16 Things Every Business Owner Needs to do Before Xmas

If your business is open on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, and New Years Day; then it is vital to work out a rota in advance. Many businesses require each staff member to work at least one of the three days to ensure adequate cover. If you end up short staffed then you risk your business being unable to complete all of the necessary Christmas and holiday work. If you run your business on your own, you need to be sure that you have enough time to cover all the expected workload. Make sure that you know well in advance of Christmas the dates that both you and your staff will be away. This will allow you to plan what work can be done, working on the strengths of any staff you have (e.g. If your top sales people are away, concentrate on meeting existing orders); and allow you to set important work that needs to be finished before the holidays. If you do not check holiday dates, you could end up with panic as work that needs completing cannot be done because of the absence of a member of staff or yourself. If you run your business on your own, then try to avoid being away on key days; ensure you can cover any work that will be left over from the days you are away.
If you are selling items, you need to check all of your stock levels for the entire Christmas and New Year period. It is the busiest time of year for most businesses, and both you and your suppliers may be short of stock. Work out how much stock you think you will need of every item that you sell, and order it as soon as possible to help keep your business prepared. If you are manufacturing, try to estimate the demand you will face, and the stock that you will need to produce to meet it. Ordering early will help keep you ready. Around Christmas and New Year it is generally better to over order than under order, as obtaining further stock will be much harder than normal; but be careful of ordering far more than you can expect to sell! This is especially important if the products are seasonal. e.g. If you expect to sell 50 items during the holidays, order 55-60; not 200! Before you leave for Christmas make sure that you have set up and accounted for any bills that need to be paid. Planning bills early will ensure you can pay on time, and not risk damaging your relationship with suppliers because of work holiday gaps.