Steps to Take When Closing Your Business for the Day

Although the challenge of succeeding in business is an exciting one, it’s important to make time for yourself to rejuvenate from the stresses of business life. Although this may seem desirable, many business owners are uneasy with taking an extended period of time away from their business due to various organisational and managerial challenges (such as potential downtime and loss of revenue). Interestingly, the same principle can be applied to closing your office down at the end of each day, as this also creates issues that can have cost and time management implications.

3 Key considerations when closing down your office at the end of each day

With these challenges and implications in mind, what key considerations should you bear in mind when closing your office at the end of each day? Consider the following: –

Make sure that your premises are secured

Between April 2014 and March 2015, more than £2.4 million worth of stolen goods have been recovered from thieves. A healthy percentage of these goods have been initially stolen from offices, and this underlines the pressing need for you to secure your business premises at the end of each day. With this in mind, be sure to lock all external doors and windows at the end of each day, or at least delegate this to a trusted employee. If you have internal doors, it is also wise to secure these and ensure than any alarms (or sensors) are activated.

Do not waste energy when the office is idle

Once you have closed the office at the end of each day, it will remain idle until the following working period. It therefore makes no sense for any electricity or gas to be consumed during this period, as this translates into waste and ultimately lost revenue. There is also a potential issue with emissions, so it is crucial that all lights and heating systems are shut down prior to the end of each day. Additionally, you should also make sure that each individual computer system is shut down by each employee, as this also reduces consumption and cost bases.

Completing Admin Tasks To Ensure Deadlines Are Met

As excited as you may be to be finishing for your holiday, it’s worth considering easing your workload for your return. Looking to complete various admin tasks (such as the completing and sending off of invoices, completing reports for line managers etc.) can help to avoid a mad rush to meet tight deadlines when you return to business. It’s also key to remember that, as you will be away from work for a few days, certain tasks might be due for completion whilst you’re away, so be sure to either complete or organise for these to be completed by a colleague.