Blog

It’s that time of the year – a time for clearing out the clutter, fresh beginnings and new growth. Most people associate Spring cleaning with home, but the concepts are also quite applicable to businesses. It truly is the ideal time to engage in a little Spring cleaning, after the New Year transition but before the Summer respite that precedes the sprint from Labor Day through the end of the year.

The benefits of engaging in this process on an annual basis are immense:

• Brings focus to the remainder of the year likely decreasing distractions and increasing productivity
• Creates an internal audit system to highlight matters to be addressed and establish a prioritization system
• Better positions the business to respond to unforeseen events such as death of an owner or key management
• Aids the transition of the business to new ownership and/or management
• Assists in preparing for a sale of the business should that opportunity arise

So what does business Spring cleaning entail? Just like at home, it can range from an extremely thorough deep clean to something lighter and less intensive. Also, as is the case at home, the more consistently you do it, the less intense it becomes each time. The following checklist is a tool to assist in getting your Spring cleaning project started, but certainly can be expanded or contracted to meet the specific needs of your business.

Business Spring Cleaning Checklist

Category
Topic/Document
Location
Important Dates
Requires Attention
Action Items

Corporate Governance
Minutes/Consents/Delegations

Officers/Directors/Other Authorized Representatives

Committees

Registered Agent(s)

Ownership
Records of Ownership

Loans/Contributions Documentation

Buy-Sell Documents (agreement/valuation/life insurance)

Finance
Bank/Investment Accounts (signature/access authority)

Credit Facilities (expiration/deliverables/covenants/payments)

Insurance
Policy Evaluations (types/terms of coverage)

Notifications/Renewals

Primary Operational Contracts
Leases (real/personal property)

Software Licenses

Required Supply Chain Contracts

Major Customer Contracts

Marketing/Sales Contracts

Other
Employee Handbooks, Job Descriptions and Contracts/Non-Competes

Intellectual Property Filings/Deadlines

Tax Filings/Deadlines

Regulatory Filings/Deadlines/Internal Compliance Audits

Information Technology Review for Major Operating Systems (administrator/access/disaster recovery)