1. Tighten Your Month‑End Processes

If you don’t have a clear and documented process for ‘month-end’, now is the perfect time to establish a good routine. A clear month end process means you can capture errors and omissions while they are still ‘front of mind’ and avoid issues later down the track when you ‘can’t remember’ the history of the transaction.

Consider documenting a simple checklist that covers:

Bank and credit card reconciliations

Review of unpaid invoices and bills

Matching payroll, super and PAYG

A quick review of all accounts to spot unusual transactions

Remember, the goal isn’t to create more work, it’s to establish a repeatable process that will save you time and stress every single month, allowing you to be more prepared when your accountant needs information, or at EOFY.

2. Review Payroll Processes and Key Dates

Payroll is one of the highest‑risk areas for any business. December is a smart time to step back and review your processes before the New Year begins.

In particular, look at how you track:

Anniversary dates for pay increases

Award‑based review dates

Apprentice milestones and progression dates

Planning for employee performance reviews

If this information is still sitting in numerous spreadsheets, important dates could be missed, which may lead to underpayments, back‑pay or even potential penalties.

Create a central record of these dates and link them to your payroll system or HR calendar, so you’re prompted to review and adjust pay rates in line with Awards and contracts.

3. Automate Timesheets – Especially for Salaried Staff

With annualised salaried employees now required to lodge timesheets, manual processes can quickly become unmanageable.

If you’re still collecting paper timesheets, email attachments or text messages, now is a great time to:

Choose and implement an online timesheet or rostering system

Standardise how hours, breaks and allowances are recorded

Train your team so everyone understands their responsibilities

Automated timesheets reduce data entry errors, improve record‑keeping and make it easier to demonstrate compliance.

Note: If you want to read about annualised salaries and the recent Federal Court ruling, you can find it here: https://westbas.com.au/news/Annualised-Salaries-Are-Out-What-Small-Businesses-Need-to-Know%20/

4. Set Up (Or Refresh) Your Compliance Calendar

Deadlines don’t stop just because you’re busy or on holidays.

A simple compliance calendar can help you keep track of:

BAS and IAS lodgement dates

Superannuation due dates

Payroll tax, WorkCover and other state‑based obligations

Industry‑specific reporting or funding deadlines

Use your downtime to list all your obligations and add them to a central calendar (with reminders). You can also allocate responsibility for each lodgement and payment.

Lookout for the WestBAS downloadable calendar resource for 2026, coming soon.

5. Strengthen Your Invoicing and Cashflow Processes

Slow invoicing is one of the most common reasons for cashflow stress. Use this quieter time to review how quickly you invoice after work is completed. Consider whether your payment terms are still appropriate, and how consistently you follow up overdue invoices.

Some simple improvements might include:

Moving to scheduled or automated invoicing where possible

Sending invoices immediately from your accounting software or app

Turning on automatic debtor reminders

Reviewing your terms to ensure they support a healthy cashflow

Alongside this, look at your cashflow monitoring more broadly. Depending on your size and risk profile, you might benefit from weekly, fortnightly or monthly cashflow forecasting. When you have a clear understanding of your ‘burn rate’ (how quickly you’re using cash), you can see what’s coming and make better decisions about spending, staffing and investment.

6. Review Your Supplier and Approval Processes

When was the last time you reviewed your purchase order or supplier approval process? Ensure you have procedures in place for purchases and who is approved to work with your suppliers. It’s also a great time to check subscriptions and direct debits to ensure they are still valid and that you’re getting value for money. Additionally, you can set limits on what can be spent with regular suppliers, so staff don’t feel they have to ‘run to the boss’ for approval at all times.

Key questions:

Do you have a process for ensuring goods and services are received?

Is there clear evidence of approval before bills are paid?

Is there adequate separation between the person who approves and the person who pays?

An established accounts payable approval process protects your cash, reduces errors and helps prevent fraud.

7. Tighten Controls Around Bank Account Changes

Scams and hacked emails are becoming more sophisticated, with one of the most common risks being fraudulent changes to bank account details, particularly for new suppliers. If you make changes to just one of your policies this year, make it this one!

Ensure you have a robust process and check-list for making any changes to bank account details, particularly if the requests have been received by email or text.

Consider steps such as:

A requirement of verbal confirmation using known contact details (not taken from an email)

Having a second person review and approve any bank account changes

Keeping an audit trail of who changed what, and when

These extra checks take minutes but can save you from losing significant funds to scams.

8. Refresh Your Budget – And Link It to Cashflow

Regardless of whether you work on a financial year or calendar year, seasonal downtime is an ideal time to compare your forecast budget to your actual figures, as well as update your current budget.

Start by:

Reviewing the past 6 months’ actuals (6 monthly reviews recommended)

Identifying trends in income and expenses that may have been previously overlooked

Building in a simple best / likely / worst‑case scenario

You can then compare your budget with your short‑term cashflow forecasts. A budget that looks good on paper but doesn’t align with your cashflow reality will be hard to achieve.

By linking the two, you can see if your budgeting is realistic or if you need to adjust expenses and plan for possible funding gaps or required investment.

9. Update Your Internal SOPs and Risk Controls

Finally, December is a great time to bring your internal procedures up to date.

Review your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and ensure they cover:

Cyber security basics - passwords, multi‑factor authentication, phishing awareness

HR onboarding - what new starters need to know and sign

Clear roles and responsibilities - who approves, who pays, who reviews

Backup plans for annual leave and personal leave

Work‑from‑home checklists - safe workspace, secure access to systems

Well‑documented SOPs make your business less dependent on any one person, reduce security risks and support smoother audits and reviews.

Make your downtime count

You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Even choosing two or three of these areas to focus on during the holiday season, can make a significant difference to how smoothly your business runs next year. And, don’t forget to reach out to us at WestBAS if you have any questions.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!