Half the year is already behind you. Before the pace of summer takes over, June is the ideal moment to step back, assess where your business really stands, and set yourself up for a strong second half.

Five areas to assess before July

1 of 5

How did the first half of the year go?

Start with the numbers, not the narrative. Pull up your accounts and compare your actual revenue and profit against whatever targets or expectations you had at the start of the year. 

Were there months that underperformed? Were there areas of the business that surprised you positively?

The goal here isn’t to judge the past six months, it’s to understand them well enough to learn from them. What worked? What didn’t? What would you do differently in H2?

2 of 5

Where does your cash flow stand heading into summer?

Summer is a period that catches many SME owners off guard. Business can feel fine in June and once July and August arrive, customer decision-making slows, invoices take longer to be approved, and now the cash position looks very different.

Now is the time to map out your expected cash flow for the next 90 days. What revenue are you confident will come in? What are your committed outgoings? Where are the gaps, and how would you bridge them if needed?

If you don’t currently produce a cash flow forecast, even a simple one covering the next three months can be illuminating — your accountant can help you put one together quickly.

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What is your current tax position?

A mid-year tax review is one of the most valuable things a business owner can do. By June, you have six months of real trading data to work with, which means your accountant can give you a much more accurate picture of your likely tax liability for the year than they could in January.

This matters for a few reasons. If your profits are higher than expected, you may want to consider legitimate ways to reduce your liability — pension contributions, planned investments, or timing of certain expenditure. If things have been tougher than anticipated, it’s worth understanding whether your payment on account arrangements still reflect your likely bill.

Has anything changed in your business this year that could affect your tax position? A new member of staff, a change in how you trade, additional revenue streams? These are all worth flagging to your accountant sooner rather than later.

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Are your H2 targets still realistic?

If you set goals at the start of the year now is the moment to revisit them honestly.

A target that made sense in January, before a difficult Q1 or an unexpected market shift, may need to be adjusted. Equally, a business that has significantly outperformed its early expectations should be setting more ambitious goals for H2.

Good H2 targets are specific, grounded in your actual financial position, and connected to a clear plan for how you’ll achieve them. If yours aren’t quite there yet, June is the time to sharpen them.

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What does your business need to grow in the second half?

Growth rarely happens by accident. If you want H2 to look materially different from H1, it usually requires deliberate investment of some kind. Whether that’s a new hire, additional marketing spend, a piece of equipment, new premises, or simply more of your own time focused on the right things.

The question to answer now is: what would make the biggest difference to your business between now and December, and what would it cost? Running those numbers before you commit to anything allows you to make those decisions from a position of clarity.

If external finance might be part of the picture, now is also a good time to have that conversation. Lenders and investors take time, and starting the process in June gives you far more options than starting in September.

Making the most of the review

Working through these five areas honestly, ideally with your accountant alongside you, gives you a clear starting point for H2, an accurate picture of your financial position, and a set of priorities that are grounded in reality rather than assumption.

A focused two-hour conversation, with the right preparation and the right support, can set the tone for the entire second half of the year.

Where a good accountant makes a real difference

The best accountant relationships aren’t just about compliance, they’re about having someone in your corner who understands your business well enough to help you make better decisions.

At Sawford Bullard, this is the kind of support we aim to provide to every client. Practical, forward-looking, and useful for the business decisions you’re making right now.

If you’d like to work through a mid-year review with our team, or simply have a conversation about where your business stands and what H2 could look like, we’d love to hear from you.

Get in touch with the team at Sawford Bullard →