2026 is here! No matter how your 2025 ended, it’s a fresh year for new beginnings. One way to get your business year started on a positive note is to walk through a year-end checklist that reviews business finances, marketing strategies, and more. By doing so, you’ll have a clearer picture of what worked last year and know where to focus your efforts in 2026.
Download a PDF of the 2026 Small Business Checklist
1. Review your small business finances
Tax time isn’t the only time to review and organize your business finances, processes, and systems. The new year is a great opportunity to look at your financial profile.
Business owners are creative and driven, but understanding finances doesn't come easy to everyone.
If you don’t have a financial professional on your team, it might be time to hire an accountant. Tasks an accountant can help with include:
- Maintaining financial records
- Tax planning, preparation, and filing
- Business book auditing/preparation for an outside audit
- Handling payroll to ensure that employee tax codes and payments are correct
2. Update your cash flow forecast and budget
A realistic business budget is imperative if you want to run a profitable small business. But every budget takes time to set up and calculate, and it’s essential for financial management and long-term growth. With the right template, updating your cash flow forecast may be easier and faster than you might expect.
A bank focused on small business owners may also be able to help optimize your company's cash flow. A bank can be a valuable partner by offering tools like business checking accounts, small business loans, and automated payment systems. With personalized financial guidance and access to financing solutions, a bank may be able to help stabilize income cycles and ensure steady operational liquidity.
3. Analyze your profit and loss statement
Your top revenue generators are often be found in your most recent profit and loss statement. You will be able to change prices or increase targeted promotions for all of your products that aren't selling well. You will also see trends related to inefficiencies in labor costs throughout the analysis. You may be able to make better scheduling and staffing decisions with this data. To see your financial health in the big picture, you need to look for patterns in your net profit margin. You may find that you need to adjust your budget to account for rising expenses.
4. Revisit your small business tax planning strategy
January is the perfect time to refine your business tax planning strategy. You can compare this year’s deductions to the last few years’ deduction totals to find areas where you can optimize your tax savings. Sudden spikes in deductible expenses or reductions in taxable income are major clues of reporting inconsistencies that could benefit from a thorough review.
Top points to keep in mind when refining your business tax planning approach:
- Track deductible expenses
- Review income trends
- Evaluate depreciation schedules
- Adjust withholding amounts
- Confirm quarterly estimates
- Update record-keeping systems
5. Evaluate your debt and funding options
Pull out your business plan. Are you on track? You might need to increase inventory, purchase equipment, beef up marketing, or hire employees. Low-cost outside funding can help finance these growth initiatives, but before you apply, you need to learn about business debt management.
The first step is to determine how much you need. Work with a financial professional if you’re not sure. Next, look at your credit rating. A good score is key to getting low-cost funds when you need them most. If financing could be beneficial, consider an SBA loan. If you meet the criteria, an SBA loan offers low rates, a 10-year term, and low monthly payments. Browse the SmartBiz website to learn more about SBA loans, term loans, and other financing options.
6. Review insurance coverage and risk management
Business owners don’t always know the different types of insurance or how much coverage is needed to protect their business. You’re probably familiar with general liability and property insurance, but there are other policies you might need to put in place as you grow and hire.
Insurance doesn’t just protect you and your business. Lenders often require at least some form of insurance before approving an application for additional financing.
7. Set 2026 goals and create a growth plan
The sooner you set goals at the start of 2026, the more time you give yourself to achieve them. Take a close look at your company's operations and performance to create realistic goals that align with your staffing needs, revenue targets, and financial capacity. The top priority is to establish objectives that promote growth and accelerate long-term progress.
Top goals to achieve in 2026:
- Improve cash flow
- Reduce overhead costs
- Strengthen customer retention
- Expand digital presence
- Upgrade internal systems
- Diversify revenue streams
8. Audit and refresh your marketing strategy
If your marketing ROI isn’t where you want it to be, this may be the year to strategically spend more money on marketing, not less. Here are four steps to help you measure your marketing efforts:
- Track sales numbers from each of your marketing campaign efforts from beginning to end. Use a simple spreadsheet so your tracking doesn’t get too complex. Record whether sales are up or down after each campaign. Note that there may be a lag time between the launch of a marketing promotion and the results.
- Poll customers to determine brand awareness. You can do this through online surveys, phone interviews, or simply in person if you have a brick-and-mortar location. Ask how they heard about your products or services. Did they visit your website to research? Track the channels that were most effective and concentrate on those areas.
- Examine website analytics and measure traffic changes after you run a marketing campaign. Are your ads and social media efforts moving the needle? If you see that a channel is underperforming, pivot your attention and dollars to focus on those channels that are working.
- Calculate each campaign’s ROI. Add up the hours, effort, overhead costs, and materials that it takes to launch and run a particular marketing strategy. Are profits increasing more than what you’re spending on a particular campaign?
9. Prepare your team and operations for the new year
A year full of success is much more likely to become a reality if you take time to train your employees for new responsibilities and updated procedures. If you're adding any new systems, like software tools or equipment upgrades, you need teams in place to run these operations. The start of the year is an excellent time to integrate AI and automation solutions to speed up workflows and make your processes more efficient.
10. Refresh social media channels
Review your established social media channels. Are your photos clear and relevant? Do you have the correct product and pricing info? Consumers do check out social media profiles. Make sure your content is fresh, relevant, and posted regularly.
Targeted social media strategy can lead to a big payoff. In fact, SmartBiz Bank has spoken with many of our customers who are successfully driving sales without spending a fortune. RoShamBo Baby, makers of kid-friendly sunglasses, has a Facebook page targeting parents with over 40,000 loyal followers. The creators of the Infinity Strap yoga prop report that Instagram drives 80% of the sales completely organically, without any paid advertising.
Use this checklist to start strong in the new year
Ultimately, being a smart business owner means staying organized and having a clear understanding of your company’s outlook. This checklist can help ensure that financial, operational, and marketing tasks don’t slip through the cracks. By reviewing performance, updating plans, and identifying new funding opportunities, you’ll be better positioned to make informed decisions and build momentum in 2026. Review our Small Business Blog for more resources to help hardworking entrepreneurs.
FAQs
What should a small business check in the new year?
Before the new year begins, small companies should take stock of their financial situation by analyzing their income, expenditures, and cash flow. When they spot inefficiencies in spending or discrepancies in reporting, it’s crucial to take action to account for potential financial risks. Doing an audit of all year-end records may help you see whether you need to make adjustments to your budget or forecasting plan.
How do I prepare a cash flow forecast for 2026?
To do a cash flow forecast for 2026, start by listing all sources of income and when you expect the money to come in. Then write down all of your expenses and when they occur. Make sure to separate fixed costs from the variable ones. This gives you a much clearer picture of your obligations and when they are due. Once you have a cash flow projection in place for each month, you may be able to compare figures to determine whether you’ll face any shortfalls or surpluses.
Why review profit and loss at the start of the year?
You need to do a profit and loss analysis at the beginning of the year so you have accurate data to base your budgeting and planning on. When you know which products/services generate the most revenue, you'll find it easier to allocate resources. And by knowing which products/services are underperforming, you can adjust pricing to improve sales. The earlier in the year that you know about these trends, the better you are at making strategic decisions.
When should I revisit my business debt management plan?
There's never a bad time to revisit your debt management plan. A start-of-the-year review can work wonderfully for finding cost-saving opportunities and seeing whether you need to find additional funding. Contacting lenders and renegotiating interest rates may help you save money that you otherwise would have spent unnecessarily. Paying down high-interest balances and getting your company in a better financial position is always a good thing, no matter the time of the year.
Which tax planning steps should small businesses take in January 2026?
January is the ideal time to double-check any new tax laws you may need to comply with. Looking over tax payments, withholding amounts, and deductible expenses can help you find areas that need attention from an accountant or advisor. Working with a professional tax expert is the best way to ensure you stay compliant and maximize your savings.
