Closing out the year doesn’t have to be stressful. Year-end is simply about getting clarity, tightening up your numbers, and setting your business up to win going into the new year.

Here’s a practical, checklist to help service-based business owners close out the year with confidence.

1. Clean Up Your Books
Make sure all of your income, expenses, and accounts are accurate and reconciled. Clear out any ‘uncategorized’ items so your numbers tell the truth. If you don’t have clean books – call our office.

2. Review Your Profit and Loss Statement
Look for trends: pricing, profitable services, rising expenses, and any blind spots that need attention.

3. Verify Contractor and Payroll Compliance
Confirm W-9s, 1099 amounts, employee wages, bonuses, and year-end payroll adjustments. Clean records now prevent problems later.

4. Capture Every Deduction
Don’t miss mileage, home office, subscriptions, equipment, travel, meals, or education expenses. Small details protect big dollars.

5. Review Estimated Taxes
Compare what you’ve paid to what you likely owe. Adjust if needed to avoid penalties or surprises. Remember you have until January 15^th of the next year to make your last estimated tax payment.

6. Evaluate Your Goals from this year
Reflect to see if you accomplished your financial goals from last year. If not, refocus on how you can accomplish those goals or has your objective changed for your business.

7. Review Your Cash Flow
Understand where your money went this year so you can plan how it needs to flow next year — savings, payroll, reinvestment, or debt payoff.

8. Update Your Processes
Review onboarding, invoicing, workflows, and communication systems. Tighten what didn’t work and strengthen what did.

9. Set Financial Goals for the New Year
Decide your revenue targets, focus services, and monthly checkpoints. Walk into the year with clarity.

10. Meet With Your Tax Advisor
A quick year-end review ensures accuracy, reduces stress, and positions you for a stronger start next year.