Year-End Bookkeeping Checklist: Close the Books with Confidence
As the year comes to a close, business owners everywhere are preparing for one of the most important financial tasks of the season—closing the books. A clean year-end helps you start the new year with clarity, confidence, and accurate numbers you can rely on for tax filing, forecasting, and strategic decisions.
To make this process easier, we’ve created a practical Year-End Bookkeeping Checklist to guide you step by step.
1. Reconcile All Bank & Credit Card Accounts
Ensure every transaction matches what’s on your bank and credit card statements. Accurate reconciliation helps you feel confident that your financial records truly reflect your business activities, which is essential for trust and clarity.
✔ Bank accounts
✔ Credit cards
✔ PayPal, Stripe, Square, etc.
2. Review Accounts Receivable
Make sure your books accurately reflect who owes you money, including checking for duplicate invoices or unrecorded payments. Send out any outstanding invoices and follow up on late payments to ensure your revenue numbers are complete and tax-ready.
Send out any outstanding invoices.
Follow up on late payments.
Write off uncollectible invoices if needed.
Accurate A/R ensures your revenue numbers are complete and tax-ready.
3. Verify Accounts Payable
Now is the time to ensure you’ve logged all unpaid bills.
Enter any missing vendor invoices.
Schedule payments.
Make sure expenses are categorized correctly.
Proper A/P management helps you avoid late fees and keeps your cost records accurate.
4. Update Payroll & Contractor Records
Payroll can get messy if not reviewed before year-end.
Confirm employee information
Verify W-2 totals
Ensure contractor payments are correct for 1099-NEC forms.
Record all bonuses and holiday pay.
This prepares you for smooth January filings.
5. Review Fixed Assets & Depreciation
If you've purchased, sold, or disposed of equipment this year, review your records for accuracy. Make sure to add new assets, remove disposed ones, and verify depreciation schedules to prevent surprises during tax season and ensure balance sheet accuracy.
Add new equipment assets.
Remove disposed assets
Verify depreciation schedules
Accurate asset tracking affects both your tax deductions and your balance sheet.
6. Categorize All Expenses
Uncategorized or miscategorized transactions cause tax-time headaches. Review your expense accounts and ensure everything is clearly and accurately labeled.
Helpful categories to double-check:
✔ Meals & entertainment
✔ Software subscriptions
✔ Contractor payments
✔ Travel
✔ Office expenses
7. Conduct a Financial Statement Review
Once reconciliations and adjustments are complete, review your year-end reports:
Profit & Loss Statement
Balance Sheet
Cash Flow Statement
Look for unusual variances, negative balances, or categories that need cleanup. Your reports should tell a clear, accurate story of your financial year.
8. Prepare for Tax Season Early
Your year-end books feed directly into your tax return, so being proactive allows for:
Better strategic planning
Early identification of deductions
Fewer surprises at tax time
Share your finalized books with your tax professional as soon as they're complete.
9. Plan for the New Year
Once your books are closed, take a moment to reflect. Planning for the new year can motivate you and help you set achievable goals based on insights from this year's financial review.
Ask yourself:
What worked this year?
Where did we overspend?
What revenue streams performed best?
Should we adjust our budget or goals?
Year-end bookkeeping isn’t just about compliance—it’s an opportunity to grow smarter.
Close the Year with Confidence
Taking time to clean up your books now saves stress later and sets your business up for financial success. If you need support with year-end cleanup, reconciliations, or ongoing bookkeeping, DKC Bookkeeping is here to help you start the new year strong.
Let us handle the numbers—so you can focus on the business you love.
