Your Mid-Year Business Check-In: 7 Things to Review This July
Running a business can sometimes feel like moving from one deadline to the next without ever stopping to check whether things are actually going in the right direction.
You are busy completing work, replying to customers, sending invoices and trying to keep everything moving. Before you know it, another few months have disappeared.
July is a useful opportunity to pause and take stock.
It might not be the halfway point of the UK tax year, but it is roughly the midpoint of the calendar year. That makes it a good time to review what has happened so far and decide what you want the remainder of the year to look like.
This does not need to involve a complicated business plan or a huge spreadsheet. A simple check-in can help you identify problems, make better decisions and focus your time on the things that are actually working.
Here are seven areas to review.
1. Look at your income so far
Start by looking at how much income your business has generated this year.
Do not just look at the total. Break it down by month so you can spot any trends.
Ask yourself:
Is your income increasing, decreasing or staying roughly the same?
Which month performed best?
Were any quieter months expected?
Which products, services or customers generated the most income?
Is your income coming from a good mix of customers?
It is also important to distinguish between work you have invoiced and money you have actually received.
A business can appear busy and successful on paper while still struggling for cash because customers have not paid.
2. Review your outstanding invoices
Check which invoices remain unpaid.
Make a note of:
The total amount currently outstanding
Which invoices are overdue
How long each invoice has been unpaid
Which customers need chasing
Whether any payment disputes need resolving
Sending invoice reminders can feel uncomfortable, but you have completed the work and are entitled to be paid.
A polite reminder is often all that is needed. Customers may have missed the original invoice, forgotten the payment date or simply need another prompt.
You might also want to review your invoicing process. Sending invoices promptly, including clear payment terms and following up consistently can make a significant difference to your cash flow.
3. Check where your money is going
Next, review your business expenses.
It is easy for costs to build up gradually, particularly when subscriptions and software payments leave your bank automatically each month.
Look for:
Subscriptions you no longer use
Services that have increased in price
Duplicate tools or software
Costs that are not helping you generate income
Personal purchases accidentally paid from the business account
Expenses that may be missing from your records
Cutting unnecessary spending does not mean removing everything useful from your business. The aim is to make sure each regular cost still serves a purpose.
A £20 monthly subscription might not feel significant, but that is £240 over a full year.
4. Review your tax savings
Check how much money you have put aside for tax.
The amount you need to save will depend on your profit, other income and personal circumstances, so there is no single percentage that works for everyone.
However, you should have some idea of:
Your estimated profit so far
How much tax you may need to pay
How much is currently in your tax savings account
Whether your savings are keeping pace with your income
If your income has increased, your tax bill may also increase. It is much easier to adjust the amount you save now than to discover a large shortfall shortly before the payment deadline.
Keeping tax savings in a separate account can also reduce the temptation to spend money that does not really belong to the business.
5. Check whether you are actually making money
Turnover is important, but it does not tell you the full story.
You also need to consider how much money is left after paying your business expenses.
For example, you might have increased your sales but also taken on more software, advertising, travel or subcontractor costs. Your business may be busier without becoming more profitable.
Ask yourself:
Which work is most profitable?
Which work takes the most time?
Are any customers or services regularly causing problems?
Have your costs increased since you last reviewed your prices?
Are you charging enough for the time and value you provide?
You do not need to increase every price immediately. However, understanding which parts of the business make money will help you make better decisions about where to focus.
6. Review your original goals
Think back to the goals you set at the beginning of the year.
Perhaps you wanted to:
Increase your monthly income
Find new customers
Launch a new service
Reduce your working hours
Improve your bookkeeping
Build up your savings
Take more time away from the business
Are those goals still relevant?
Plans can change. You might have discovered that something you expected to enjoy is not working, or that an unexpected opportunity has become more important.
Changing a goal is not a failure. Sometimes it is the most sensible response to what you have learned.
7. Choose three priorities
Finally, choose three clear priorities for the next few months.
Try not to create an enormous list. A long list can quickly become overwhelming and make it harder to identify what really matters.
Your priorities might include:
Chasing all invoices more than seven days overdue
Increasing the price of a particular service
Cancelling unused subscriptions
Saving a fixed amount for tax each month
Improving your invoicing or bookkeeping process
Contacting a certain number of potential customers
Protecting one day each week from client work
Make each priority specific enough that you will know whether you have completed it.
“Improve my finances” is difficult to measure.
“Review my expenses and cancel two unused subscriptions by 15 August” is much clearer.
Your business does not need to be perfect
The purpose of a business check-in is not to criticise everything you have or have not achieved.
It is to give yourself a clearer picture of where the business stands.
You may discover that you are doing better than you thought. You might also identify a few areas that need attention before they become bigger problems.
Either way, taking an hour to review your business now could save you a considerable amount of time, money and stress later in the year.
Hustle Mate members can use this month’s Mid-Year Business Check-In Checklist to work through their income, expenses, invoices, tax savings and priorities in one place.
