End of Year Business Spending in Omaha, Nebraska

The end of the year means a lot of things for businesses; one in particular is that the time has come to review the budget and expenditures for the past year. This will not only help with accurate projections to support the development of plans for the coming year, but will also help in evaluating whether there are expenditures that should be considered prior to the end of the year. While for some it’s considered optimal to come in under budget to demonstrate that the business has operated efficiently from a financial standpoint, for others it can be extremely advantageous and practical to make investments in the business with the remaining funds. So for those at the latter end of the spectrum, we’ve highlighted a few key areas where purchases have the potential to offer the maximum benefits for your business in 2016.

Investing in Business Capital Equipment

Upgrades to your building and its infrastructure are wise to consider because there are generally numerous ways to benefit from them. When factoring into the equation that technology is heavily influencing virtually everything about how we run our businesses, leveraging your leftover dollars from 2015 in this area has the propensity to yield returns not only in the coming year but also for years to come.

In terms of your actual physical location, your power source, and likewise having access to a continuous power supply, is at the center of all the things that work together to keep your business up and running. As such, it’s a must to evaluate your options in this area. With solar and geothermal energy becoming more and more attractive for a bevy of reasons, chief of which are efficiency, reliability, and return on investment, many have already gravitated towards making the shift to incorporating one or both of these as a primary energy source.

Controlling your building’s systems is another example of a sound investment that will pay dividends not just over the next year, but for many years to come. Pat Killeen of Engineered Controls describes the benefits for all involved:

From the building occupant’s perspective: Comfort, efficiency and a safe, healthy indoor environment are basic expectations regardless of what kind of building you are in. Customers, employees and visitors are expecting the indoor air quality (IAQ) to be “right” and hold building owners and operators to a higher standard than ever before.

From the building owner’s perspective: Energy use in a commercial building is becoming an ever-increasing financial concern and operational problem for building owners.  Building owners are looking for reliable, cost-effective solutions to answer these new energy challenges and reduce their carbon footprint.

Solution: Engineered Controls has an Energy & Environmental Optimization (EEO) program to address these concerns of building owners who provide their employees, customers and visitors the IAQ in a facility they expect.  The EEO (program) is designed to leverage a broad portfolio of energy efficiency products and solutions, as well as offer a high level of energy expertise to commercial buildings in the hands of skilled, knowledgeable and certified EEO professionals.

Killeen further explains, “Engineered Controls can play a very big part in assisting new and existing building owners in controlling their building’s energy costs.  When considering that a building’s lighting and HVAC loads account for nearly 80% of a building’s energy usage, there are plenty of energy strategies that a Building Automation System can provide maximizing the energy strategy options available to building owners.  Engineered Controls can assist in total building control and help provide a healthier and more energy efficient environment for occupants.”

In the maintenance industry it is not uncommon for a facility manager to pay in advance for an extended service and maintenance agreement.  Engineered Controls offers our customers Planned Service Agreements (or simply PSA’s) to assist in the daily operation of their facilities. The PSA that has two elements:

1)      Preventative care and routine maintenance, and
2)      System wide energy analysis.

Killeen adds, “Our preventative care program focuses on the building hardware and is a standardized preventative maintenance program on a building controls system to maximize the systems reliability and to minimize the operational costs.  In other words, our PSA program offers comprehensive system wide checkups and testing to ensure that the control system is always operating at peak operating performance.  Building systems that are properly maintained and controlled will enable you to focus on the core of your business while ensuring that everything is running efficiently.  This also promotes longevity of equipment, protection of employees and equipment due to proper security measures, and energy efficiency which will result in minimizing operating costs and future unplanned capital expenditures.

In the second element of our maintenance program, the system-wide energy analysis, our staff of trained experts will assist a building owner in identifying areas where they can reduce cost, identify simple potential energy savings payback opportunities and training.  When our customers are interested in a more aggressive approach to energy reduction, then we move them into our EEO program that I previously mentioned.”

All things considered, any investment you make in your building and its systems is going to benefit you greatly, both in the short and long run.

Investing in Promoting Your Business

When determining where to invest your surplus funds at the end of the year, it’s important to consider what will generate revenue along with what will cut costs and enhance efficiency. Enter your marketing campaign for the coming year, which technically you should already be planning for right now! This not only includes various media components, but also includes increasing your visibility through improved signage or maximizing your presence at a trade show, just as a few examples that are integral to effective branding.

Each year the vast majority of business owners set a detailed budget and plan for marketing (sometimes not necessarily in that specific order). If you’ve yet to meet that, contemplate investing the remainder of those funds into your campaign for 2016. This is also an area where you would have the potential to reap maximum benefits if you chose to allocate excess funds from other areas before the end of the year. Putting that towards promoting your business will not only bring a return on investment, but it ensures that you remain committed to continuous promotion of your business. After all, your marketing tools and team are hard at work for you all year long, namely driving in profits and maintaining your top-of-mind recognition in the marketplace.

Aside from general advertising of your business through the usual channels, visibility at targeted events such as trade shows is a critical part of positioning yourself to create new opportunities throughout the year. This is one area where you want to make a strong impression and attract the attention of your target audience. As such, you’ll want to plan ahead as to how you can put your best foot forward and achieve your specific goals for the event.

“For many clients, if they don’t use the money in the budget they may lose it the following year and with it they lose the opportunity to make the purchase at all,” says Janet Denison, owner of Vision Exhibits. “In looking towards the coming year, think about all of the opportunities you will have for exposure and plan accordingly—even as soon as right now. For trade shows and other events where your business will be visible to your target audience and prospective clients, you’ll want to communicate your message clearly and capitalize on the opportunity to connect with those in attendance.

As our offerings include both the sale and rental of trade show exhibit systems, clients who are looking to fulfill their year-end spending generally like to take advantage of placing a deposit for their exhibit and rental orders and then follow up in the next 30-60 days with the graphic content. This way they don’t have to rush on the graphic design and have the opportunity to take photography and strategically plan their message.

Whether clients choose to purchase or rent, we look at the various ways the exhibit can be reconfigured. For instance, an island display can be dismantled and reassembled to make a 10×20, 10×10, kiosk, or tabletop, or a combination of these. It’s always wise to see what it would take to adapt an exhibit to a larger or smaller structure. This way you have plenty of options depending on each event you attend.

Clients who opt for a rental exhibit find it decreases the capital expenses and allows them to put more money into the graphics, promotions, etc., and provides flexibility for changing the structure the following year. However, make sure that you don’t pressure yourself into spending and then end up with products that don’t have superior warranties. Simply ask your vendor if they accept pre-payment so you can have a little more time to plan.”

In addition to trade shows, there are many other ways that an investment in signage alone will benefit your business.

“In business, the best way to spend money is on something that has the ability make your money back and increase sales,” emphasizes Jared Shald, owner of Sign Pro of Lincoln.  “If your business has vehicles, one of the best investments you can make is in vehicle graphics.  Whether you have one shop truck with decals on the doors or a fleet of wrapped delivery/service vans, graphics make your company vehicles work for you 24 hours a day.  The end of the year is a great time to add graphics to your fleet or update existing designs for a fresh start to 2016.  At Sign Pro, we offer many graphic options from simple decals to full wraps.  I encourage local business owners to get in touch to find out how we can help you get a head start going into the new year.”

As another key component to attracting customers, if your building’s signage is in need of a makeover, consider it among the things that you should address sooner rather than later. “Visually appealing, well maintained signage provides the best first impression to potential customers while also being key to the overall safety of the building,” explains Jim Graham, President of Nebraska Sign Company. “Updating the appearance of worn or outdated signage will give your business a fresh look and improve its curb appeal. Alternatively, a great new offering for your signage would be replacing neon and fluorescent bulbs with brighter and more energy efficient LED illumination. LED illumination provides a longer service life and is also less susceptible to the harsh Nebraska weather. Properly maintained signage is also critical to the financial success of any business. Investing in regular, scheduled maintenance for the coming year will extend the life of your signage and prevent unwanted outages in order to keep your signs lit and business operational.”

Discuss Your Spending Strategy With Your Accountant

All of the items we’ve briefly touched upon, and many more we haven’t covered, are best decided upon after first having your current finances evaluated by your team of advisors. Setting up a meeting to see where you’re at and taking the opportunity bounce ideas off of those who are most qualified to guide you in the right direction will allow you to see the whole picture and weigh your options accordingly.

Your end of year spending strategy is one of the things that should be discussed with your accountant, who will help you accurately evaluate your finances as well as any useful tax strategies that may apply. Your accountant will let you know the specifics as to what you have left to spend as well as what is really in your best interest to spend before the end of the year and why. This info is vital because it allows you to be effective in your end of year spending, and to ensure your books are up-to-date and accurate before any damage is done. Have your bookkeeper or accountant run all of the reports that are relevant for your business and schedule a time to walk through them together if you need more explanation on the numbers and specific breakdowns. If you’d like to consult an accountant about your end of year spending, SP Group, P.C. would be happy to lend their expertise and discuss the possibilities that are available to you.

Ironically, the same time we are on a spending spree for the holidays is also when we should be making thoughtful purchases as an investment in our businesses. Not only does it eliminate the problem of losing the money in your budget at the end of the year, but now is the time to spend money on items your business needs so you can maximize tax deductions too. Does your equipment need to be upgraded? Can you stock up on office supplies? Are there vendor payments you can make in advance? Make a list of purchases you can make now to get the most out of your deductions.

Finally, if you’re looking to spend some dollars before the end of the year, consider contributing to a local charity. Not only is it a great thing to do for others in your community during the holiday season, but it can also be a good idea with respect to your business finances.

Planning ahead is always helpful, and in this instance, having money to spend prior to the end of the year can be an excellent way to get a few key things in place for the coming year. Pinpointing the things that you can do now to best position yourself for the future is the first step towards taking your business to the next level in 2016!