As Spring finally arrives after the long winter, we tend to think about spring cleaning tasks in our homes and gardens, but do we think about our finances?  Here are a few suggestions for your financial Spring-cleaning list.

Set Some Goals: We normally think about setting goals as a New Year’s resolution sort of thing, but it’s not too late to write down your Financial goals in the Spring. Start with some long-term financial goals.  Don’t be afraid to dream big, but dream realistically, too.  Take each of those long-term goals and term them into short-term achievable goals to get there. Finally, take each of those short-term goals and turn them into daily tasks for the rest of this year.  Make sure each task should be measurable!

Zone in on Those Accounting Statements: Accounting statements give a great snapshot of the health of your business.  Take time this Spring for a close look. You may need some help from your bookkeeper or accountant to obtain and evaluate, but that’s what you pay them for, right? Start with Accounts Receivables and Accounts Payables.  Then roll up your sleeves and take a deep look at the per unit profitability of each product or service you sell. Finally, understand your taxes.  Don’t just throw your receipts into a bag and drop it off with your accountant.  Schedule a meeting with your tax professional to create a strategy to minimize current and future taxes.

Put Your Taxes on Your Calendar: Calendars aren’t just for birthdays and anniversaries.  Put your important tax deadlines on your calendar.  Did you get an extension?  Put it on your calendar.  Have an estimated tax payment due?  Put it on your calendar.  Payroll taxes?  You guessed it: put it on your calendar.  Don’t assume that it’s on your bookkeeper’s or accountant’s calendar and that’s good enough.  It’s not.  Taxes are a critical component of your profitability, avoid those penalties!  You need to get them right and putting them into your big picture will keep you on the straight and narrow.