My end of the year tasks involve bookkeeping, updating the materials library, purging files, talking to the accountant. I typically don't see clients the last week in December so I can finalize all these details and start the year fresh.
My bookkeeping is in good shape. Just waiting for the November credit card statements to come. Then I'll be just about set.
A few things to wrap up — I have a check to cut for a client. He ordered a desk light and it was defective. A replacement had a six-month lead time, so he (understandably) decided to forgo the wait and pick something else.
The easiest way to handle this transaction is to cut him a check. So that's what I did. Then popped it into an envelope, but before I stamped it up tight, I wrote him a quick note. You know when you catch yourself doing something and you ask your self why you do something? Why did I feel compelled to write a note. Ah, childhood! When I was a kid, my dad used to send checks from his office and not include a note. For some reason, this bothered me. It really bothered me. (Hello, therapy!). I guess that's why I cannot just pop a check in the mail to someone I know without a little note. I even ordered pretty card stock w/a logo on it for this purpose. It's trifold size so it fits in a standard business envelope.
I never mind when clients send me a check and it arrives all by its lonesome. Getting paid is wonderful, any way it arrives. But I find myself compelled to send a brief little note when I send a check — well not to Verizon– but to an actual person.
Do you have any quirky business practices that are not logical but you cannot seem to help yourself? I must not be the only one?