Home Checklists Year end bookkeeping checklist for small business clients
Year-end bookkeeping
Year end bookkeeping checklist for small business clients
This list closes the books for calendar year 2026, the year filed in 2027. It runs in the order the work depends on itself: cash first, then receivables and payables, then inventory and assets, then payroll and contractor reporting, then owner items. Items marked optional apply only when the client has that activity.
Who sends it Sent by the bookkeeper in early December for clients on a calendar year, with the due date set a few days after the December statements post. Tax preparers can send the same list when the client's books arrive unfinished.
Reviewed November 10, 2026 · 34 items
0 of 34 ticked
Sketch: the year end bookkeeping checklist as a client sees it on a phone in Usual Maple & Main CPA Year end bookkeeping 34 items · due Friday December statements… Opening balance check Checks written but no… Form 1099-K received Loan statements with… Continue
01 Cash and cut-off
December statements for every bank and card account The full December statement for each checking, savings, credit card and processor balance account, plus the January statement so you can test cut-off. Tip Ask: "Please upload the December statement for every account as soon as it posts, and tell us about any account you opened or closed this year."Opening balance check Confirm each account's opening balance in the books equals the ending balance on last year's final statement. A difference usually means a prior-period transaction was edited or deleted after the books were closed. Tip Run the prior-period reconciliation report and look for changes before you start this year's reconciliation.Checks written but not cleared A list of checks written in 2026 that have not cleared, with date, payee and amount, and the client's answer on whether each is still valid or should be voided. Tip Checks dated before year end but mailed in January belong in the new year, so ask for the mailing date.Payment processor payout reports Optional The yearly payout report from each processor or payment app, showing gross sales, refunds, fees and net payouts, so the clearing account reconciles to zero and fees are not netted into income. Form 1099-K received Any Form 1099-K the client receives. Compare its gross amount to sales in the books and explain the gap, which is usually refunds, fees, tips or sales tax collected. Tip A processor that settles card payments has no threshold. A payment app or marketplace files at more than $20,000 and more than 200 transactions.Loan statements with ending balance and interest The year-end statement or amortization schedule for each loan, line of credit and equipment financing, showing ending principal and total interest paid in 2026. Tip Book the interest from the lender's annual figure, not from the sum of payments, when the payments mix principal and interest.Uncategorized and suspense transactions A table of every transaction left in uncategorized, ask-my-accountant or suspense accounts, with a one-line answer from the client for each: what it was, and whether it was business or personal. Tip Send the list once, with amounts and dates, instead of asking one question at a time.Cash on hand count Optional A dated count of petty cash and any cash register float at year end, if the books carry a cash on hand account.
02 Receivables, payables and accruals
Accounts receivable aging at year end The aging report as of the last day of 2026, with the client's decision on each invoice more than 90 days old: still collecting, or uncollectible. Tip A cash-basis client has no income recorded on an unpaid invoice, so there is nothing to write off. Only accrual-basis books need the bad debt entry.Customer deposits and unearned revenue Optional A list of payments received in 2026 for work or goods not yet delivered, with customer, amount and expected delivery date. Unpaid bills at year end The accounts payable aging as of the last day of 2026, plus every vendor invoice received in January for goods or services delivered in 2026. Tip Search the January disbursements for December dates. That is the quickest test for unrecorded liabilities.Prepaid expenses and accrued costs Optional Bills paid in 2026 that cover 2027, such as annual insurance or software, and costs earned but unbilled, such as accrued bonuses or utilities. Include the invoice and the coverage period. Sales tax payable reconciliation Optional The sales tax payable balance tied to the last return filed, plus the return for the final period of 2026 if it is not yet filed.
03 Inventory and fixed assets
Year-end inventory count sheet Optional A count dated at year end by item or SKU, with quantity and unit cost, signed off by the person who counted. Compare the extended total to the inventory account and book the difference as shrinkage or adjustment. Tip If the client counts a few days early, ask for purchases and sales between the count date and year end so you can roll the count forward.Obsolete, damaged or slow stock Optional A list of items that are damaged, expired or unsold at the count, with cost and what the client expects to recover, so the inventory value is not overstated. Purchases above the de minimis limit Invoices for each item or invoice above $2,500, the de minimis safe harbor limit for a business without an audited financial statement, or $5,000 with one. Review each to decide expense or asset. Tip The election is made each year by a statement attached to a timely filed original return. Confirm whether the firm files it for this client.Fixed asset additions For each asset bought in 2026: invoice, date acquired, date placed in service, business-use percentage and whether it was financed. These fields drive Form 4562 and the choice between expensing and depreciating. Tip For tax year 2026 the section 179 limit is $2,560,000, phasing out above $4,090,000. For 2025 it was $2,500,000 and $4,000,000.Bonus depreciation eligibility Optional The acquisition date of each asset. The 100% special depreciation allowance applies to qualified property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025, so assets ordered earlier may follow different rules. Asset sales, scrapping and trade-ins Optional The date, buyer or disposal method and proceeds for every asset sold, scrapped or traded in during 2026, so the asset register and the gain or loss are correct. Vehicle mileage log Optional Business miles for each vehicle, split into January 1 to June 30 and July 1 to December 31, plus odometer readings at both ends of the year. The 2026 rate is 72.5 cents before July 1 and 76 cents from July 1. Tip The 2025 rate was 70 cents. A client with 4,200 miles in the first half and 3,800 in the second needs two calculations, not one.
04 Payroll and contractor reporting
Payroll year-end reports The payroll provider's year-end summary and quarterly Form 941 filings. Tie wages, withholding and employer taxes in the books to Form 941 totals, and clear any payroll liability balance left over. Tip A liability account with a balance after the Q4 deposit means a deposit or a posting is missing.Form 941 and Form 940 filing dates Confirm who files. Both are due January 31, which is a Sunday in 2027, so they roll to the next business day; with every deposit made on time you get 10 additional calendar days. Tip Check the provider is filing for the client rather than assuming it is.Form W-2 and Form W-3 review Names, addresses and wages for each employee before filing. The 2026 forms are due to employees and to the SSA by February 1, 2027. Include owner-employee wages and any fringe benefits that must be reported. Tip Have clients confirm employee addresses by upload or reply, never by typing ID numbers into a note.Contractor payments for 2026 A list of every vendor paid in 2026 with total paid, payment method and whether the vendor is a person, partnership or corporation. Exclude payments by credit card or payment app, which the processor reports on Form 1099-K. Tip The Form 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 for 2026 payments and was $600 for 2025 payments. A contractor paid $1,500 in 2026 needs no 1099-NEC; at the 2025 rule it did.Form W-9 for every reportable payee A signed Form W-9 on file for each contractor, landlord or other vendor at or above the threshold. A missing form means the firm must contact the payee before the 1099 deadline. Tip Send: "We need a Form W-9 from every vendor you paid $2,000 or more in 2026. Please upload it by the date shown." Contact late payees now.Vendors that are corporations, attorneys or landlords Entity type for each vendor. Payments to incorporated businesses generally are not reported on Form 1099-NEC unless for medical or legal services, and attorney settlement proceeds go on Form 1099-MISC. Rent goes on Form 1099-MISC too. Tip Confirm Form 1099-NEC and Form 1099-MISC filing for 2026 on Monday, February 1, 2027, because January 31, 2027 falls on a Sunday.
05 Owner items
Owner contributions and draws or distributions A list of money the owner put in or took out during 2026, with dates and amounts, so equity ties to the bank statements. Separate wages, draws, distributions and loan repayments. Tip Anything the owner calls "reimbursement" needs receipts. Otherwise it is a draw.Loans between the owner and the business Optional The signed note, interest rate, year-end balance and repayment terms for each loan in either direction. Without a note the transaction may be treated as a contribution or distribution. Personal charges on business accounts A list of personal charges on business cards or accounts and the client's treatment of each: reimbursed, draw or distribution. Reclassify them out of expenses before the books close. Tip Personal charges are easier to find with a vendor report than by scrolling the register.Owner's personal payments for the business Optional Business costs the owner paid personally, such as health insurance premiums, retirement contributions, phone or home office costs, each with proof of payment and the business-use share. Estimated tax payments made in 2026 Optional The date and amount of each federal and state estimated payment the owner made in 2026, taken from the payment confirmation, not the bank memo.
06 Close the year and hand off
Closing date and lock Set the books closed through the last day of 2026 after the reconciliations tie, so later entries need a deliberate unlock. Tell the client no entries will be backdated without a note. Tip Lock only after the tax preparer confirms no more adjustments are coming.Year-end report package Profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, general ledger, receivables and payables aging, payroll summary, asset register and open-questions list, delivered to the preparer in one package. Tip A preparer who receives questions with the numbers asks fewer later, and each answer has a document attached.Records retention check Confirm the client keeps support for the year. The IRS says generally 3 years, 6 years if income is understated by more than 25%, 7 years for bad debt or worthless securities, and 4 years for employment tax records. Tip Keep the fixed asset invoices for as long as the asset is owned plus those years.
What firms get wrong
Using the $600 Form 1099-NEC threshold for 2026 payments. The 2025 rule was $600; payments made in 2026 follow the $2,000 threshold.
Locking the books before the January cut-off test, which leaves unrecorded December bills outside the period.
Booking a vehicle at a single mileage rate for the whole year, when the 2026 rate changed on July 1.
Recording owner draws as expenses or reimbursements without receipts, which shows up later as a distribution the return does not match.
Waiting until late January to ask for a Form W-9 from a vendor who has already been paid and has stopped responding.
Treating Form 1099-K gross as sales without checking refunds, fees and tips, so book revenue and the information return disagree.
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Questions about this checklist
When should a year-end bookkeeping checklist go out? Send it in early December for calendar-year clients, with a due date set after December statements post. Reconciliations cannot finish until the statements arrive, and the January 31 payroll and 1099 work depends on clean books. Sending it earlier lets clients fix missing W-9s while vendors still respond.
Which 1099-NEC threshold applies to my clients' 2026 books? The 2025 returns use $600. Payments made in 2026 use $2,000, and the IRS says the figure may be adjusted for inflation beginning in 2027. Clients who paid a contractor $1,500 in 2025 needed a form. The same payment in 2026 does not.
Do clients need to send every item on this list? No. Required items apply to every client: statements, aging reports, payroll reports and owner items. Optional items such as inventory, loans and mileage apply only when the client has them, and the client can mark the others as not applicable.
How can Usual help with the year-end checklist? Clients open a personal link without a password, and reminders go out on schedule and stop once everything is in. A yes or no answer, such as whether the client has inventory, can show or hide the follow-up items, so a service client never sees the count sheet.
Sources
Checked November 10, 2026. Tax rules, forms and thresholds change; confirm them with the IRS or your tax software before relying on them.