It’s been quite a hectic holiday season here in Accra. With the abundance of Year of Return Events and family reunions, accounting may have been the last thing on your mind.

Now you’re back to work and there is a lot to do in terms of looking back at 2019 and budgeting for 2020. Here are some tips to ensure that life after the Christmas holidays is stress-free and the tax man and your accountant are not going to suck the joy out of you.

Reconcile Your Accounts

Make sure all your balances add up and make sense: everything needs to be accounted for. Go through statements from your bank, your accountant, and your accounting software and make sure all the numbers match up.

This is something you should be doing on a regular basis with your accountant to make it as easy as possible at the end of the year.

Plan for Taxes

Depending on your business, a percentage of your income isn’t yours. The best way to ensure that it doesn’t get mixed up with what belongs to you is to set it aside for when you are ready to pay.

Plan with your accountant to make sure you are paying the correct amount, and that you have all the paperwork in place for tax season to be a smooth process.

Budget for 2020

Now that you know what position your business is in financially, you need to put plans and processes in place to get from where you are and where you want to go.

Based on your projected income and goals for the year, you and your team need to sit down and allocate funds for every quarter. While the outline can be flexible, it needs to be something you can stick to throughout the year.

Consider unforeseen expenses for last year, if they are likely to come up again it’s something to make room for in your new budget. Do you plan on expanding? Or even shrinking? Whatever your business needs are, consider the costs and make sure you can afford it and set aside money for it.