We‘ve probably all broken our new year resolutions already but the start of the year can be a good time to review your business arrangements too.

By thoroughly assessing your business needs and putting in measures to improve any potential problems you‘ll derive long-term benefits, which is more than can be said for those ideas about joining a gym.

The following tips from invoice discounting company Bibby Financial Services show how you can give your business a new year boost:

Conduct a review. A review of the business over the past year can show what worked well and what didn‘t. By looking at the successes and the failures over the past year will put you in a far better position to plan effectively for 2007

Start planning. Meticulous planning is the key to business success. Ensure you review your business objectives and prioritise everything you want to achieve in the coming year. Developing a detailed action plan will help

Think to the future. Take the time to thoroughly research new business opportunities. With clear minds after the Christmas break you may be able to brainstorm some inspired ideas that could help move your business forward

Get organised. Organisation is one of the keys to success, ensuring all your files and paperwork are in order along with your finances is vital. This will enable you to get back into the flow of work quickly

Detox your desktop. Keep only the relevant information that you are working on at the moment on your desk and keep personal items to a minimum to prevent your mind from wandering. Clearing the decks will help you concentrate more on the tasks at hand

Clear your computer. See the wood from the trees by having a good sort out of your computer and deleting all spam and junk emails that you do not need. Act on any urgent messages and organise the rest in relevant files

Back up data. Customer data, stock lists and business records are among the things that, if lost, could have a devastating impact on the business. Either back up your data on to a disk or use a professional data back-up company to store it for you

Take control. Be firm with your debtors and develop watertight credit control systems. Issue regular statements and reminder invoices and call customers if payment is late. You may want to consider alternative methods of funding such as invoice finance to guarantee your business a flexible and regular source of cash

Harness people power. Review your staffing levels for the coming year and plan to cover staff holidays or peak season demand. If there are any significant skills gaps within your workforce that are holding your business back, consider external training courses to boost the skills of your existing staff