Most tax preparers spend the first part of every engagement doing bookkeeping: chasing statements, asking what a transfer was for, and rebuilding months that were never reconciled. That time costs you in fees, in delays, and in deductions nobody could document.
Twelve reconciled months
Every bank, card and loan account reconciled to its statement, every month, with nothing left in an uncategorized or suspense account. If the monthly close is already happening, this part is done before the year ends.
The year-end package
- Financial statements: a year-end profit and loss and balance sheet that tie to the accounts.
- Fixed assets: a list of equipment and other long-lived purchases, with dates and costs.
- Loans: year-end balances and the interest paid during the year.
- Payroll and contractors: annual totals that agree with the payroll reports and filings.
- Owner activity: contributions and draws, kept separate from business expenses.
Tax-ready books are built twelve times a year, one month at a time, not once in a hurry.
Keep the paper trail as you go
Attach receipts and invoices to transactions when they are recorded, not months later. Note the business purpose of meals, travel and larger purchases while you still remember it. When a question comes in during tax season, the answer is a search, not an afternoon of digging.
Rules differ by business type and location, so confirm the details with your tax preparer. The goal is simple: hand over a year that needs review, not reconstruction.