If it’s a little quieter than usual due to the current COVID 19 lockdown challenges, now is the time to work on your business, not only in your business. Where do you start? Glad you asked! We’re big on lists. We thought it was time to share the love. Here’s a checklist we prepared for you earlier:
1. Get your Fine Print Right: How long has it been since you actually read your Terms and Conditions of Trade or your Credit Application? Do your terms still refer to the Trade Practices Act, retention of title clauses and your ability to unilaterally change your terms or terminate your agreements without notice? If they do, they are out of date and potentially not enforceable. The GREAT NEWS is that you can easily update your transactional documents to make sure they are valid, enforceable and actually reflect how you do business. An update may even help you get paid on time and clean up your debtors… now there’s a bonus!
2. Check your processes: Do you send your Terms and Conditions to your clients or customers before they engage you or place an order, or when you send then your tax invoice after gods and services are supplied? Do you check whether the customer’s corporate information is correct, or do you simply record the information the customer provides to you? There are ways you can ensure you are dealing with the right legal entity that doesn’t cost you any money and can be put in place with simple processes that we can help you with.
3. An email is not an Agreement! Have you got agreements in writing with your main suppliers and customers? Now is the time to conduct a mini due diligence review of your contracts and create a register of all the agreements you have in place across your supply chain. You should record who the other party to the agreement is, when the agreement expires, dates for pricing reviews, renewal or extension and any notice periods for termination. This will not only give you an overview of the current status of your arrangements, but should also highlight any gaps that you can swiftly address. An overall review will also provide an opportunity to potentially have conversations with suppliers and customers about terms that need updating.
4. Renegotiate terms: If you’ve been considering renegotiating trading terms, then this is the time to start the conversation. Many aspects of commerce have been disrupted by the pandemic, creating the perfect conditions to engage with your stakeholders about the current terms on which you do business with them. New arrangements may be temporary and re-visited in a few months. Any agreements should be documented to provide certainty. This includes discussions about potential rent relief relating to commercial leases. Good faith negotiations will ensure both parties have the best chance of getting through the next few months and beyond able to pick up the pace again when the current crisis eventually passes. We can help prepare you with the information you need to have these conversations.
5. Put in place policies and procedures: Do you have policies and procedures documented in your business? If you do, are they current, and do they reflect how your business operates? Reviewing policies and protocols to make sure they are up to date also ensures that you start transferring the knowledge and IP about your business that is in your head onto paper. This is vital if the business it to be able to potentially operate without you down the track. This can add tremendous value to your business in the long-term.
6. Ensure your ASIC Register up to date: You need to notify ASIC within twenty-eight (28) days of any changes to your company officeholder and shareholder details, otherwise your company may incur a penalty. If you’re not sure if your company’s details are up to date, you can check this by obtaining a current company search. This is a good opportunity to not only check whether the company register is up to date, but to potentially clean up the register and remove ‘historical’ officeholders who no longer work in the business, or remove those who shouldn’t bear the risk of being a director from an asset protection point of view (it may be time to retire your spouses from the board!) . Have a chat to your accountant about getting your company register in order and reviewing your governance structure.
7. Update your Website: Your website is your electronic business card and is one of the first impressions a prospective customer or supplier has of your business. Accordingly, your website should accurately reflect your business and the goods and services it provides. Importantly, your website should also have a set of Terms and Conditions of use which clearly sets out the terms of use of your website and a Privacy Policy which explains how your business collects and manages private information collected by those who interact with the website.
8. Employee Contracts and Payment: The rules around wages and entitlements are tricky to navigate. You may need specialist advice in this area to ensure you are compliant. Now is a good time to review your current arrangements and make sure you are up to date. Get specialise employment law advice. If you don’t have a legal adviser that is an employment lawyer, let us know and we’ll be happy to connect you with a really good one!
9. Think ahead: Succession is often something business owners are too busy to allocate time to until they have to consider their transition out of their active role in the business due to medical, personal or other reasons. The best time to think about your business and personal succession strategies is BEFORE you need to! Can your business currently operate without you? What people do you need in place for you to be able to spend more time away from the operational side of the business? Have you got key staff or family members up to the task? Can they be upskilled to get there, or do you need to look outside the business or your family to find a candidate? What do you actually want to do in 2, 5 or 10 years’ time? What’s your vision? Does anyone know about it? We can help you formulate a succession blueprint and create a tailored plan to help you turn your ideas into a workable strategy.
10. Get your affairs in order: This is a great time to finally get your own affairs in order. Not only from a business point of view, but from a personal estate planning point of view. The trick is that you need to do one in the context of the other. If your corporate and business structures have been reviewed and updated, your company roles clarified and documented, then your estate plan can be strategically prepared to deal with your personal assets. Property, shares, cash or other assets not owned by you personally don’t fall into your estate. Your Will only deals with assets you own in your name, so it’s really important that your estate plan and business structure are reviewed and understood to ensure both sides are dealt with consistently in your estate planning. Don’t forget tax implications! You need to cover off on those, so we work with your accountant to ensure your estate plan is tax effective for your estate and your beneficiaries.
Prioritise, address and implement. Now is a good a time as any to tick some items off your list. Contact us for an obligation free chat about how you conquer your list. It’s time to get busy!