As 2024 wraps up, it’s easy to get caught up in holiday plans and end-of-year goals. But before you close the books on this year, it’s worth taking a moment to clean up your financial records. A year-end bookkeeping clean-up can save you time, money, and a lot of headaches in the new year.
In this post, we’ll walk you through five key areas to focus on during your year-end clean-up and show how it sets your business up for a successful 2025.
1. Fixing Common Bookkeeping Mistakes
Small bookkeeping errors, like missing invoices or duplicate transactions, often go unnoticed. They may seem minor, but over time, they can snowball into bigger issues.
Why It Matters:
If not caught early, these mistakes can lead to inaccurate financial reports, which affect your tax filings, decision-making, and even your ability to secure funding.
Action Step:
Take a quick review of your books for discrepancies and errors. If you're unsure where to start, a professional bookkeeper can identify and clean up these issues before they get bigger.
2. Account Reconciliation: Matching Your Records to Your Account Statements
Reconciliation is the process of making sure your financial records match your bank, credit card and other account statements, such as lines of credit or payment apps.
Why It Matters:
Unreconciled accounts can lead to inaccurate financial statements and create headaches come tax time. It also helps you spot potential fraud or missed transactions.
Action Step:
Review your bank, credit card, line of credit and payment app statements to ensure all transactions are accounted for and properly categorized.
There is no replacement for this critical bookkeeping step!
3. Reviewing Asset Purchases and Depreciation
Review your bank, credit card, and payment app statements to ensure all transactions are accounted for and properly categorized.
Why It Matters:
Mistakes in recording assets or depreciation can affect your taxes and financial reports.
Action Step:
Go over any major purchases your business made and ensure they're listed correctly. Keep purchase receipts and dates for accurate record-keeping.
4. Updating Ownership Information
If your business had any ownership changes this year—new partners, departing partners, etc.—make sure your books reflect these updates.
Why It Matters:
Changes in ownership affect your bookkeeping setup, tax filings, and state compliance requirements.
Action Step:
Update your books to reflect ownership changes and ensure all related legal and tax documents are in order.
5. Preparing for Tax Season
Year-end is the perfect time to organize your finances before tax season. A clean set of books now will save you stress and potentially money later.
Why It Matters:
Having your books in order makes tax time more efficient, reduces errors, and could save you on professional fees.
Action Step:
Go through your financial records to ensure all income, expenses, and balance sheet items are accurate. If you need help, now’s the perfect time to bring in a professional bookkeeper.
Didn’t Keep Track of Your Books in 2024?
Didn’t keep up (or even start!) with your bookkeeping in 2024? Don’t worry—you’re not alone. It’s never too late to get things back on track.
Why It’s Important to Catch Up:
Getting organized now will save you time, stress, and money when tax season arrives. Plus, you’ll have a clearer picture of your business’s financial health moving into 2025.
Action Step:
Reach out today to schedule a clean-up session. We’ll help you get everything in order so you can start the new year with confidence.
Bookkeeping Clean-Up is an Investment in Your Business
A year-end clean-up isn’t just about closing out the year—it’s an investment in the future health of your business. By cleaning up bookkeeping issues, reconciling accounts, and getting everything in order, you’ll reduce stress, save time, and avoid costly mistakes.
Need help with your year-end clean-up? JBG Bookkeeping Services is here to help you catch up and prepare for a smooth tax season. Let’s make sure you start 2025 on the right foot.
Click the button below to contact us today and schedule your year-end clean-up!
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