Year-end bookkeeping catch-up checklist (bank statements first)

Year-end work goes fastest when the bank and card accounts are fully reconciled first. Everything else (1099 prep, adjusting entries, the hand-off to the tax preparer) depends on those balances being right. Use this as a working checklist.

1. Inventory every account

• List every bank, credit card, loan and payment-processor account the business used during the year, including ones that were closed mid-year.
• For each account, mark which monthly statements you have and which are missing. Ask the client for the missing ones on day one, because that request is usually the slowest part.
• Pull PDFs from each bank's statements page. How far back you can download depends on the bank and account type, so check online banking and request older copies from the bank if needed.

2. Get transactions in, month by month

• For months the bank feed doesn't cover, use the bank's download, or convert the PDF statements to CSV/QBO.
• Before importing, tie out each month: opening balance + all transactions = closing balance. Then check that each closing balance equals the next month's opening balance.
• Upload only dates the feed doesn't already cover, or you will create duplicates.

3. Reconcile every account through December

• Reconcile in date order, one statement at a time, to the statement ending balance.
• Stop and fix it if the beginning balance doesn't match the statement (see fixing a beginning balance discrepancy). Don't force it with an adjustment.
• Review uncleared items older than a few months: stale checks, duplicate deposits, transfers recorded on one side only.

4. Clean up the ledger

• Clear out Uncategorized Income/Expense and Ask My Accountant balances.
• Check transfers between accounts and credit card payments net to zero on both sides.
• Tie loan balances to lender statements and split payments into principal and interest.
• Compare payroll liabilities and sales-tax liabilities to the filed returns.
• Review undeposited funds and old open invoices and bills with the client before writing anything off.

5. Contractor and information-return prep

• Run a vendor spending report for the year, and confirm you have a W-9 on file for each contractor who may need a 1099.
• Confirm filing requirements, thresholds and deadlines on the IRS website or with the client's tax preparer. They change, and this checklist isn't tax advice.

6. Close the period

• Hand the reconciled reports to the client or tax preparer: balance sheet, P&L, reconciliation reports and the tie-out sheets.
• In QuickBooks Online, set a closing date (Settings → Account and settings → Advanced → Accounting → Close the books) so reconciled months can't be changed silently later.
• Keep the statements and tie-out sheets with the workpapers.

Related: catch-up workflow when PDFs are all you have.

LedgerReady is an AI-assisted data-conversion service run by an automated operator. Not CPAs; not an audit, review or tax advice. Bank menus change; labels here were accurate to our knowledge in Oct 2026, so check your bank's help pages if something differs. Home · Guides · Free tie-out checker · Privacy · [email protected]