End-of-Year Bookkeeping Checklist For Small Business Owners

As the year comes to a close, it’s a good time to pause and make sure your bookkeeping is in good shape. You don’t need to overhaul anything or start from scratch — but a quick review now can help prevent issues later, especially when it’s time to run reports or share information with your tax preparer.

If you’re using 17hats for bookkeeping, most of what you need is already in place. The key is making sure all accounts are connected, syncing properly, and that transactions are categorized correctly. Small gaps or missed steps can affect your reports, even if everything else looks fine on the surface.

The checklist below covers a few important areas to review before closing out 2025 and moving into 2026. I’ve included specific steps inside the 17hats platform so you know exactly where to look and what to confirm.

3 Tips To Make Bookkeeping Easier 

1.      Make sure all accounts used for the business are connected

• a.      Check which accounts are connected on the Account Settings > Bookkeeping Options page.
• b. If there are bank or credit card accounts missing, click the ‘CONNECT ACCOUNT’ button. Note: This will only bring in up to the most recent 90 days of transactions, a bank industry limit.
• c. Any missing date range should be able to be downloaded from the bank’s website. QBO, QFX, or OFX formats are able to be imported directly to the Bookkeeping page by clicking the small gear icon next to Reports, then select ‘Import Transactions. If the bank only has CSV as a format for downloading a date range, or only offers PDF copies of statements, 17hats support can convert those files to a format that can be imported.

2.      Make sure connected accounts are updated

• a. If there’s a Bank sync error on the dashboard, this means the bank or credit card issuer has stopped the sync due to a required manual refresh not being done.
• b. You can check the last time the account synced on the Account Settings > Bookkeeping Options page.
• c. Not all banks send errors when an account isn’t able to update, so select each individual connected account from the ‘All accounts’ drop-down on the Bookkeeping page, then click the Search button next to the Keywords field to make sure there aren’t any missing dates. Use the ‘From’ and ‘To’ fields above the transactions, then click Search to view a week, month, or quarter at a time.

3.      Make sure all transactions are categorized

• a. In order to show on the Profit & Loss report, transactions must have a category selected and the Verify button clicked
• b. To prevent duplicating income, make sure deposits that have invoice payments associated with them are categorized as ‘Transfer between accounts’

Final Thoughts: A Clean Close Makes a Better Start

End-of-year bookkeeping doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does need to be complete. Taking a little time now to confirm your accounts are connected and up to date, and that all transactions are verified and categorized, will make your reports more accurate and your tax preparation much smoother.

If you notice missing transactions or date ranges, those can usually be filled in by importing files directly into 17hats. And if your bank only provides CSV files or PDF statements, our support team can help convert those so they can be imported correctly.

Once everything is reviewed and verified, you’ll be in a good position to wrap up 2025 and head into 2026 with clean books and reliable financial data. That clarity makes it easier to understand how your business performed this year — and to plan more confidently for the year ahead.

If you have questions along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out to support. It’s always easier to address small issues now than later on.