With the year quickly coming to a close, We think you’ll find this QuickBooks Year-End Checklist especially helpful! Print a copy of your balance sheet and work down this list to verify each account.
1) Review the bank reconciliations for items over 3-6 months old and write them off if they have not cleared. If the checks are from the prior year, be very careful when you void them. Refer to our cheat sheet on voiding checks in a prior period!! Make sure bank reconciliations were completed for each month in the tax year to date.
2) Review accounts payable for item receipts that should have had bills posted against them or checks that were written without closing out Unpaid Bills. Refer to our cheat sheet on cleaning up accounts payable.
3) Check on 1099 vendors to make sure their vendor files are up to date and records are accurate. These are for individuals who have earned over $600 for casual labor. Run the 1099 reports to make sure they are all being pulled correctly. Check the settings in QuickBooks.
4) Review receivables for credits that should have been posted to customers’ accounts or deposits that were entered without closing out the Open Invoices. Refer to our cheat sheet on cleaning up A/R.
5) Review employee records to make sure addresses are correct, Payroll Items codes are pointed to the right accounts, and/or Payroll entries are entered accurately in the system. Total wages should agree with total forms 941. This number also needs to agree with the W-3 at year end.
6) Order W2, W3, 1099 and 1096 tax forms. Complete Business Solutions now sells forms!!
7) Verify that sales tax payable for the prior month on the balance sheet agrees with the payment made. Make sure all entries to sales tax discounts have been made in the proper month.
8) Review expense records to make sure major purchases are capitalized and not expensed. Each company sets their own limits but they can be anywhere from $200-1000 per item. The key is they are purchases for assets that can be used longer than a year. ie. Computers vs. paperclips.
9) If your accountant has prepared a depreciation schedule be sure to enter the monthly depreciation entries for the year. They will debit depreciation expense and credit accumulated depreciation.
10)Determine that Retained Earnings/Owner’s Equity agrees with the prior year’s trial balance and allocations are appropriate. Complete Business Solutions knows what your accountant needs for this report.
11) Verify that your Inventory on your balance sheet agrees with your Inventory Valuation Summary. If it does not, then review all your inactive inventory items. POS USERS – BE SURE TO PRINT AN INVENTORY REPORT at the end of the day, the last day of the year. (IT CANNOT BE RECREATED LATER) It’s always a good idea to verify with a physical count. If you have negative inventory, you have a work flow issue that needs to be corrected!! Clean these up before year end.
12) Make sure that the payroll tax liability summary report agrees with the balance sheet for the same month end.
13) Reconcile each credit card statement for each month to date. Review any outstanding or uncleared items.
14) Call all the banks or loan companies to find out the balance of all loans as of tax year end, make sure the balance agrees. You may need to adjust the loan through Interest Expense.
15) Run a data integrity check, and a backup. Also run printed reports for year end. Balance sheet, Income Statement, a general ledger and a listing of the new fixed assets purchased for the year. Make sure your balance sheet is balanced!! (it can indicate a data integrity problem.)
16) Make sure you have substantiated all meals and entertainment records with notes as to your business purpose and who you took out to eat. We suggest entering detailed notes in the memo section of the entry and scanning a copy of the receipt.
17) For all company vehicles, collect the mileage records for each vehicle, they should contain total miles driven for the year, how many were personal (includes commute), and how many business. The business miles should list the customers visited by date and miles driven.
The above list is not intended to replace any tax advice but simply guide you in organizing your QuickBooks file to assist in preparing your tax return. Please consult your tax professional for details and clarification of the current tax laws and codes.