opinion

Spring-Cleaning Your Business

Spring-Cleaning Your Business

Love it or hate it, spring-cleaning is a necessary evil. And that goes for your home and business. As the days grow longer, take some time now to shine a light into the deepest corners of your company. It can save you some long nights later, and you just might find a bundle of cash hiding behind those dust bunnies!

For instance, when David Hohman joined Segpay two years ago as VP of Finance, he came in with a plan — to look at our business from top to bottom and search for ways we might find inefficiencies — which led to savings of more than $20,000 per month.

To help you with spring-cleaning your business, we polled senior executives to come up with the top four ways to develop and perform your spring-cleaning plan.

Open Your Wallet and Examine Expenses

It’s easy to hand out corporate credit cards to cover everyday business expenses. But how often do you really review the purchases that are made on those cards? Are there products or services you no longer use — but are still paying for? For example, we found a host of recurring charges — from software licenses to business subscriptions that our company was no longer using. Had we not looked deeper; we might still be paying those unnecessary expenses.

Look across departments and hold your team members accountable. For example, is your IT department running as efficiently as possible? Are they holding vendors responsible for delivering on time — avoiding costly overruns on development projects? Is your marketing department getting a solid return on investment for the dollars you put against advertising, PR and events? The old saying holds true: “What gets measured, gets done.”

Dive Into Corporate Compliance Documents

As boring and tedious as it sounds, spring is also a good time to review important corporate contracts and documents. You’re having to do a lot of it already for tax season, so go the extra mile to make sure your business affairs are in order.

Start a checklist:

  • Are all your company directors and Ultimate Beneficial Owners (UBOs) current on corporate documents?
  • Have any key leaders moved or changed addresses? Do you have their driver’s license and passport numbers if needed in an emergency?
  • Have you updated and/or re-registered your corporation within the state of jurisdiction? If you’re incorporated in another state, different from your company headquarters, is that still necessary? If not, you could be faced with double taxation and compliance laws.
  • Have department heads review all important business contracts to make sure information is accurate and things like automatic extensions or proper notice of termination are followed.

Conduct a Human Resources Review

Spring is a perfect time to review your Human Resource practices, policies and procedures. Do you have the right number of staff members in place to execute your company’s business strategy? Is one department top-heavy, or have priorities changed that require a restructuring? Are you compensating your employees fairly compared to industry standards? Are you conducting annual reviews? Is your employee handbook up to date? Are you communicating with employees on a regular basis? If not, now is the time to put a better plan in place. Effective communications are critical to business success. It builds morale and fosters teamwork.

Think About Financial Year-End Preparation Now!

Even though it’s spring, now is the perfect time to start thinking about year-end reporting. For example, did you send out W2s to all full-time employees and 1099s to all your U.S. contractors, affiliates, producers and models on time this year? Review key contracts with clients and affiliates. Are they still profitable? Does the business still make sense and add to your overall profitability? Take the time to reach out to your payment processor to confirm your reserve amount and funds held. Checking those details now can save you headaches down the road.

Let’s face it — taking these steps is nowhere near as fun as a walk in the park on a beautiful spring day. Taking the time to get your business house in order will both lighten your load and allow fresh ideas to bloom.

Cathy Beardsley is president and CEO of Segpay, a global leader in merchant services offering a wide range of custom financial solutions including payment facilitator, direct merchant accounts and secure gateway services. Under her direction, Segpay has become one of four companies approved by Visa to operate as a high-risk internet payment services provider. Segpay offers secure turnkey solutions to accept online payments, with a guarantee that funds are always safe and protected with its proprietary Fraud Mitigation System and customer service and support. For any questions or help, contact sales@segpay.com or compliance@segpay.com.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

profile

Segpay Marks 20 Years of High-Risk Triumphs

Payment processors are behind-the-scenes players in the world of ecommerce, yet their role is critical. Ensuring secure, seamless transactions while navigating a rapidly changing regulatory landscape requires both technological expertise and business acumen.

Jackie Backman ·
opinion

The SCREEN Test: How to Prepare for Federal Age Verification

For those who are counting, there are now 20 enacted state laws in the United States requiring age verification for viewing online adult content, plus numerous proposed laws in the works. This ongoing barrage has been exhausting for many in the adult industry — and it may be about to escalate in the form of a potential new AV law, this time at the federal level.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

How to Master Team Dynamics for Business Success

Having the right team in place is everything. Whether getting a startup off the ground and thriving, or safeguarding an established company, the right — or wrong — people can mean the difference between a successful venture and a failed dream.

Juicy Jay ·
opinion

Eight Steps to Fast-Track AI Site Approval for Processing

Artificial intelligence is a hot topic these days. AI technology is speeding up the way we do business across all industries and offers numerous benefits, from automating processes to increasing efficiency and scalability.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

How to Secure High-Risk Transactions With Network Tokenization

Ensuring the security of data as it moves through digital channels is the foundation of safe transactions, and crucial for your success. If your business can’t secure transactions, you’re exposed to myriad processing traumas.

Jonathan Corona ·
profile

WIA Profile: Reba Rocket

As chief operating officer and chief marketing officer of Takedown Piracy, long at the forefront of intellectual property protection in adult entertainment, Rocket is dedicated to safeguarding the livelihoods of content creators and producers while fostering a more ethical and sustainable industry.

Women In Adult ·
opinion

Protecting Content Ownership Rights When Using AI

In today’s digital age, content producers have more tools at their disposal than ever before. Among these tools, artificial intelligence (AI) content generation has emerged as a game changer, enabling creators to produce high-quality content quickly and efficiently.

Corey D. Silverstein ·
opinion

How Payment Orchestration Can Help Your Business

An emerging payment solution is making waves in the merchant world: the payment orchestration platform (POP). It’s quickly gaining traction as a powerful tool for managing online payments — but questions abound.

Cathy Beardsley ·
opinion

Fine-Tuning Refund and Cancellation Policies

For adult websites, managing refunds and cancellations isn’t just about customer service. It’s a crucial factor in maintaining compliance with the regulations of payment processors and payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard.

Jonathan Corona ·
profile

WIA Profile: Laurel Bencomo

Born in Cambridge, England but raised in Spain, Laurel Bencomo initially chose to study business at the University of Barcelona simply because it felt familiar — both of her parents are entrepreneurs. She went on to earn a master’s degree in sales and marketing management at the EADA Business School, while working in events for a group of restaurants in Barcelona.

Women In Adult ·
Show More