5 Things to Update for 2024

Dawn
Jan 8, 2024

Looking for areas to improve in this new year? Reassess your business this year and consider five areas that may benefit from an update:

1.   Bookkeeping system

Every business has bills to pay, employees or freelancers to compensate, and cash flow to manage. While you may have a long-standing system for managing the books, some processes have likely become outdated or inefficient over time. If your bookkeeping system has become outdated, complicated, ineffective, prone to errors, or noticeably time-consuming, your system may benefit from an overhaul. Some things that could help modernize and streamline the process:

·       Outsource the bookkeeping to a professional

·       Adopt an online accounting program that helps manage finances

·       Ditch the outdated checkbook in favor of online check printing

·       Create a workflow system that leads to greater accountability and transparency when payments are issued

·       Invoice clients more promptly

·       Use cloud-based tools that integrate with each other for less data entry

·       Convert bills directly to check payments

·       Outsource payroll check printing and mailing

2.   Website

Your company website is very likely the first and most frequent point of contact for your clients and customers. Many businesses invest in high-quality websites because more and more consumers shop for products and services from their phones and mobile devices. Assessing and updating your website from time to time helps prevent it from becoming stale and unengaging. Take some time in the new year to evaluate your website and determine:

·       Is all the contact info still correct?

·       Is the site easily navigated?

·       Are all the newer products and services displayed and up-to-date?

·       Do the links work properly?

·       Are the graphics effective?

·       Do all the landing pages have an updated color logo?

·       Are the payment options easily accessible to users?

·       Does the website help this company stand out from competitors?

Nothing frustrates shoppers more than websites that are outdated with product listings, are difficult to navigate, lack convenient payment options, or have pages that take forever to load. Reevaluating and improving your website features will lead to a better user experience for customers and customers-to-be.

3.   Marketing strategy

If you haven’t updated your marketing strategy in a while, the start of 2024 presents a good time to do so. There may be more digital channels available to your business for creating more effective, targeted marketing; changes in your industry trends, your competition, and even your budget can also impact how you advertise and try to reach your audience. If you plan to launch a new product or service this year, updating your marketing strategy now is especially important so that you can communicate most effectively with likely consumers when your product is ready.

4.   Budget

Budgets make great blueprints for business spending, but they must also have a degree of flexibility when unexpected expenses arise. While you have hopefully been reconciling your accounts all year and analyzing spending patterns, the start of the year is a good time to take a deeper look at your expenses and revenue patterns and determine the best adjustments for a more profitable year going forward.

5.   Automating tools

Cloud-based tools for business have come a long way to satisfy virtually any type of business need. If your business has an area that is in desperate need of an update, there is likely an online software tool that can help out. Simplify and streamline the financial management by checking into some of the widely-used accounting, payroll, and payment software for businesses that make account management a faster and more accurate process.

While there is an array of accounting and payroll management tools for businesses, many do not offer their own check printing and mailing options. Checkeeper is the go-to solution for thousands of large and small businesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, bookkeepers, and financially-savvy individuals. Online check printing and mailing through Checkeeper saves time and money when you need a customized check in your hands instantly. Take even more work off your desk with Checkeeper check mailing for prompt delivery of important payments. Checkeeper integrates with many accounting and payroll software products so that checks created in Checkeeper can be recorded across multiple channels for less data entry and bookkeeping work.