Every January, your tax preparer is going to ask for your books. If they aren’t ready, the first few weeks of the year turn into digging through statements and trying to remember what that charge from March was for.
Most of that can be handled now, a little at a time, while the year is still fresh in your mind. I keep the books and your preparer does the return, so everything below is on the bookkeeping side. Here are the five I focus on:
1. Reconcile your bank accounts and credit cards through December 31.
This is the big one, so it’s where I start. Reconciling just means going line by line and making sure what’s in your books matches your bank or card statement. When those match, everything else gets a lot easier to trust. If you’re a few months behind, don’t stress. Start with the oldest month and work forward. And if you have a business loan or take payments through something like PayPal or Square, those balances should match their statements too. (Here’s what happens when it slips.)
2. Clean out the uncategorized pile.
QuickBooks has “Uncategorized” accounts, and anything that didn’t get a real category tends to end up there. Those still count toward your numbers. They’re waiting to be sorted. Go through them one at a time. Your bank details or an email receipt will usually tell you what it was, and if you can’t figure one out, jot it down for your preparer.
3. Pull out anything personal.
It happens to everybody. A personal purchase ends up on the business card, or you move money between yourself and the business. That is fine. It has to be recorded as money you took out (or put in), so it doesn’t get counted as a business expense or as sales. Otherwise your profit number ends up off, and that’s the number your preparer works from. (More on that here.)
4. Get your contractor list together.
If you paid anyone outside of payroll, like a helper or a subcontractor, you’ll want a list of who they are, how much you paid them, and a signed W-9 for each one. For payments made in 2026, the 1099 threshold is $2,000. It used to be $600, so it’s worth double-checking your list against the new number. (The 1099 change, explained.)
5. Gather the paperwork and hand it off.
Pull together your year-end loan statements, receipts for anything big you bought, and your mileage log if you drive for work. Then send your preparer a full-year profit and loss and a balance sheet, or invite them into QuickBooks as your accountant so they can grab what they need themselves. How any of it gets handled on your return is their decision. Your part is making sure they have it.
If you’re behind and this feels like a lot, start with number one. Reconciling usually brings the rest to the surface on its own.
If you’d rather have someone take a look first, that’s what my Books Health Check is for. It’s a 12-point check of your QuickBooks file, and I’ll send you what I found in plain English, for $50. If you’d like to start free, my free guide covers five common mistakes to catch before the year closes.
Keep reading: What Happens If You Stop Reconciling Your Bank Account