What January Means to Me

I feel like I am already deep into January.

This is my most challenging month of the year. January is a perfect storm of business and personal financial deadlines. This year, it is complicated by our workplace becoming a VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) site. I have taken on the responsibility of Site Coordinator, and have additional duties to shoehorn in over the next few weeks as a result.

My business tasks over the next few weeks:
  • Close the 2007 books.
  • Prepare and mail 1099's. Fortunately I don't have to do W-2's. Oops - I haven't even ordered the forms yet! [I just created an event on my Palm Pilot that will beep incessantly tomorrow morning to remind me to do this.]
  • Review the tentative 2008 budget and modify it where necessary.
  • Prepare a long list of financial resolutions for the organizational board meeting.
  • Put a brand-new line of credit in place with a local bank. I have to start working on this one ASAP.
  • Get the tax-prep software up and configured on my computer and the computers of the other staff people who will be working in the VITA program. In one case, I have to install the software on the Windows side of a MacBook. I've never done this... fortunately my daughter is coming home for a day in a couple of weeks, and she can help me if I crash and burn.
  • Pass the VITA certification courses. I passed Basic tonight - with a score of 100%. I need to take the Intermediate, Advanced and Military tests if at all possible, though. Someone at our site needs to have more advanced training, and I'm the one.
  • Get new bank signature authorization cards from four banks if officers are going to change. Of all the things I have to do as part of my job, I probably loathe bank signature authorizations the most.
  • Reconcile everything.
  • Do all the routine work that has to be done every month - paying the bills and billing grantors.
On the personal side, I have to get our taxes well under way as soon as possible, as we have an estimated tax payment coming up, plus the dreaded FAFSA forms - one each for me and Ana. I have a 1099 to issue for my husband's business, as well. And a brand new grad course starts up tomorrow.

I know that I am forgetting something here.

I got January off to a good start when I returned to work. When I opened the accounting software I use, I got a new message that there was no accounting year yet for 2008. I went to Periodic Processing and clicked on Create New Year. And watched a journal entry being created. Uh oh - I had just closed the books for 2007. I made a phone call, and was able to get the books restored from the back-up. A rather humbling f*ck-up for the first day of the work year for me... thank goodness there was no harm done in the end.

I'm off to get my beauty sleep. Here's hoping that I can approach January with a clear mind and with as much calmness as I can muster. I can do all this, and even squeeze in some knitting, but I will have to stay focused.

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