"We use slow times to analyze our business metrics: Total number of clients, average sales per user, descending volume sales analysis, average sales per employee, efficiency of project management, project turnaround times, comparisons to previous years, and current and future budgets."

— Chuck Vigeant

"Review your chart of accounts, balance sheet and profit & loss. Ask yourself if you're getting useful information from these reports. Can you see which areas of your business are most and least profitable? If so, this is your opportunity to make changes to help your bottom line before the next busy season. If not, consult your accountant or request the assistance of a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor in your area."

— Brandon Angell

"It's always a good idea to make back ups of important information. While you're at it, re-evaluate your backup process. Is it the best fit for your business?"

— Sharon M. Vetsch

"I see so many 'miscellaneous,' 'other expense,' and other odd accounts where people put expenses they're not sure how to classify. If you have one or more of these accounts, go through and review the transactions and try to find the right account. Remember, when you look at the profit & loss report, you want to see information that's meaningful. Having large amounts in miscellaneous-type accounts not only makes budgeting hard, but it also sends red flags to accountants (and possibly auditors)."

— Brandon Angell

"Do some QuickBooks list maintenance. Here are some ideas.

• Item List - Does your Item list contains products or services that you no longer carry or provide? Do you regularly update prices on invoices, without making that price change permanent in the item record? Or, maybe now's a good time to re-organize your list, making some entries sub-items of others.

• Customer List - How many of us go month to month (year to year?) with that nagging feeling that many of our customer records are outdated? Now's a good time to clean up your lists and be sure that as you head into the fall you have correct, complete information.
  You may also find, as I have, that this review process is a great way to identify customers you haven't heard from in a while. Why not take the time during your slow period to give them a call or drop them a line?

• Vendor List - How about identifying all your 'one time only' vendors and making them inactive? You may be surprised at how many names you'll be able to remove from your active list.

• 1099 Vendors - While we're on the subject of vendors… now's the time to check and verify that you have all the information you'll need to accurately process 1099 forms for the vendors to whom you've made payments this year."

— Leslie Capachietti

"Make sure all your employee records are up-to-date and contain all of the appropriate paperwork (I-9s, W-4s, etc.). Failure to maintain the proper employee records can lead to fines and penalties if you get audited."

— Inga Arendt

"Want to find out how your business is really doing? Perform a simple survey with your clients. Call a few of them and ask: Are you satisfied with our services? If not why? The answers to those two questions are enough to tell you where you stand."

— Chuck Vigeant

"Go through your computer folders and delete documents and other files that you don't need anymore. Do the same with your paper files: shred, store or re-organize them. Update your address book, too. All of these little things will help you be more efficient when you're busy again."

— Sharon M. Vetsch

"Now's a great time to clean up your file systems on your personal computer and server. Uninstalling any unnecessary software can not only improve your PC's performance, but also free up some space on your hard drive. Archiving and removing old client and company files will create room for next year's files and make everything easier to find."

— Chuck Vigeant

"Start printing those checks from QuickBooks! It not only keeps you from having to process check data twice, but it also helps give your business a more professional image. It's best to implement a new system during slower times, so make sure your vendor term and address information is complete, and then order those checks!"

— Leslie Capachietti

"Ask yourself: What would help me manage my business better? If you need more employees or an assistant, consider hiring one. If you need more detail or custom reports, consider having them built, or looking into the over 400 applications that integrate with QuickBooks and can help you automate more of your everyday business tasks. You can see these applications at www.marketplace.intuit.com."

— Brandon Angell

"Touch base with your attorney to make sure all your legal documents are in order. Review all of your loan documents and terms. Do a little research and see if the current loan terms are still competitive with the current market. Review your insurance policies, and touch base with your insurance agent to make sure all your coverage is adequate. You may also want to shop around for lower rates."

— Inga Arendt

"Make sure you prepare an employee handbook, update it regularly, and make it available to all employees. Operating without a written handbook leaves employers susceptible to many issues, including lawsuits. Make sure all of your employment policies are in writing and clearly communicated to all employees, as well as available at any time for employees to reference."

— Inga Arendt

"Give your forms a facelift by using a new template design. In addition to being able to customize any of the forms within QuickBooks, don't forget that you can download templates that can help give your business a more professional look. To download a template:

• When you're working on any form (Invoice, Estimate, etc.), click the Templates button.
• Select Download Templates, which will take you to the Template Gallery.

Form templates are available for invoices, purchase orders, sales receipts, credit memos, sales orders, statements, and estimates. You'll find examples using watermarks, remittance slips, rounded corners, and other customized options."

— Leslie Capachietti

"Start preparing for taxes in January. And no, I don't mean this January for last year's taxes. I mean this January for this year's taxes. Make a point of reviewing your books when you do your reconciliation at the end of each month, to be sure that everything meets your 'smell test.' No one knows your business as well as you do, so check the numbers on the Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet and see if they look right to you. Compare them to last month."

— Andrew Newman