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Year-End To-Do’s

by | Nov 20, 2025 | Uncategorized

Every year around Thanksgiving, I get the same phone call: “Sharla, I think I need to do some year-end stuff, but I don’t know where to start.” And every year I tell them the same thing. You should have started in October. But since you didn’t, let’s get to work.

Year-end is not the time to panic. It’s the time to clean up, close out, and set yourself up for a painless tax season. Here’s my running list of what every small business owner should be doing before December 31:

  1. Reconcile every account.
    • Bank accounts, credit cards, loans, lines of credit. All of them.
    • If your books don’t match your statements, you need to find out why now, not in April.
  2. Review accounts receivable and accounts payable.
    • Who owes you money? Send the reminder. Call if you have to.
    • What do you owe? Get it paid or at least accrued so your expenses land in the right year.
  3. Take inventory if you have product.
    • Cost of goods sold is driven by inventory counts, and the IRS expects you to know what you have on hand. See IRS Publication 538 for inventory accounting rules.
  4. Pull together your 1099 list.
    • Any non-employee you paid $600 or more during the year needs a 1099-NEC.
    • Due to the IRS and recipients by January 31. Don’t wait until the 30th to ask for W-9s.
  5. Review your fixed assets.
    • Anything you bought this year that qualifies for Section 179 or bonus depreciation? Talk to your CPA before year-end, not after.
  6. Fund your retirement.
    • Solo 401(k) contributions have to be made by deadlines that vary by plan type. A SEP IRA can often be funded up to your tax filing deadline, but check with your advisor.
  7. Run a P&L and balance sheet.
    • Does anything look weird? Numbers that don’t make sense? Find the error now.

Here’s where AI automation has made my life easier: bookkeeping software can now auto-generate 1099 lists, flag unusual transactions, and even draft year-end reports for review. I still review every one of them myself, because software can’t catch context. But it turns a two-week slog into a two-day review.

If this list makes you nervous, you’re not alone. Most business owners are not accountants, and you shouldn’t have to be one. But you do need someone in your corner who is.