Yes, it’s summer. Yes, it’s busy.
But that’s exactly why this is the best time to pause and ask a few questions that could save you thousands before year-end.
And we’re not talking about the usual “revenue minus expenses” stuff.
These are the deeper financial questions that most business owners don’t think about until it’s too late.
Here’s your unofficial mid-year financial check-in:
1. Have you outgrown your pricing… without realizing it?
If it’s been more than 12 months since you last raised your prices, chances are your margins are tighter than you think. With inflation, rising labor costs, and tech subscriptions creeping up, your 2024 pricing may not be cutting it in 2025.
What to check:
- Are you charging the same for more work?
- Are you covering the real cost of delivery (including your time)?
- Are you comparing prices to your competitors, but not to your cost structure?
2. Are you behind on retirement contributions without knowing it?
Many business owners treat retirement contributions like an end-of-year decision. But the truth is, if you don’t plan mid-year, you may run out of cash (or time) to make the bigger contributions that actually move the needle.
What to check:
- How much have you contributed year-to-date?
- Do you have a SEP, solo 401(k), or other plan in place that allows flexibility?
- Can you increase monthly contributions now to avoid scrambling in Q4?
3. Are you sitting on “invisible” tax deductions?
We see this all the time: business owners who missed thousands in deductions because they didn’t categorize things correctly or didn’t ask the right questions early enough.
What to check:
- Did you pay for anything business-related personally and forget to record it?
- Are you tracking mileage, home office use, or working travel?
- Did you make a one-time investment (training, legal, equipment) that could be deducted now or depreciated smartly?
4. Is your bookkeeping clean enough to actually help you?
If your books are behind or messy, you’re flying blind. And by the time Q4 hits, the clean-up job becomes more painful (and expensive).
Now’s the time to check:
- Are your books current through last month?
- Can you run a P&L and trust what it says?
- Are your categories still accurate, or are things getting dumped into “Misc Expense”?
Clean books aren’t just for tax time. They’re how you make decisions the rest of the year.
5. Are you growing your revenue or just surviving?
Revenue isn’t the only number that matters, but it’s a major one. And yet, most business owners don’t stop mid-year to ask: “Am I actually growing?”
Check in on:
- Revenue compared to this time last year
- Month-over-month trends (flat, growing, dropping?)
- Whether you’re bringing in more profitably, or just working harder for the same margin
If you’re not growing, it might not be a marketing problem. It might be pricing, capacity, or systems. Now’s your window to find out.
Bottom line?
Most business owners don’t get into financial trouble because they’re reckless.
They get into trouble because they’re too busy working in the business to step back and look at the business.
If it’s been a while since you’ve done that, we’re here to help.
📞 Book a call with our friendly team.
Let’s look at what’s really happening behind the numbers and make sure the rest of your year works better than the first.
Until next time!
