How to Prep Your Books Now So January Isn’t Chaos
When January hits, most small business owners are buried in receipts, emails, and missing numbers. It doesn’t have to be that way.
When January hits, most small business owners are buried in receipts, emails, and missing numbers. It doesn’t have to be that way. A few simple steps now can make tax season calm, not chaotic.
1. Review your transactions
Look through your bank and credit card accounts for missing or miscategorized expenses. You’d be surprised how many “office supplies” are actually meals or subscriptions. Clean those up before December, and your reports will reflect the real story of your business.
2. Reconcile everything
Make sure every account in QuickBooks (or whatever you use) is reconciled through October. This one task catches 80% of the small errors that lead to bigger problems at tax time.
3. Look at your reports
Run your Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. Do the numbers make sense? Do you see anything that looks off or incomplete? If your reports confuse you, that’s a sign your setup needs a cleanup - not a reflection on you.
4. Plan for the next two months
If you’re behind, split the work into weekly chunks. Clean up October this week, November next week, and review December after the holidays. That steady pace prevents burnout and last-minute panic.
Getting your books in order now is more than organization. It’s peace of mind. You’ll know exactly where you stand and make smarter decisions going into the new year.
Schedule a call to review your setup and start 2026 organized and confident (click the Book a Call Now button) or send us a message through our Contact Us page
BookWise Bookkeeping
Phone 314-325-2478
info@bookwisestl.com