Closing between Christmas and New Year? How To Ensure Your Property Doesn’t Encounter Issues

It’s hard to step away from your business without worrying about everything going on without you. The few days between Christmas and New Year is often the only time small business owners get off without needing to constantly be on the other end of the phone. When you close for Christmas, there are a few basic things you can do to ensure your building makes it through what is often the coldest part of the year without any hiccups – making sure that you can return back to business as usual in the new year.

Turn off and Unplug

Taking the time to make sure unnecessary items are unplugged or switched off over the Christmas break can save electrical waste, lower your fire risk and protects your equipment against electrical surges. Talk Business reported that “leaving a laptop on charge for 24 hours costs £1.68, so for a company of 20 employees, laptops consistently left plugged in can set your company back a considerable £12,200 per year”. When scaling this up to 2,000 employees this is a staggering 1,223,040 per year” (based on 7 days per week for 52 weeks). Meaning that unplugging during the festive season can save your business considerable cash on your annual electric bill.

Heating

Keeping your heating on might sound like it would be costly when nobody is in the building but just turning the thermostat down to a lower temperature can reduce your bill and it means you won’t have any boiler/heating issues from restarting the system when you come back in the new year.

Ventilation

If your business is staying closed for a period of time it’s important to make sure it’s well ventilated. Ventilation is important as it controls how much moisture is lingering in your building and a buildup of moisture can create damp and mold. Keeping your building well ventilated will ensure the health and safety of you, your employees and your customers.

Security

With nobody in the building it is a lot safer to put in security measures than to risk any break ins. CCTV, alarm systems and even security guards can put your mind at ease over the Christmas break.

Planned Maintenance

Having your planned maintenance carried out over the break is great for a couple of reasons. For one, it’s a good security measure having people in the building instead of it being left unattended, this can also mean you don’t have to carry out all of the shutdown procedures like switching off items they may use. Secondly, carrying maintenance works when the building is empty / quiet shall reduce any interruption to your business.

It can be tough to step away from your business, but Christmas is a great time to reconnect with family and friends and get some well-deserved rest ready to tackle a new year. By planning correctly, you can ensure that when you step back in January, everything will run smoothly, and you can have a great start to your year.