End-of-year checklist

The end-of-year checklist is designed to minimize some of the stress of the end-of-year process. It provides an overview of the best practices for completing IDEXX Neo end-of-year tasks:

1. Finalize accounting and inventory.
2. Print reports.
3. Back up local files.
4. Prepare for next year. 
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Click the links in the steps below for more detail.

Step 1: Finalize accounting and inventory

1. Consider writing off bad accounts
   • Review overdue accounts to determine the age of the account balance.
   • Write off bad debt.
     Note: For written-off accounts, add a write-off alert to the client’s Alert tab or inactivate the client.
2. Complete invoicing
   • Review, edit, and finalize your draft consultations and complete all invoices for the year.
3. Finalize inventory
   • If you keep track of inventory in Neo, we recommend that you do the following to get a complete picture of your year-end inventory and to make sure all of your reports are accurate:
   • Enter all inventory receipts.
   • Perform a cycle count.
   • Use the Inventory Valuation report for a list of current products and associated quantity and cost. To run the report, go to Reports > Product Reports > Inventory Valuation.
   • Adjust stock levels.
   • Correct any costs, as needed. 

4. Run inventory reports for end of year record keeping

   • Review the Inventory Valuation report to obtain the value of your year-end inventory. This is especially important if your practice does not take physical inventory at the end of the year.
     • The Inventory Valuation report lists current stock levels and the current cost (value) of your inventory. You should run it after completing all invoicing for the year, performing a cycle count, and adjusting stock levels and costs, where needed.
     • To run the Inventory Valuation report, go to Reports > Product Reports > Inventory Valuation.

   Note: Because the Inventory Valuation report doesn’t include date range as a report parameter, it must be printed exactly when needed to report correct values. For example, run the report on the last day of the year to obtain end-of-year inventory totals.

Step 2: Print reports

Most reports include date range filters and can be printed at any time.

Recommended end of year reports:

What you Need	IDEXX Neo Report or Page	Path to Locate
A high-level summary of your sales totals, client and patient activity, and appointments for the year.	Practice Dashboard	Reports > Practice Dashboard
List of all payments received	Payment Summary	Administration > Payment Summary
	Individual Client Payments and Invoices (Individual client payments)	Reports > Client Reports
Total of yearly sales	Sales by Product Class	Reports > Sales Reports
	Dispensed Products in date range	Reports > Product Reports
	Total Practice Revenue grouped by branch	Reports > Sales Reports
Unpaid balances	Aged Accounts Receivable	Reports > Client Reports
Written off accounts	Bad Debts	Reports > Client Reports
	Statements > View Bad Debts	Administration > Statements
Inventory quantities and costs	Inventory Valuation*	Reports > Products Reports
	Cost of Goods Sold	Reports > Products Reports
New client and patient counts	New Clients and Patients	Reports > Client Reports
Staff productivity	Sales and Cost of Sales filtered by Veterinarian Sales by Product Class	Reports > Sales Reports
Sales tax amounts	Sales Tax Summary	Reports > Tax Reports

IMPORTANT: As a reminder, because the Inventory Valuation report doesn’t include date range as a report parameter, it must be printed exactly when needed to report correct values. For example, run the report on the last day of the year to obtain end-of-year inventory totals.

For more details on reports, see how to run reports in Neo.

Step 3: Back up local files

Since Neo is stored in the cloud, there’s no need to back it up. You should, however, back up other important information, for example: your Desktop, My Documents, and accounting software files.

Step 4: Prepare for next year

The end of the year is a good time to plan for next year. Some key things to consider:

1. Review your operational and financial performance.
2. Inactivate clients and patients that you haven’t seen.
   • Use the Find your "lost" clients report to find clients you saw last year but not this year.
3. Update product pricing.
   • Apply mass changes (mass markups) to product selling prices using Product Bulk Changes.
4. Inactivate products not used.
   • Use the Dispensed Products in date range report to find the last time a product has been sold.
     Note: Remember to backdate the date range.
5. Review and update Financial Settings, as needed.
   • Review or update your Monthly Finance Charge percentage. 
   • Add, edit, or delete balance adjustments.
   • Manage discount reasons.
   • Manage payment methods used for recording payments.
6. Review and update your patient species and breeds lists.
7. Create a marketing plan.
   • Use the Client Mailing List or Patient Mailing List with Filters for Products and Signalment reports to send mass communications like newsletters or promotional information to clients.
8. Make business planning a weekly event.
9. Evaluate your goals: are they S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, Time-specific)?