Seven New Year’s resolutions for your business

1. Create or review your cash flow forecast

A cash flow forecast is one of the most useful financial tools for business owners. It shows you how much money you have coming into your business and how much is going out. A cash flow forecast will help you understand if your business has capacity for growth, or if you need to take action to plug any cash flow gaps. It is also useful a useful tool when seeking funding from a bank, alternative lender or investor. Thinking about the best sales strategy for your business can maximise your cash flow.

The New Year is a good time to create a cash flow forecast for the next 12 months ahead, or it may be a good time to make a start thinking about it ahead of the start of your business' new financial year. If you already have a cash flow forecast, review it and make sure it’s up to date.

An accountant can help with your cash flow projections. For detailed advice on creating a cash flow forecast, read our guide.

2. Review your business plan

Now is a good time to revisit your business plan. The everyday challenges and changes of running a business could mean re-thinking your business plan. A business plan is often a longer-term strategy for your business and changes to tax legislation and to your stakeholders mean looking at this regularly will help you adjust your business to allow it to thrive.

Consider everything in your business plan such as cash flow and sales forecasts, business operations and marketing strategies. Check that your business plan is accurate and up to date.

Go through your goals and key performance indicators to decide whether they are still realistic. While you might need to reduce some targets, there could be new business opportunities you’ve spotted that you can add to your plan. If you don’t currently have a business plan in place, check out our guide here.

3. Consider your need for business funding

It’s essential that you have enough money to keep your business going and fund your growth plans, so use the New Year to consider whether you will need further funding and investment.

There are lots of business funding options available including business loans and Government initiatives such as Start Up Loans and the Growth Guarantee Scheme. Depending on your needs, you could also opt for an overdraft facility, credit cards, grants, angel investment or crowdfunding.

Before you apply for any funding, be completely clear why you need it and be 100% sure you definitely need it. It’s not advisable to take on funding if your business doesn’t really require it – you’ll be paying interest unnecessarily.

Work with your accountant on formulating a watertight business plan which will give you a better chance of your funding application being accepted.

4. Do your tax return

With the self assessment tax return deadline on 31st January, if you haven't already got this filed you don't have long now. Filing your tax return late can lead to errors and you’ll be hit by an initial £100 late filing penalty and if your tax return becomes more than three months late, it’s £10 daily penalties up to a maximum of £900. For more detail on penalties, see our article here. There’s a guide to filing your tax return here and more advice on the benefits of submitting it early here.

Your company tax return deadline is usually 12 months after the company year end, however the corporation tax payment is due nine months and one day after the end of the financial period. Making sure you're on the ball with this means you'll avoid the risk of any late filing and payment penalties and interest. It also means you won’t be rushing and miss any reliefs or planning opportunities that could mean tax savings for your business.

5. Get ready for Making Tax Digital  

While you will certainly need to file a self-assessment tax return this January, you may also need to be preparing for Making Tax Digital for income tax (MTD for IT).   

If your business is VAT-registered, you will already be familiar with Making Tax Digital for VAT. Next up in the Government’s digitisation agenda is the income tax version. If you are a self-employed sole trader or a landlord with qualifying income of £50,000 or more, you will need to sign up to begin MTD for IT by 6th April 2026. This means keeping digital accounting records and making quarterly returns of income and expenses, followed by a MTD for IT return at the year end to replace your self-assessment tax return. For more details see our piece here.  

6. Reduce your tax bill

There are various tax planning actions you can take to make tax savings. With frequent changes in tax legislation and your business and personal circumstances it's important to consider how to plan and manage your taxes. Speaking to an experienced and local accountant will ensure you're planning for tax effectively. For instance, following the employer’s national insurance contributions (NICs) increase in 2025, many employers could benefit from using a salary sacrifice scheme for employee pension contributions to help reduce their employer’s NICs bill.

7. Automate your accounting

If you haven’t yet embraced digital technology when it comes to managing your finances, the new year is the perfect time to start.

Using digital tools helps boost your productivity and cut the amount of time you spend on tasks. It also lets you stay on top of your business finances from wherever you are and from any device. They also help you to automate the sending of invoices and expenses, chase late payments and comply with the Government’s Making Tax Digital requirements.

To help businesses benefit from digital tools, TaxAssist Accountants has partnered with accounting software companies Xero and QuickBooks and expense management tool Dext.

Give your business a head start today

Dedicating time to looking ahead will mean you have a comprehensive plan in place for the coming months.

If you need help or advice with the financial aspects of running your business, call our team at TaxAssist Accountants Hemel Hempstead on 01442 268000 or complete our online enquiry form.

Last updated 18 Dec 2025 | First published 4 Jan 2023

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This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.

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