After the first full pass through the A to Z checklist, most letters only need a short, scheduled look once a year. The trick is to spread them out. This calendar assigns two or three letters to each month, with the heavy reviews placed where most Canadian businesses have a little breathing room.
It assumes a calendar year-end. If yours differs, slide the whole table so that Y falls just after your fiscal year closes. Tax and filing dates are not on this calendar; they live on your own F calendar, confirmed with your accountant, because they depend on your structure and registrations.
The year at a glance
Here is the full calendar. Copy it into whatever you already use for appointments.
| Month | Letters | The check |
|---|---|---|
| January | F, C | Build this year's filing calendar with your accountant; confirm bank signers |
| February | G, R | Refresh Google profile photos and hours; review last year's review count |
| March | I, V | Insurance renewal prep with your broker; list contracts ending this year |
| April | S, W | Check service pages are current; test the website on a phone |
| May | H, J | Before summer hiring, re-check payroll and workers' comp; tidy job records |
| June | P, U | Privacy policy matches reality; consent records are complete |
| July | Q, M | Test your own response time; confirm measurement still counts inquiries |
| August | O, K | Re-price and re-word the offer; compare key numbers with last August |
| September | L, B | Licence and registration renewal dates; business details current everywhere |
| October | Z, T | Zero-based spending review; cancel tools nobody uses |
| November | N, D, E | Name and trademark watch; domain renewal and email admin check |
| December | Y, A, X | Year-end review; refresh the key list and the extra-key note |
Quarter one: set up the year
January to March is about dates, money and cover. The year starts with letter F because everything else hangs off it.
In January, sit down with your accountant or bookkeeper and put every filing, remittance and renewal date for the year into one calendar, each with a named owner. Then check letter C: who can sign at the bank, and is that still right?
In February, the Google profile gets its yearly refresh. ☐ New photos. ☐ Holiday hours set for the year. ☐ Services list current. Then count last year's new reviews against the year before. If the number fell, your asking routine slipped.
In March, prepare for insurance renewal (I) by writing down what changed in the business: new services, new staff, a vehicle, a second location. Hand that list to your licensed broker. Then list every contract (V) that ends or auto-renews this year.
Quarter two: the customer-facing letters
April to June checks what customers see and what you collect from them.
April is for search and website. ☐ Each service page still describes something you sell. ☐ Prices or "from" figures are current. ☐ The site loads quickly on a phone and the number is tappable. A ten-minute check on your own phone, on mobile data, catches most problems.
May comes before the summer hiring rush. If you will add seasonal staff, re-check letter H: your payroll setup, your provincial workers' compensation registration and the employment standards where they will work. Our areas pages link the workers' compensation board for each province and territory. Then tidy job records (J), so the busy season starts with a clean system.
June is privacy and consent. ☐ Your privacy policy describes what you actually collect today. ☐ Every marketing contact on your list has a consent record. If you started texting customers this year, that is exactly the kind of change the policy and consent records must catch up with.
Quarter three: test and tune
July to September is for honest testing.
In July, call your own business from a number staff do not recognise, during a busy hour, and send a text. Time the response (Q). Then confirm measurement (M) still works: website changes often break call and email tracking quietly.
In August, look at the offer (O) and the key numbers (K) side by side. Compare inquiries, close rate and average sale with last August, not last month, so seasonality does not fool you. If close rate fell, the offer or the follow-up probably needs work.
In September, check licences (L) and registrations (B). Find each renewal date, and confirm that your business name, address area and phone number match across your registration, Google profile, website and invoices. Corporations registered federally can find their obligations through Corporations Canada; provincial registries are linked on each region page.
Quarter four: cut, renew and review
October to December holds the two heavy reviews, Z and Y, plus the renewals that cause the worst surprises.
October is for the zero-based review (Z). List every recurring cost from your statements and ask of each: if we were starting today, would we buy this? Most small businesses find software (T) they no longer use. Cancel before year-end renewals hit.
November covers name, domain and email. ☐ Search the trademarks database and your registry for confusingly similar new names. ☐ Domain auto-renew on, card valid. ☐ Email admin list current, former staff removed.
December closes the year. For Y, compare the year's key numbers with last year's and write three lessons. Then refresh the key list (A) and the extra-key note (X) described in the accounts you own guide. Also confirm where your records are kept: the CRA's keeping records page explains that business records must be kept organised, and links its rules on where and for how long. Ask your accountant how those rules apply to you.
Making the calendar stick
Put the letters in your calendar as recurring appointments, not as a note. A one-hour slot on the first Tuesday of each month works for most owners.
- Give each month an owner. In a two-person business, alternate.
- Keep the marked-up checklist in the same folder as the key list.
- If a month slips, do it next month alongside the scheduled letters, rather than skipping it.
If you want someone to hold you to the calendar, our letter-a-month advisory is built around it. Otherwise, print the full checklist and start with January's letters, whatever month it is.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just do the whole checklist every January?
Because a 26-letter review in one month competes with everything else January brings. Two or three letters a month takes under an hour each and nothing gets skipped.
Does this calendar include tax deadlines?
No. Your filing and remittance dates depend on your structure, year-end and registrations, so they belong on your own F calendar, confirmed with your accountant. This calendar covers the business and marketing checks around them.
What if my fiscal year does not end in December?
Shift the calendar so Y (year-end review) falls in the month after your fiscal year-end, and move the other letters with it.
How long does each month take?
Most months take under an hour. October and December are heavier, at two to three hours, because they hold the zero-based and year-end reviews.