How to Plan for the End of the Year

Prepare early to avoid much stress later on.

I love Christmas, but I don’t love the end of the year. That’s because once December hits, I’m fully aware that my deadlines are subject to change as clients go away for the holidays, push off work until January or make some other request that means I will need to react with little notice. I’ll still have my time to celebrate the season with my family and friends, but I am fully aware that planning ahead — like completing my gift shopping early — can help limit my stress.

I’ve been working for myself over the past nine years and have learned a thing or two about the waning weeks of the year and what to expect. Read on if you like because I’ll share with you what I’ve learned:

Talk with your clients — Preferably before November comes to an end and most certainly by the first week of December, contact your clients to find out what changes to deadlines, if any, can be expected. If you’re planning to take time off for the holidays, you should broadcast that fact as soon as possible. For example, if your last day of work for the year is December 23 and you won’t be returning until January 2, then get the word out NOW. Everyone deserves a break — trust me, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day is typically a very slow one. So take some time off.

Discuss billing schedules — As part of communicating with your clients, you’ll want to make sure that your billing schedule lines up. Don’t be caught blindsided to find out later that the entire accounting department went on holiday as your mortgage payment comes due. For long term clients, you should be able to secure an advance on your work, especially if you’ll be supplying articles, writing press releases or copywriting throughout the holiday season.

Consider your rates — Everyone else is reviewing what they charge you (health insurance, car insurance, subscriptions, etc.) and you should do the same. It is still customary to pass off increases at the beginning of the year. If you haven’t raised your rates in some time, then plan to do so now. For example, if you’ve been charging $50 for those 500 word articles over the past two years, your client should be receptive to an increase. Charging $55 is a 10 percent jump, but don’t let percentages scare you. If your client is immensely happy with your work, then she should agree to your increase. If she is crying the blues, then ask that you both revisit the issue in April. Wait no longer than that as you’ll soon forget and an entire year will have passed by without the raise. For new clients, bring them in at your newer and higher rates.

Review your taxes — Self-employed people, whether they have a formal business such as an LLC or simply work on the side, can look forward to lots of deductions come tax time. Besides the interest on my mortgage, our family’s health and dental insurance, and related medical costs can be deducted. Office expenses, a new piece of equipment and many other things can also be deducted. If you were looking to expense something early next year, consider buying what you want now to raise your deductions. Maybe you wanted a new computer anyhow — the sales this time of the year are phenomenal.

Update your records — This is the first year that I actually paid someone to do some of my work. That means I’ll be issuing him a 1099 form in January. I keep a running record of the articles he has written and what I paid him on a spreadsheet. With each payment that information is quickly updated, so I know that there will be no surprises come tax time. I just need to remember to get the form to him by the end of January.

Order your tax software — I still do my own taxes, but must admit that I would be lost without the help of Turbo Tax. In early November, I pay for my yearly update and later that month I can download my federal update. If you use a bookkeeper, an accountant or some other tax preparing professional, why not schedule your appointment now before he is swamped? That will give you the motivation you need to gather all of your paperwork. With the help of Turbo Tax, my taxes are usually done and filed by mid-February.

Plan your quarterly taxes — Speaking of taxes, your fourth quarter taxes are not due until January 15. But don’t be fooled: set aside enough money now to avoid a financial catastrophe after the first of the year. You can’t afford to let this slip by as both the IRS and your state may not be so forgiving.

Get organized — The week between the holidays is when i go on full housekeeping mode. That doesn’t mean I stop writing, but it does mean that all of the loose ends I left untied will be handled. Fortunately, I’m fairly good at “clean as you go” and won’t have much to deal with. Still, the calendar changes and I will be doing the following: organizing my files, shredding very old and unneeded documents, setting up new files for the new year, putting up a new calendar, backup files, update my contacts list and review my online presence. With the latter, I spend a portion of my time at year end to update my LinkedIn profile to reflect my current projects. I’ll also update some of my websites, decide which ones I want to keep for the coming year and ensure that my domains and web hosting accounts are always up to date.

Have I forgotten something? No doubt that I have. Everything I mentioned here is from the top of my increasingly balding head. No matter, I keep notes in safe places and refer to these regularly. I’ll be on “Christmas mode” through December 26 this year, but when I return to my work on Dec. 27, I’ll swing into my new year mode and complete my year-end transition.

Photo: Hilde Vanstraelen

More Work Than I Can Stand!

I’ve been noticeably absent from this blog for a very good reason — I have more work than I can stand!

No, I don’t have work that I “can’t stand,” rather I’ve been maintaining what I have. Over the course of the past month I’ve also had to turn down to gigs. That was hard to do, but I simply could not find a place to fit these jobs in.

I’ve actually stopped blogging on most of my sites except for my main automotive site — Auto Trends Magazine. This past September I updated the theme and made a commitment to add at least two articles daily. That move has paid off as it has brought in more traffic to my site and has raised my visibility in the automotive industry. Clearly, if I had a choice to write about cars or some other topic, cars would win out most every time.

Personal Stuff

Even when clients come a-calling, I won’t stop all of my personal writing projects completely. I set aside 1-2 hours daily for my own stuff which I treat as my online calling card to clients. This special time also allows me to write with few constraints which means I can cover the topics I want and choose the writing style most suitable for me.

Financially, I’m on target for the year, but I have been battling a disturbing trend: slow or late payments from one or more clients. As you might guess the financial slowdown makes it hard on me as my own bills are always due at the appointed hour.  As a result, I decided to let one customer go over this and am getting firm with others who tend to push things to the limits. Yet, I know the economy is tough across the board, so I’m not willing to push to the side anyone who offers a good explanation. So start ‘splaining!

Writing Ahead

November and December are typically two months where I find myself juggling my schedule enough to enjoy Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. This year, I plan on setting aside one Saturday morning to write ahead — queuing articles I want to appear around the holidays. That way, if I need or want some extra time off, those articles will automagically appear.

You gotta love blog post dripping!

For 2011, I hope to raise my rates and am toying with that amount which I’m currently pegging at 3 to 5 percent. I have a few customers who are working at my 2007 rates, but haven’t asked for an increase given the recession and weak recovery. Let’s see what kind of tax whack is in store this January — I have a feeling we’ll all be shelling out more money to cover the national debt and healthcare.