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Improve your record keeping

Having accurate financial records is not only a good practice, it is a requirement if you want expansion funding. Sales revenues, tax statements and other proof of the soundness of your business are crucial to securing capital. Financial institutions base their decisions on such data. Keeping accurate records also helps you to better forecast the firm's position in the future.

Pay your estimated quarterly taxes on time and do not procrastinate on annual returns

Getting hit with a large bill on April 15 causes unnecessary strain on a business and cuts into your cash on hand for daily operations. If you have been paying your quarterly estimated taxes all along, you are less likely of having to scramble to pay the IRS when your 2011 filings are due. So make a resolution to pay the proper amount of taxes on a quarterly basis so that you avoid a big bill at the end of the year.

Cut your cost of capital

You may be paying too much for your current working capital. Lenders may be charging lower interest rates now than they were when you borrowed money previously. You can either refinance with your current bank or shop around to find someone who will give you a lower rate. Biz2Credit has helped a number of companies such as Iselin, NJ-based Silicon Alley Group, lower their cost of capital, which ultimately frees money up for business expansion and new job creation.

Take the time now to assess your business and plan for the year ahead. But do not wait until next December -- when it will be too late to make changes for 2012 -- to do it again. Review your financial statements monthly and try to forecast the future revenues and expenses. This will help you to achieve your monthly resolutions to grow your business incrementally all year long.

Rohit Arora is co-founder and CEO of Biz2Credit (www.biz2credit.com), an online resource that connects 6 million small business owners with 450 lenders, credit rating agencies and service providers such as CPAs and attorneys via its Internet platform. Since 2007, Biz2Credit has secured more than $500 million in funding for small businesses in New Jersey and across the U.S.