Many businesses and organizations have annual budgets that expire at the end of the year.  Rather than letting this money go unused and missing out on the valuable resources it could potentially pay for, the excess funds will likely be spent on any needs for the coming year.  For tax purposes, many businesses also spend money on things for the next year close to the end of the current one in order to write them off in a few months.

Services to Enhance Your Business

As we approach the end of the year, many of us are thinking about how to improve our systems and take our businesses to the next level in 2015.  Making plans now to start the year off right certainly isn’t a bad idea.  Contracting services for the next year now with the funds that need to be spent will allow you to try out something new for a long enough period of time to fully integrate it into your current operations and then evaluate whether implementing it was beneficial.

Utilizing an answering service is one way to increase your level of customer service offered without having to hire additional staff to cover phone calls outside of the normal hours of operation.  Executive Answering Service offers friendly telephone receptionists who can answer your phones whenever you cannot – whether you are on the other line, out of the office, with a client or spending treasured time with your family/friends.  Many callers will hang up and call someone else when they receive a voice mail or busy signal, resulting in what could be hundreds of dollars of lost business!

Photo_Megan_Lipert_Executive_Answering_Service_Lincoln_Nebraska“Hiring, training and then the overhead cost for a friendly and customer service oriented telephone receptionist – including salary, benefits, etc. – is expensive!” says Megan Lipert, owner of Executive Answering Service.  “Our operators can obtain messages and/or seamlessly transfer calls to you or your staff, just as if they are working directly in your office.  They are trained to be the best virtual receptionists in the industry. We don’t want to be just your answering service, our goal is to be a part of your team and your customers are our number one priority.  Executive Answering Service is able to offer the quality of service that is aligned with your reputation and the communication technology that your business requires.”

Building Upgrades & Maintenance

Consider upgrades to your building as one major area of spending that is a wise investment in almost all instances as it offers numerous benefits.  Whether you are contracting maintenance services for the next year or purchasing upgrades and necessary items, there are plenty of ways to invest your money wisely.

Photo_pat_killeen_engineered_controls_control_depot_Lincoln_NebraskaControlling your building’s systems is an investment that will pay dividends not just over the next year, but for many years to come.  Pat Killeen of Engineered Controls describes the benefits for all involved:

From the building occupant’s perspective:  Comfort, efficient and a safe, healthy indoor environment are basic expectations regardless of what kind of building you are in. Customers, employees and visitors are expecting the indoor air quality (IAQ) to be “right” and hold building owners and operators to a higher standard than ever before.

From the building owner’s perspective: Because energy use in a commercial building is becoming an ever-increasing financial concern and operational problem for building owners, they are looking for reliable, cost-effective solutions to answer these new energy challenges and reduce their carbon footprint.

Solution: Engineered Controls has an Energy & Environmental Optimization (EEO) program to address these concerns of building owners who provide their employees, customers and visitors the IAQ in a facility they expect.  Our EEO (program) is designed to leverage a broad portfolio of energy efficiency products and solutions, as well as offer a high level of energy expertise to commercial buildings in the hands of our skilled, knowledgeable and certified EEO professionals. Our EEO team can help building owners and managers obtain real-world data to help them make fact-based decisions about how to optimize their buildings for occupants comfort and save energy at the same time.

Killeen further explains, “Engineered Controls can play a very big part in assisting new and existing building owners in controlling their building’s energy costs.  When considering that a building’s lighting and HVAC loads account for nearly 80% of a building’s energy usage, there are plenty of energy strategies that a Building Automation System can provide maximizing the energy strategy options available to building owners.  Engineered Controls can assist in total building control and help provide a healthier and more energy efficient environment for occupants.

Today more than ever, building owners want their facilities to be environmentally responsible and healthy places to live and work.  They also want to optimize the energy usage, without compromising comfort.  Together a tall order to accomplish, but at Engineered Controls that technology is available today.  Furthermore, we are partnering with Honeywell a major energy products company that is spending sizable research and development funds on developing new products that will improve our lives and reduce energy.”

In the maintenance industry it is not uncommon for a facility manager to pay in advance for an extended service and maintenance agreement.  Engineered Controls offers our customers Planned Service Agreements (or simply PSA’s) to assist in the daily operation of their facilities. The PSA that has two elements:

1) Preventative care and routine maintenance, and 2) System wide energy analysis.

Killeen adds, “Our preventative care program focuses on the building hardware and is a standardized preventative maintenance program on a building controls system to maximize the systems reliability and to minimize the operational costs.  In other words, our PSA program offers comprehensive system wide checkups and testing to ensure that the control system is always operating at peak operating performance.  Building systems that are properly maintained and controlled will enable you to focus on the core of your business while ensuring that everything is running efficiently.  This also promotes longevity of equipment, protection of employees and equipment due to proper security measures, and energy efficiency which will result in minimizing operating costs and future unplanned capital expenditures.

In the second element of our maintenance program, the system wide energy analysis, our staff of trained experts will assist a building owner in identifying areas where they can reduce cost, identify simple potential energy savings payback opportunities and training.  When our customers are interested in a more aggressive approach to energy reduction, then we move them into our EEO program that I previously mentioned.”

All things considered, any investment you make in your building and its systems is going to benefit you greatly, both in the short and long run.

Discuss Your Spending Strategy With Your Accountant

Your end of year spending strategy is one of the things that should be discussed with your accountant, who will help you accurately evaluate your finances as well as any useful tax strategies that may apply.  Your accountant will let you know the specifics as to what you have left to spend as well as what is really in your best interest to spend before the end of the year and why.   This info is vital because it allows you to be effective in your end of year spending, and to ensure your books are up-to-date and accurate before any damage is done. Have your bookkeeper or accountant run all of the reports that are relevant for your business and schedule a time to walk through them together if you need more explanation on the numbers and specific breakdowns.  If you’d like to consult an accountant about your end of year spending, SP Group, P.C. would be happy to lend their expertise and discuss the possibilities that are available to you.

Ironically, the same time we are on a spending spree for the holidays is also when we should be making thoughtful purchases as an investment in our businesses.  Not only does it eliminate the problem of losing the money in your budget at the end of the year, but now is the time to spend money on items your business needs so you can maximize tax deductions too. Does your equipment need to be upgraded? Can you stock up on office supplies? Are there vendor payments you can make in advance? Make a list of purchases you can make now to get the most out of your deductions.

Finally, if you’re looking to spend some dollars before the end of the year, consider contributing to charity.  Not only is it a great thing to do during the holiday season, but it can also be a good idea with respect to your business finances.

Planning ahead is always helpful, and in this instance, having money to spend prior to the end of the year can be an excellent way to set your business up for the coming year.  Getting organized and finding things that you will need later on down the line now will make 2015 a breeze!