Festive season: Why the break does not have to mean a shutdown

The festive season often causes anxiety for small businesses.
Weighing up the pros and cons of shutting down for weeks is stressful, and Sage research has shown that small business owners compromise on leave because they fear they may suffer if they take time off.
Certain industries like retail or catering are busiest during the festive season and closing shop is never an option.
But many others slow down substantially. It is these that need to consider if taking a break would be beneficial.
In order to make the right decision, have at look at your finances. Speak to your teams about their plans and find out from your customers what their needs would be during the break.
Knowing this would make you tell if you need to work through the holidays.
Few businesses can shut their doors over the holidays and not think about operations until their return.
Most opt for a hybrid approach – taking some time off after ensuring the business can tick along while they’re away. Here are helpful tips.
Prepare
Knowing what stock or work is generally in demand during this period will help you plan your expenses and time.
Surviving the holidays will depend on whether you can provide your customers with what they want and when. Good preparation is key to success.
Keep customers informed
Clients need to know your plans. Notify them well in advance of any plans to close, and have an automated email response, which includes emergency numbers, should someone contact you during the break.
Technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) can also assist, with chatbots answering simple queries when no one is available.
Have skeleton team
Some people prefer not to take leave during December. They can form a skeleton team while most of the organisation is away. This team deals with urgent customer needs.
Move to the cloud
Switching off completely isn’t possible these days, but remote work certainly is.
You can minimise the amount of office work required by using technology. Tasks like billing, accounting, data collection and automating transactions are easily taken care of with cloud-based solutions.
You can keep an eye on your accounts and manage your payroll for December while relaxing on the beach.
With the basics handled, it’s easy to limit the amount of time spent working over the holidays.
Set aside an hour or two a day for essential admin tasks like answering emails, handling urgent matters and checking and updating social media accounts.
Stay compliant
Keeping in mind that December 31 is tax year-end; businesses need to ensure their affairs are in order and they also remain compliant throughout the slowdown.
The fastest, most affordable way for companies to ensure compliance with tax laws is to automate payroll. Cloud-based software makes it simpler to keep track of changes to tax regulations.
Keep up the momentum
Preparing in advance and managing your workload before you go on leave means there should be few issues to deal with when you get back.
Proper forecasting, organisation and strategic direction are essential to maintaining momentum.
Catch up on admin
This period is often a good time to catch up on office admin. Skeleton team members can help manage some tasks like sorting through paperwork, filing and recycling, cleaning out cupboards and disposing of or donating unwanted furniture and equipment.
The season is also a time for you to give back to your teams. Those who choose to stay in the office can be upskilled by means of online courses.



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