Advisory Board
We all know that the start of a new calendar year is the perfect time to reset, realign and set goals, both in your business and personal life.
To help out, we’ve pulled together a handy start-of-year business planning guide for owners, created by our team of specialists across accounting, advisory, legal, wealth, real estate + more.
1. realign + reset your strategy for 2026
Before you rush into the new year with a long to‑do list, zoom out and ask:
- What worked in 2025?
- What didn’t?
- What has changed in your market, your team, or your personal priorities?
- What does success actually look like for you by the end of 2026?
A structured planning session, either with your leadership team or with an external facilitator, can help you cut through the noise and focus on what really matters.
Use the start of the year to:
- clarify your goals for 2026,
- decide what you’re going to stop doing,
- set 90‑day priorities so the big goals translate into real action, and
- get your leaders on the same page and aligned.
If your 2025 plan ended up in the bottom drawer, it might be time to rethink your planning process. Click here to get our Strategy Reset Playbook.
2. complete a legal health check + risk review
The end of the year is a natural time to check-in on things.
Whilst a legal health check isn’t the kind of resolution you can toast to with fireworks and champagne, proactive work here can save a lot of time, money and stress later.
It’s a risk management review of your business and is key to protecting your assets, highlighting potential weaknesses, and closing the gap in any regulatory compliance.
Consider a legal health check across your:
- business structure,
- shareholder or partnership agreements,
- key contracts,
- IP protection, and
- privacy, data + regulatory obligations.
Want to dive deeper? Senior Associate Chris Burling has compiled his top legal health assessment tips here.
3. thinking of selling your business in 2026? start now
If selling or stepping back from your business is part of your plan, the decisions you make now will matter.
The new year is a great time to be honest with yourself:
- Do you see yourself still in this business in 3–5 years?
- Is your energy and appetite for growth still where it needs to be?
- Are you building a business that someone else would want to buy?
If a sale or succession is on the horizon, start to:
- get your financial information up to date,
- systemise key processes,
- identify areas that could drag price or terms down, and
- talk to advisers early.
Even if you don’t sell in 2026, doing this work will generally improve performance and value.
Broking Director + Business Sale Advisor Brad Dean walks through 6 steps to prepare your business for sale in his recent article here.
4. focus on building the value of your business
Even if you’re not thinking about selling, building a more valuable business gives you options: access to capital, the ability to step back, stronger succession and better sleep at night.
To improve your business’ value, it’s important to understand how valuations work, your capitalisation multiple, and the key drivers of value in your specific business.
From there, you can build your 2026 plan around lifting the right levers.
To help with where to focus, I’ve broken down how to increase the value of your business with areas you can start working on now.
5. implement new tech in a way that actually sticks
If 2026 is the year you finally upgrade systems, move more to the cloud or clean up your app stack, make sure you’re setting yourself up for success.
Before you jump in, take the time to:
- join demos,
- ask all the right questions,
- use free trials,
- get feedback,
- check how new apps will integrate with your existing stack,
- create alignment with your team,
- and more!
Director, Rebecca Mihalic has put together a practical guide to implementing new tech and making it stick – it’s a great place to start if you’re thinking of a tech refresh in 2026!
6. cleanse what’s dragging down performance + profitability
A new year is the perfect excuse for a business detox.
Over time, every business accumulates ‘baggage’ unprofitable products, clunky processes, outdated systems, or even cultural issues that nobody has had the courage to tackle.
Sometimes the fastest way to improve profitability is to stop doing things that no longer serve the business.
Start your business detox with Director, Bradley Conn‘s 10 things to cleanse from your business in 2026 – and if you’re a real estate business owner, we’ve got 10 things specifically just for you, here.
7. check-in on your estate plan
While you’re thinking big‑picture about the business, don’t forget about your personal world.
Life, family circumstances and asset positions change quickly. An estate plan that made sense three years ago may not reflect your current reality.
As we transition into a new year, it’s a good time to review your estate planning documents, including your:
- will,
- enduring power of attorney, and
- superannuation + death benefits.
This isn’t just about “worst case scenario” planning – it’s about ensuring your wishes are carried out as you intend and that everything you’re working so hard to build ends up in the right hands, in the right way.
If you’re not sure where to start, Senior Associate Victoria Mercer has put together an article on the annual check-up your estate plan needs.
8. set your personal finance for the new year
Now’s also a good time to set your personal financial goals whether that be debt reduction, savings, investing or even retirement.
Start by taking stock of where you are now, then set clear, realistic goals for 2026. This could involve building a cash buffer, paying down a specific loan, or increasing regular contributions to super or investments.
From there, set up a simple spending and savings plan [or budget] that supports those goals and review it regularly through the year so you can adjust as things change.
For a handy guide to setting your financial goals for 2026, check out Financial Planner + Director Simone Murad’s latest blog here.
9. if you’re in real estate, get clear on your 2026 metrics
For principals and leaders in real estate, tracking and reporting the right way is key to making better decisions in 2026.
Whether you’re reporting monthly, quarterly, or at least a couple of times a year, you want clear visibility into how the business is really performing, where there’s room for improvement, and which levers you can pull.
Director Craig Harrison, breaks down the key metrics real estate businesses should be tracking on a regular basis, watch it here.
pick your top 3 + get started now!
You don’t have to overhaul everything all at once. Instead:
- Pick your top 3 – 5 priorities from this guide.
- Block time in your calendar between now and the end of February to work on them.
- Bring in the right experts so you’re not trying to figure it all out on your own.
want help getting 2026 ready?
Reach out to your usual contact in the team, email oneplace@businessdepot.com.au or give us a buzz on 1300 BDEPOT.
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Article originally published on 4 December, 2025.
BusinessDEPOT Financial Planning Pty Ltd ABN 18 611 694 421, is an authorised representative of Count Financial Limited ABN 19 001 974 625 holder of Australian financial services licence number 227232 (“Count”). Count is owned by Count Limited ABN 111 26 990 832 of GPO Box 1453, Sydney NSW 2001. Count Limited is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
General advice warning: The advice provided is general advice only. In preparing it we did not take into account your investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs. Before making an investment decision on the basis of this advice, you should consider how appropriate the advice is to your particular investment needs, and objectives. You should also consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision relating to a financial product.
