes over the past year.