The 7 Things To Do Before 12/31 So Your Books Aren’t a Dumpster Fire
A blunt year-end checklist so you’re not crying over your spreadsheet in March
Real life. Real receipts. Real tax strategy.
If you get to the last week of December and your “bookkeeping system” is a mix of bank downloads, random Amazon charges, and a pile of crumpled receipts in your glove box… this one’s for you.
Year-end doesn’t have to be a full-blown dumpster fire. But if you ignore your books until tax season, you’re going to:
• Miss deductions
• Overpay in taxes
• Scramble to answer your tax pro’s questions
• Swear that “next year will be different” (again)
Let’s make it actually different. Here are the 7 things to do before 12/31 so your books look like a real business instead of chaos with a checking account.
1. Reconcile your accounts (yes, all of them)
If your bank and your spreadsheet (or Xero, or my workbook, or whatever you use) don’t match, your numbers are lying to you.
Reconcile means: You take your bank/credit card statements and make sure every single transaction is recorded in your books, and the ending balance matches.
This includes:
– Business checking
– Business savings
– Business credit cards
– PayPal / Stripe / Cash App / Venmo you use for business
– Any other “money in, money out” spot you touch
Why this matters:
– You catch duplicates, missing deposits, and weird fees
– Your income and expenses become reliable
– Your tax return numbers actually tie to the real world
Example:
– Reseller: Matching your bank and platform payouts makes sure your “sales” aren’t double-counted once as gross sales and again as deposits.
– Content creator: Reconciling lets you see what’s really going to software, subscriptions, and random “this will totally change my life” tools you bought at 2 a.m.
If your balances don’t match, it’s not “close enough.” Fix it now while the year is still fresh in your mind.
2. Categorize your transactions like a grown-up business
Once the money is all in there, you have to tell it what it was. That’s where categories come in.
Your job before 12/31:
– Go through every uncategorized transaction
– Put it into a reasonable business bucket (advertising, supplies, travel, etc.)
– Separate business from personal if the card got mixed (it happens, just don’t ignore it)
This is where you stop the dumpster fire. If everything is sitting in “Ask My Accountant” or “Miscellaneous,” you’re leaving deductions on the table and making your tax pro hate life.
Examples:
– Content creator:
– Canva, editing apps, and scheduling tools → Advertising / Software
– Lighting, cameras, mics → Equipment / Depreciable assets
– Courses, coaching, memberships → Education / Professional development
– Reseller:
– Inventory purchases → COGS / Inventory
– Shipping labels / poly mailers → Shipping / Supplies
– Platform fees → Platform costs / merchant fees
Get specific enough to understand your numbers, but not so specific you need 200 categories to survive.
3. Lock in your mileage for the year
If you drive for business and you’re not tracking mileage, you are burning money.
Before 12/31, do this:
– Write down your current odometer reading for each vehicle used for business
– Make sure you know your 1/1 odometer reading (or the day you started using it for business this year)
– Pull your mileage log or recreate it from:
– Calendar appointments
– Job sites
– Post office runs
– Sourcing trips (for resellers)
– Client meetings, networking, workshops
No, you cannot “just guess 10,000 miles.” If you’re ever questioned, you need to show how you got there.
Examples:
– Reseller: Sourcing trips to thrift stores, retail arbitrage, post office runs — all business miles.
– Content creator: Driving to film at a special location, brand event, conference, or collab — also business miles.
You don’t need to be perfect. You do need to be reasonable and documented.
4. Get your home office situation sorted
If you use part of your home regularly and exclusively for business, this is the time to nail down your numbers.
Before 12/31, gather:
– Total square footage of your home
– Square footage of your office or dedicated work area
– Total rent or mortgage interest paid this year
– Property taxes
– Homeowner’s or renter’s insurance
– Utilities (electric, gas, water, trash, internet)
This lets you calculate what percentage of your home is used for business and what portion of those costs can legitimately be deducted.
Examples:
– Content creator: That room you film in, edit in, and store gear in? If it’s not doubling as the guest room and your kid’s Fortnite cave, it may qualify.
– Reseller: The inventory room where you store and ship products — also potentially part of your home office footprint.
Do not wait until tax time to remember how big your house is or dig up 12 months of utility bills. Future-you will want to fight past-you.
5. Take inventory like you mean it
If you sell products, physical or digital with physical components, you cannot skip inventory.
Before 12/31:
– Count what you have on hand that’s intended for resale
– Separate:
– Inventory for resale
– Supplies you use to run the business (labels, boxes, tape, props)
– Put reasonable costs on that inventory based on what you paid for it
Examples:
– Reseller: Count the actual items ready for sale — shoes, clothes, car parts, decor — and what you paid for them.
– Maker / merch seller: Shirts, blanks, transfers, tumblers, packaging — anything you bought to turn into something you’ll sell.
Year-end inventory is what lets you correctly calculate Cost of Goods Sold. No inventory = bad math = bad taxes.
6. Chase down W-9s now, not in February
If you paid someone for business who is not on payroll — think contractors, designers, editors, VAs, cleaners for your office — you may need to issue them a 1099.
Before 12/31, do this:
– Run a report of who you paid this year
– Flag anyone who:
– Is not a corporation (LLC can go either way)
– Was paid via cash, check, Zelle, Venmo, PayPal Friends & Family, etc.
– Received $600 or more for business services
Then get a completed W-9 from them now, while you still remember who’s who.
Examples:
– Content creator: Your video editor, thumbnail designer, copywriter, VA, or podcast editor.
– Local business: The bookkeeper, marketing contractor, or handyman for the office.
Trying to track people down in January when they’ve ghosted you is how this becomes a full-on dumpster fire.
7. Get your receipts under control
Receipts are your proof. Bank statements show the money moved. Receipts show what it was for.
Your 12/31 goal is not perfection. It’s containment.
Before year-end, do this:
– Pick a system and commit:
– A receipts folder by year and category
– A digital folder with subfolders
– An app that stores photos of receipts
– Go through:
– Email receipts (search your inbox for “receipt,” “order confirmation,” key vendors)
– Paper receipts in your car, purse, wallet, junk drawer
– Platform and subscription invoices (Canva, Xero, Adobe, etc.)
Examples:
– Content creator: Equipment, props, ads, subscriptions, travel for filming — all need receipts.
– Reseller: Inventory receipts, shipping costs that don’t show clearly in your bank, tools and supplies.
Your tax pro shouldn’t need every single receipt to file your return — but if you’re ever questioned, you’ll be grateful you can pull them without a meltdown.
Put it all together: your non-dumpster-fire checklist
Here’s your simple end-of-year pass/fail test:
Before 12/31, aim to have:
✅ All bank and credit card accounts reconciled
✅ All transactions categorized into reasonable business buckets
✅ Beginning and ending odometer readings plus a mileage log that makes sense
✅ Home office numbers pulled together (square footage + major home expenses)
✅ A real inventory count with costs, if you sell products
✅ W-9s requested from anyone who needs a 1099
✅ Receipts contained in one system you can actually use
If you can check those off, your books are no longer a dumpster fire. They might not be magazine-ready, but they’ll be accurate, defensible, and a whole lot easier to work with.
Final thought and next steps
You don’t need a perfect accounting system to have clean books. You just need a simple process you actually follow before the clock runs out on 12/31.
If you want help building that process with real-world examples, blunt explanations, and a community that won’t judge your starting point join the Life and Taxes membership. We’ll walk through this stuff together, so your numbers finally match the business you’re building.
And if you’re ready for one-on-one eyes on your books and tax strategy, you can always book a consult. We’ll make sure your numbers tell the story you actually want not the chaotic one your bank feed is writing for you.
