Ensuring your business thrives throughout the Christmas season comes down to planning and preparation. Whether you’re a retail, hospitality, or service-based business, here’s your end-of-year checklist to help you better prepare for the rush, and beyond.
Double-check stock levels
Running out of stock, or your website crashing, are two sure-fire ways to miss out on revenue at Christmastime. Ensure you have plenty of products available, as shoppers don’t want to wait for back orders at this time of year.
Collect your dues
Prepare for the quiet period early by sending out payment reminders to clients with outstanding invoices. Starting early will assist you in receiving cash in your bank account before the holidays.
Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone to call and remind clients that payments are due. Taking over-the-phone payments is a convenient way for your clients to settle their accounts quickly and easily. The easier you make it for your clients to pay you, the faster you’ll get paid.
Plan your budget
Cashflow is vital during this time. If you require staff for Christmas trading, look at the budget and determine how many hours and people you can afford before advertising the position.
Ensure also that you have enough funding to purchase any extra stock that may be needed to replenish the shelves. Most importantly, send out any invoices as soon as possible and chase them as soon as they are overdue — or even call to remind your clients the day before their invoice is due.
Get help
If you’re planning on hiring staff, there’s no time like the present. You need to ensure staff are fully trained with product knowledge no matter the kind of business you run.
If ongoing staff training is required, plan to train them in January when it’s quieter. A quick lesson on customer service and how to use your EFTPOS machine is the bare minimum.
Confirm payment reliability
In many businesses, the volume of transactions grows enormously throughout the Christmas period. It is a crucial time to ask yourself, are your payments and point-of-sale technology setting you up for success?
It is important to ask yourself a number of questions when evaluating your current tech stack, whilst you still have a few weeks to make changes if need be. Is your technology reliable? Have you suffered from any outages recently? Do you need an additional EFTPOS terminal to reduce the wait time in a busy queue? Do you have all the accessories you need such as additional receipt rolls and SIM cards?
There are tools that allow you to order any additional EFTPOS machines online or quickly purchase another in Officeworks stories are great if you’re in a bind during busy periods. It is important to ensure you’re not losing out on sales due to an outdated technology solution.
Track your sales performance
It’s imperative to know how your sales are tracking, especially against your goals. You want to ensure you’re hitting targets, and so too are your staff. Having a platform where you can track sales daily and manage staff performance is key to success.
Remember, it’s critical to prepare your business beyond the Christmas holiday period. Set yourself up for a successful 2023 by cutting excess costs, setting targets and identifying growth opportunities now.
