For most people, the holidays are a happy time – but the jolly feeling may be particularly strong for a small business that is looking forward to hearing the jingle of the cash register, notching up Christmas sales to be recorded by their accounting software.

Here are some suggestions to get your business ready for the holiday season.

Make sure your website is ready for business. This holds true for both the service provider and the retailer. Now is the time to make any changes that are needed to bring your website up to par. Make sure your websites are in tip-top shape, with user-friendly features, clearly explained purchase policies and any special promotions featured prominently.

For service providers if you are marketing a holiday special rate or another actionable item you may want to offer your clients the opportunity to pay online for that deal. If so, make certain you are using a reputable online merchant such as Intuit Payments, Square.com or PayPay, all are secured sites and security out-weighs the merchant fees that you’ll be charged, which by the way are tax deductible.

For the retailer, if you are running an e-commerce or shopping cart you may want to update your security software and display security credential on all your pages.

Promote the holiday spirit. This can be as easy as applying a seasonal theme to your website or putting up decorations in your bricks-and-mortar store. It can also involve giving away free candy canes with every purchase or arranging for staff to wear Santa hats. Encouraging a holiday spirit will help nudge people into opening their pocketbooks, boosting the numbers recorded by your accounting software.

Plan your marketing approach. Get people ready for the holiday season – and let them know you’re ready – through marketing. Marketing is the key to holiday sales success!

Spend some time and lay out a detailed marketing plan for the period. Be creative, the television networks use the 25 Days to Christmas Countdown, so put your creative hat one and come up with your own. In years past, I did “Aileen’s Count Down to the Holidays,” where I highlighted ten businesses which included business associates and some clients. This successfully went viral over all my social media outlets and generated a ton of traffic for me. So be creative and social!

Manage your finances. It is important to use your accounting software to budget for the ups and downs of your business cycle. During the holiday season, your business may also face some additional costs for various goodwill gestures. For example, do you plan to throw a holiday party for your employees or clients? Are you going to give out gifts or bonuses? Make sure you have adequately budgeted for extra holiday spending.

Finally, get ready for the post-holiday. As small business owners there are no set rules like the big-box stores. The month of January can almost be as profitable as the holiday shopping season. Create some strategies based on your industry. This post-holiday can be very lucrative for service providers as many entrepreneurs are planning their yearly goals which then they are looking to get coaching assistance, financial advice, or outsourced solutions.