September is not like any other month. For a manager of a very small business or SME, it's a pivotal moment. The summer slowed down business, delayed certain decisions, left invoices pending, and put the prospecting on standby. And now everything starts up again at the same time: customers call back, teams return, tax and social deadlines approach, and the last quarter, often decisive for the year, is already beginning.
Many leaders then dive straight back into operations, without taking the necessary step back. The result: they react rather than lead. They manage emergencies rather than build. And December arrives with objectives only half achieved, a Treasury tense and with the feeling of having run without really moving forward.
This checklist is designed to avoid this scenario. It reviews the ten key areas that every manager of a very small or small business should address in the first weeks of September, in order, with concrete actions at each stage.
Why September is the real start of the year for a business
The school calendar has shaped our collective habits. January is supposed to be the month for resolutions, new beginnings, and strategic plans. But in the reality of a business, January is often a slow month: clients are still getting used to the new system, teams are getting back into their rhythm, and important decisions have been postponed until "after the holidays."
September, on the other hand, concentrates an energy that January lacks. Clients have had time to reflect over the summer; they return with projects, needs, and budgets to commit before the end of the fiscal year. Teams are rested, available, and often motivated to start afresh. And the manager himself, if he managed to disconnect for a few days, returns with a fresh perspective on his business.
It is this fresh perspective that must be exploited immediately, before daily life drowns it out.
The last quarter often represents a significant portion of annual revenue for very small businesses and SMEs. Let's take a simple example: if your annual revenue is €400,000 and you generate on average 35% of this amount between October and December, that represents €140,000 over three months. Missing this window due to a lack of preparation jeopardizes your entire fiscal year.
The heads of very small businesses generally take little summer vacation, and 31% of them aren't taking any time off at all this summer. In other words, even those who did take a break didn't truly disconnect. The return to work and school isn't a cold start, then; it's an acceleration that requires a clear direction to avoid getting sidetracked.
Treating September like a true start to the year gives you the best chance of finishing the year in a position of strength.
Reviewing the first 8 months: 5 key figures to look at
Before looking ahead, you need to know where you stand. Not vaguely, not "in broad strokes." With precise figures, laid out on a page, that give you an honest picture of your business since the beginning of the year.
1. Actual revenue versus initial target. Take your initial year-end forecast and compare it to your actual figures at the end of August. If you projected €300,000 for the year and you're at €175,000 at the end of August, you're at 58% of your target for 67% of the year's total. That's a 9-point difference: you'll need to accelerate in the last quarter to close it.
2. Gross margin. Revenue alone doesn't tell the whole story. What matters is what's left after direct costs are deducted. An increase in revenue accompanied by a decrease in profit margin is a warning sign that needs to be addressed immediately.
3. The available cash balance. Not the accounting profit, but the money actually available in your accounts. This is the figure that determines your ability to pay your suppliers, social security contributions, and employees in the coming weeks.
4. The total amount of outstanding customer receivables. How much money is owed to you today? This figure will give you a clear picture of what you can expect to receive in the short term, and what requires action. revival immediate.
5. Your quote conversion rate. Of the quotes sent since January, how many have been signed? If you sent 50 quotes and 15 were signed, your rate is 30%. Is this consistent with your historical performance? Is it up or down? This figure tells you a lot about the effectiveness of your offer and your sales process.
These five figures, compiled in less than an hour, give you a solid basis for building your action plan for the last quarter.
Re-collecting unpaid bills from the summer before they become too old.
Summer is a prime time for payment delays. Your clients' accounting departments are reduced, decision-makers are unavailable, and approvals drag on. The result: invoices issued in June or July that still haven't been paid by the start of the new academic year.
This issue must be addressed first, even before resuming prospecting. The reason is simple: an unpaid invoice after 30 days still has a very good chance of being recovered. After 90 days, these chances decrease significantly. Every additional week you let pass works against you.
Start by compiling a comprehensive list of all your outstanding receivables. Sort them by age: less than 30 days, between 30 and 60 days, and more than 60 days. This classification, known as the accounts receivable aging report, allows you to prioritize your actions.
For invoices less than 30 days old, a friendly reminder email is usually sufficient. Attach the invoice, provide your bank details, and offer to answer any questions.
For invoices due between 30 and 60 days, adopt a more direct tone. State that the legal payment period between businesses is 30 days from the date of receipt of the invoice, and that late payment penalties are automatically applicable without the need for a reminder, in accordance with Article L441-10 of the French Commercial Code. This statement alone often resolves difficult situations.
For invoices overdue by more than 60 days, send a formal notice by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt. This document must explicitly state the words "formal notice," the amount due, late payment penalties calculated at the current legal rate, and the fixed compensation of 40 euros per unpaid invoice as stipulated in Article D441-5 of the French Commercial Code.
A concrete example of calculation: if a customer owes you 5,000 euros for 45 days, the late payment penalties are calculated as follows, taking an annual reference rate of 12%: 5,000 × 12% × 45 / 365 = 74 euros, to which is added the fixed compensation of 40 euros, i.e. 114 euros more due by right.
Don't let embarrassment hold you back. Following up with a client doesn't damage the business relationship. Not following up, on the other hand, sends the signal that you don't need to be paid quickly.
Check your cash flow and anticipate the last quarter
Cash flow is the lifeblood of any business. A profitable company can die from a cash flow problem. A manager who only looks at the accounts at the end of the month discovers the problems too late to act.
September is a good time to build a cash flow forecast covering the last four months of the year. The exercise is simple but powerful: list, month by month, your expected receipts (pending invoices, signed contracts, quotes being validated) and your foreseeable disbursements (salaries, social charges, rents, suppliers, loan repayments, VAT, December advance payment of corporate income tax).
If your forecast reveals upcoming tension, you still have time to act: accelerate customer follow-ups, negotiate a deadline with a supplier, activate a short-term credit line, or postpone an investment.
Some practical rules to apply immediately:
Check the status of your line of credit or overdraft facility. If you don't have one, now is a good time to discuss it with your bank, before you need it. Banks are more likely to grant credit to a successful business than to one in difficulty.
Identify non-urgent expenses that could be deferred to the next fiscal year if cash flow becomes tight.
If you haven't already, set up a weekly check of your bank balance. Five minutes a week is all it takes to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Resuming prospecting: where to begin
Summer often puts prospecting on hold. Prospects don't respond, decision-makers are unavailable, and sales cycles lengthen. As a result, your sales pipeline is likely less robust than it was in June. It needs to be rebuilt quickly, as deals signed in September and October will be invoiced in November and December.
But resuming prospecting doesn't mean starting from scratch. Begin with what already exists.
Reactivate the hot leads that have been put on hold. Review your CRM or contact list: which prospects were you in discussions with before the summer? Which ones had expressed interest but didn't close the deal? A simple, personalized follow-up message that recalls your conversation and offers a quick update can be enough to revive an opportunity.
Reconnect with your former clients. A client who has already worked with you is your best prospect. They know you, they trust you, and the cost of winning them back is much lower than acquiring a new client. A follow-up call, without any stated sales objective, to check in and understand their current projects, is often enough to create an opportunity.
Block out dedicated prospecting time in your calendar. This is where many managers fail: prospecting gets pushed aside by day-to-day operations, week after week, until it disappears altogether. Treat this time slot like a client meeting—essential and non-negotiable. One to two hours a week, consistently dedicated over time, will produce far more solid results than one-off intensive sessions.
Define your three priority targets for the quarter. Not twenty, not fifty: three. One sector of activity, one company size, one geographical area. This focus will allow you to tailor your message, personalize your approaches, and measure your results.
Measure your pipeline. How many opportunities do you have in progress? What is their total value? What is your usual conversion rate? If you know that you convert an average of 25% of your quotes, and you need to sign €50,000 worth of new contracts this quarter, you must have at least €200,000 worth of quotes in progress or to be sent.
Reassess your organization and tools
The start of the academic year is one of the rare times when you have both the necessary perspective and the energy to review your organization. Take advantage of it.
Start by identifying your daily annoyances: tasks that take too long, processes that generate errors, information that doesn't flow properly. These annoyances may seem insignificant when considered individually, but accumulated over a year, they represent lost work hours and missed opportunities.
Ask yourself these specific questions:
Are your quotes and invoices sent promptly after the service is completed or the delivery is made? Every day of delay in invoicing is a day of delay in payment.
Is your customer tracking centralized? Or is customer information scattered across emails, spreadsheets, paper notes, and your employees' memories? Even a simple CRM allows you to retrieve a customer's history, quotes sent, follow-ups made, and ongoing projects in seconds.
Are your recurring processes documented? If a key employee is absent tomorrow, can someone else take over without losing time? Documenting procedures is often seen as a burden. In reality, it's an insurance policy.
Are all your subscriptions and fixed charges justified? Back-to-school season is the perfect time to review your recurring expenses. A subscription that hasn't been used for six months, a service provider contract with a changed scope, storage rent for underutilized space: these items, re-examined with a fresh perspective, can free up cash effortlessly.
Finally, assess whether your tools Current solutions meet your actual needs. A growing organization has evolving needs. What worked with three employees might become a hindrance with ten.
Administrative deadlines for the start of the academic year that you shouldn't miss
September also marks the return of tax and social security deadlines. Some are recurring, while others are specific to this time of year. Ignoring them exposes you to surcharges and penalties that will be added to your expenses without any compensation.
VAT. If you are on the standard tax regime, your CA3 return is filed monthly. It must be filed and paid electronically between the 15th and 24th of the following month, depending on your situation (department, legal structure). If you are on the simplified tax regime, an advance payment is due in December. Check your exact tax regime in your professional account on impots.gouv.fr.
The September corporate tax prepayment. If your company is subject to corporate income tax, an advance payment is due on September 15th. Its amount is calculated based on the profit or loss of the last known fiscal year. If your profit or loss this year is lower than last year's, you can reduce this advance payment, subject to certain conditions. Consult your accountant before doing so, as excessive underestimation will result in a penalty.
URSSAF contributions. Depending on your workforce size and payment schedule, social security contributions are due on the 5th or 15th of the month. For employers with fewer than 11 employees who pay quarterly, contributions for the third quarter (July, August, September) must be paid to URSSAF before October 15th. Consult the calendar available on urssaf.fr for your exact dates.
The DSN (Déclaration Sociale Nominative). It is a monthly payment for the employers concerned. Do not confuse it with the contributions themselves: the DSN is the declaration; payment follows according to your payment schedule.
The CFE (Business Property Tax). Your tax notice will not be sent by mail; it will be available in your professional account on impots.gouv.fr in the fall. The payment deadline is December 15th. Remember to check your account in October to avoid missing the deadline.
Contributions to vocational training. If you employ staff, contributions to vocational training and the apprenticeship tax are declared via the DSN (Social Security Declaration) and paid to the URSSAF (Social Security Contributions Collection Agency) according to your payment schedule. For employers with fewer than 11 employees who pay quarterly, these contributions for the third quarter are due before October 15th.
A practical tip: create a calendar specifically for tax and social security deadlines, with automatic reminders one to two weeks before each date. Consult service-public.fr for official information tailored to your situation.
The team: interviews, training, recruitment
The start of the new academic year is the right time to get teams back on track. Not with grand speeches, but with concrete and individualized actions.
Organize individual back-to-school interviews. Not necessarily formal performance reviews: a 20- to 30-minute chat with each employee to discuss their projects, challenges, and expectations for the coming months. These conversations provide information that group meetings never offer: what's really happening on the ground, underlying tensions, and ideas that no one dared to voice in meetings.
Be aware of the legal distinction: the annual performance review is not a legal requirement. The professional development review, however, is mandatory every two years since the law of March 5, 2014. It focuses on career prospects, training, and the employee's professional path. If some of your employees have reviews due, September is a good time to schedule them.
Identify the training needs. Individual interviews provide an opportunity to identify skills development needs. Compare these needs with your projects from the last quarter: what skills do you lack to achieve your objectives? What training could be funded through your OPCO (Skills Operator)? Processing times can be lengthy: the earlier you start the process, the better your chances of securing funding before the end of the year.
Start your recruitment now if you need to. A recruitment process launched in September will be completed in November. A recruitment process launched in November will be completed in January, at best. If you've identified a staffing need to support your growth in the last quarter, don't delay. Write a precise job description, define your ideal candidate profile, and start the recruitment process. A rushed recruitment is more expensive than a well-prepared one.
Check your HR obligations. The Single Document for the Assessment of Occupational Risks (DUERP) must be updated at least once a year. Are your employees' medical examinations up to date? Are current contracts compliant? These points, checked in half a day, will help you avoid difficult situations during an inspection or dispute.
Set 3 realistic goals to finish the year
This is perhaps the most important part of this checklist, and often the most overlooked. Many leaders have annual objectives set in January, but few review them in September to adjust them to reality and define clear priorities for the final months.
The rule is simple: no more than three objectives for the last quarter. Not ten, not five: three. Beyond that, everything becomes a priority, which is tantamount to saying that nothing really is.
How to choose these three objectives?
Start with your review of the first 8 months. What is the difference between your forecast and your actual results? What are the two or three levers that would have the greatest impact on your year-end results? These are the levers that should become your objectives.
Each objective must be formulated precisely and measurably. Not "improve prospecting," but "sign 3 new clients in sector X by November 30th." Not "improve cash flow," but "reduce the outstanding receivables balance to below €20,000 by October 15th."
A specific objective allows you to measure progress, adjust actions along the way, and know clearly whether you have achieved it or not.
Share these goals with your team. An objective that only you know is unlikely to be achieved. When your colleagues understand what you are trying to accomplish and why, they can contribute, propose ideas, and adjust their priorities.
Plan a halfway point. Set aside half a day in mid-October to review your progress on your three objectives. If one of them is behind schedule, you'll have another six weeks to get back on track. If you wait until December to do this review, it will be too late.
Back-to-school season is also the perfect time to centralize your business operations. Djaboo, designed for very small businesses and SMEs, allows you to manage your invoicing, customer relationships, projects, and team tracking all in one place, without requiring any technical skills. A clear dashboard, accessible to all your employees, reduces the time spent searching for information and gives you a real-time view of your progress.
FAQ: Your questions about your company's return to work
Is it absolutely necessary to do a full financial review in September, or is a quick update sufficient?
A quick review of the five key indicators (revenue, gross margin, available cash, outstanding receivables, and quote conversion rate) is enough to guide your decisions for the last quarter. A full financial statement is the responsibility of your accountant, usually prepared at the end of the fiscal year. What matters in September is having a sufficiently clear operational overview to take action.
How to prioritize between following up on outstanding payments and resuming prospecting?
Start with outstanding invoices. The money you've already earned but haven't yet received is your number one priority. A prompt follow-up on an invoice has a much better chance of being paid than one that's forgotten. Once you've initiated these follow-ups, you can resume prospecting in parallel, as the two activities require different amounts of time and resources.
What are the most frequent mistakes made by managers of very small and small businesses at the start of the new academic year?
Three mistakes are consistently repeated. The first: immediately plunging back into operations without taking the time to assess the situation, which leads to repeating the same patterns. The second: setting too many objectives, which dilutes efforts and prevents any of them from being achieved. The third: neglecting cash flow forecasting and discovering year-end pressures too late, when room for maneuver is already limited.
Can all these tasks really be managed in parallel with the day-to-day running of the company?
Yes, provided they are tackled in order and spread out over the first two weeks of September. The financial statement and the list of outstanding payments can be completed in a morning. The cash flow forecast takes two to three hours. Individual meetings can be scheduled over two weeks, at a rate of two per day. None of these tasks requires blocking out an entire week: they demand method and consistency, not endless time.
