December is that weird month where everyone’s simultaneously trying to get projects done before the holidays, close out the year, and somehow still run their business. Holiday parties, year-end vendor calls, and family obligations all compound into a blur of activity that leaves little room for the strategic thinking your business actually needs.
The businesses that thrive work smarter during December, although it can feel like they’re working harder. They use this natural transition point to clear out the clutter, tighten up operations, and position themselves for a stronger year ahead.
So, instead of just surviving December and limping into January, use this time to set yourself up for success. Here are four critical areas every custom integrator should focus on before the calendar flips to 2026.
1. Start With Subtraction
We have this tendency as business owners to constantly add new software, new processes, new reporting requirements, new data points to track…. We layer on systems and steps with good intentions, but rarely subtract.
Over time, these layers accumulate into a complexity that nobody questions anymore: Your team collects data that nobody reviews; they follow steps that made sense three years ago but serve no purpose today; they navigate systems that create work without creating value.
Here’s your December audit:
Data Collection
- What information are you tracking right now?
- Who actually uses this data?
- How does it create value for customers, margins, or team development?
If you can’t answer both “who” and “how,” stop collecting it.
Process Layers
- How is each step or process adding value, and to whom?
- Which steps exist “just to be safe” or “because we’ve always done it”?
- Each one is a candidate for elimination.
When you strip away the noise, what remains are the processes that matter. Those that serve your customers, protect your margins, or develop your people.
2. The Hidden Profit in Your Expenses
Next, we will focus on the money going out the door. You probably know your big expenses: payroll, insurance, and rent. But what about all those recurring charges that hit your credit card every month? Here’s your December homework: Pull up every recurring expense from 2025 and then ask two questions about each:
- What value is this adding to the business?
- Am I getting a return on this spend?
Be ruthless in your responses. That software you tried for three months and never fully implemented? Cancel it. That training tool you signed up for but never use? Cut it. That association membership where you haven’t attended a single event? Gone.
Then look at your vendor relationships:
- Are you maximizing every program available?
- Are you in a buying group, and, if so, are you aligned with the right vendors and programs?
- Have you reviewed terms and pricing recently?
Most integrators leave money on the table here because they don’t regularly review what’s available. For every 1% bottom-line profit improvement through better vendor terms, eliminated waste, or optimized spending, you gain $10k for every million dollars in revenue. Invested properly over time, that $10,000 could easily become $100k+. If your $3M integration company improved profit by 2% in 2026, you just gained $60k over the year. That could fund a new hire, it could be your marketing budget, or it could be the buffer that gets you through a slow quarter.
Small improvements in spending discipline compound, and December is the perfect time to find them.
3. The Collections Conversation Nobody Wants to Have
Let’s look at accounts receivable, because this is where a lot of integrators get themselves into trouble.
You’ve done the work. You’ve sent the invoice (or maybe you haven’t yet) and now it’s sitting there…30, 60, maybe 90 days past due. You tell yourself you’ll follow up next week, but next week becomes next month, and suddenly it’s Q1 of 2026, and you’re trying to collect on work you did last summer.
Collecting overdue invoices gets exponentially harder with time. The relationship cools, the customer’s priorities shift, and their memory of the project — and their satisfaction with it — fades. What felt urgent to them in October feels optional by February.
Also by Matt Bernath: The Three-Pillar Framework
December matters. Before the year closes, you need to have the collections conversation. Do it clearly and directly, without damaging the relationship.
Here’s an approach that works: “We’re closing out our books for 2025, and I wanted to reach out about invoice #[X]. I know things get busy this time of year, but we need to resolve any outstanding balances before year-end. Can we get this taken care of this week?”
Most customers will respect the deadline. Some will have legitimate reasons for the delay and will work with you on a plan. A few will give you the runaround, and those customers are teaching you something about your credit policies and project terms for 2026.
While you’re in collection mode, tackle the other side of the ledger: bad debt. If you have invoices from 2024 or earlier that you know you’re never going to collect, write them off and get them out of your books.
4. Planning 2026 With Actual Data
You’ve simplified your operations, optimized your expenses, and cleaned up your receivables. Now comes the most important part: looking forward.
Most business owners approach planning for the new year with some combination of hope and guesswork. “We did $2 million this year, so maybe we’ll do $2.2 million next year?” Here’s a better approach (and the one we use at VITAL): Add your total backlog of unbilled revenue (unfinished work) to your last six months’ total of new projects signed. That number gives you a solid estimate for your revenue in 2026. Why does this work? Because it accounts for both your forward momentum (the backlog you’re carrying) and your current sales velocity (what you’ve actually closed recently). Once you have that projection, you can make real decisions.
If your 2026 estimate is higher than 2025:
- Do you have the team to handle that growth?
- Where will bottlenecks show up?
- Do you need another project manager? Another installer?
- Do you have systems to manage increased volume?
Growth is great, but unmanaged growth destroys businesses. Plan for the capacity you’ll need before you need it.
If your 2026 estimate is lower than 2025, then it is a harder conversation, but also the more important one. If revenue is projected to decline, you need to right-size your team before the cash flow problems start.
I know this sounds harsh, but running out of cash in Q2 because you waited too long to make hard decisions is harsher. Your responsibility as a leader is to ensure the business survives and thrives.
Remember: Compensation is the single largest expense in your business and the most important one to manage well. Right-sizing your team keeps your business sustainable.
The Clean Slate
Most integrators will push through December, take a few days off for the holidays, and stumble into January with the same expenses, the same complexity, the same messy AR, and the same vague sense that “this year will be better.” But better requires intention.
Also by Matt Bernath: Building the Financial Foundation
The businesses that win in 2026 will be the ones that used December to create clarity: They cut what wasn’t working, optimized what remained, collected what was owed, and planned based on real data.
You have a few weeks to do this work. And it is not easy: deletion feels uncomfortable, collections conversations challenge relationships, and planning for potential reductions weighs heavily. But on January 2, when you sit down at your desk with clean books, a simplified operation, and a realistic plan, you’ll feel something most business owners don’t: control.
And control, in an industry as chaotic as custom integration, gives you the ultimate competitive advantage.
If you want more practical strategies for building a business that works without constant chaos, check out The Flywheel Effect podcast. We break down the real challenges of running a custom integration business and the actual solutions that work. The goal is to build something that lasts.
