Preparing Your Books for Your CPA at Year-End: A Bookkeeper's Checklist

At year-end, your bookkeeper's job is to hand your CPA a clean, reconciled set of books and the supporting documents they need. The cleaner the handoff, the faster and smoother tax preparation tends to be — and the fewer questions come back to you in March.

This checklist covers what a bookkeeper typically prepares. Your CPA will have their own requirements, so ask them for a year-end request list early and use it alongside this guide. ExecWing bookkeepers prepare books for your CPA; we don't provide tax preparation, tax advice or CPA services.

Start early: talk to your CPA in the fall

Before year-end, ask your CPA:

1. What documents and reports do you need, and by when?
2. Do you want any adjustments recorded before you receive the books?
3. Are there year-end planning considerations I should discuss with you before December 31?
4. How would you like files delivered — portal, shared folder, accountant access to the accounting software?

Tax planning questions are for your CPA. Your bookkeeper's role is to make sure the books are accurate and complete.

Part 1: Reconcile everything

• [ ] Bank accounts reconciled through December 31 to statements.
• [ ] Credit cards reconciled to statements.
• [ ] Loans reconciled to lender statements, with interest and principal split correctly.
• [ ] Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Square, Shopify Payments) reconciled — payouts matched to sales and fees.
• [ ] Payroll liabilities reconciled to payroll provider reports.
• [ ] Clearing and suspense accounts cleared or explained.

See the bank reconciliation guide.

Part 2: Clean up the balance sheet

• [ ] Accounts receivable: review the aging report; flag old balances that may be uncollectible for owner and CPA discussion.
• [ ] Accounts payable: review the aging; confirm unpaid bills are real and current.
• [ ] Undeposited funds or payments-to-deposit cleared.
• [ ] Uncategorized income and expense accounts emptied.
• [ ] "Ask my accountant" or similar accounts reviewed, with a list of open questions.
• [ ] Owner contributions and draws recorded correctly.
• [ ] Fixed assets: list purchases of equipment, vehicles and other assets during the year, with invoices.
• [ ] Inventory (if applicable): year-end count or valuation, per your CPA's instructions.

Part 3: Review the profit and loss

• [ ] Compare the year to the prior year; investigate unusual swings.
• [ ] Look for miscategorized items — for example, asset purchases expensed, or loan payments recorded as expenses.
• [ ] Check for personal expenses run through the business and handle as your CPA directs.
• [ ] Confirm revenue is complete — all invoices recorded.

Part 4: Contractors and 1099s

• [ ] List all contractors and vendors paid during the year.
• [ ] Confirm W-9s are on file.
• [ ] Prepare a payment summary by vendor for your CPA, who will advise which require Form 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC and how they'll be filed.

Payments made by credit card or through certain payment platforms may be reported differently; your CPA will advise.

Part 5: Gather supporting documents

Typical items a CPA may request — confirm with yours:

• [ ] Year-end bank, card and loan statements.
• [ ] Payroll year-end reports (W-2 and W-3 summaries from your payroll provider).
• [ ] Fixed-asset invoices.
• [ ] Loan documents for new loans.
• [ ] Vehicle mileage logs, if applicable.
• [ ] Home-office information, if applicable.
• [ ] Health insurance and retirement plan contribution summaries.
• [ ] Prior-year return (for a new CPA).
• [ ] Any notices received from tax agencies.

See receipt and document management.

Part 6: Prepare the year-end package

Deliver a package that includes:

• [ ] Profit and loss for the year (and by month, if helpful).
• [ ] Balance sheet as of December 31.
• [ ] Trial balance.
• [ ] General ledger detail (or accountant access to the software).
• [ ] AR and AP aging reports.
• [ ] Reconciliation reports for each account.
• [ ] Fixed-asset additions list.
• [ ] Contractor payment summary.
• [ ] A list of open questions and known issues.

A short cover note explaining anything unusual — a new loan, a large one-time expense, a change in business model — saves your CPA time.

Part 7: After the CPA's work

Your CPA may provide adjusting journal entries — for example, depreciation or accrual adjustments. Your bookkeeper should:

• [ ] Record the CPA's adjustments in the books as directed.
• [ ] Confirm the books' year-end balances match the CPA's final figures.
• [ ] Close the period in the accounting software (set a closing date, with a password where supported) so prior-year transactions aren't accidentally changed.

Timeline

Illustrative, adjust to your CPA's deadlines:

• October–November: Talk to your CPA; start AR/AP cleanup; collect missing W-9s.
• December: Keep books current weekly; count inventory if applicable.
• Early January: Reconcile December; prepare contractor summary for 1099s.
• January: Complete cleanup and deliver the package by your CPA's deadline.
• After filing: Record adjustments; close the period.

Common year-end problems

• Unreconciled accounts from months earlier.
• Missing W-9s discovered in January.
• Personal and business mixed.
• Large uncategorized balances.
• Asset purchases expensed without your CPA's input.

A weekly bookkeeping routine and month-end close prevent most of these.

Catch-up bookkeeping

If your books are behind, start catch-up work as early as possible. See catch-up bookkeeping cost.

How ExecWing helps

ExecWing bookkeepers reconcile, clean up and prepare year-end packages in QuickBooks Online or Xero, coordinating with your CPA. Dedicated bookkeeping is $2,100/month (senior $2,600); fractional packages are $450, $850 and $1,400/month. See bookkeeping.

What to include in the cover note

A useful cover note is short — a page at most — and covers:

• Changes in the business this year: new locations, products, entities or owners.
• New accounts opened or closed, and new loans.
• Large one-time items, such as equipment purchases or settlements.
• Known issues you couldn't resolve, with what you tried.
• Open questions where you need the CPA's direction.

This saves your CPA from discovering surprises in the ledger and usually shortens the back-and-forth.

Quick answers

When should catch-up work start if I'm behind? As early as possible — ideally in the fall — so the books are current before your CPA's deadline.

Can my bookkeeper talk to my CPA directly? Yes. Direct coordination usually saves time; just confirm what you want shared.

Key takeaways

• Ask your CPA for their request list in the fall.
• Reconcile every account through December 31.
• Clear suspense and uncategorized accounts before handoff.
• Close the period after recording the CPA's adjustments.

The bottom line

Talk to your CPA in the fall, reconcile everything, clean the balance sheet, review the P&L, prepare contractor summaries, gather documents and deliver a complete package with a cover note. After filing, record adjustments and close the period. A clean handoff is the best thing a bookkeeper can do for your tax season.

Put a reminder in your calendar for early October to email your CPA for their year-end request list. That one step makes everything else on this checklist easier.