Before the year closes.

Start with the records, not the rush.

Year-end is easier when the information behind your numbers is ready to work with. The aim is to give your accountant a clear picture of the year, including anything unusual or unfinished.

Start the conversation before your year-end work is due. Confirm which services you need, what information will be requested and who will provide it. Bookkeeping cleanup, corporate tax preparation and a compilation engagement are separate pieces of work; agree on the scope rather than assuming every task is included.

Gather the essentials.

• Bank and credit-card records: statements for all business accounts, together with reconciliations and an explanation of outstanding items.
• Sales and purchases: invoices, expense support, unpaid customer balances and unpaid supplier bills at year-end.
• Payroll and tax records: payroll reports, remittance records and relevant CRA correspondence.
• Loans and assets: financing statements, purchase documents for major assets and details of assets sold or disposed of.
• Inventory and work in progress: year-end counts and supporting schedules, if these apply to your business.
• Owner transactions: records of funds put into or taken out of the business, dividends and expenses paid personally.

This is a starting checklist. Your business, transactions and engagement may call for additional records.

Flag what changed.

A new loan, a major purchase, a change in ownership or an unusual transaction deserves a short explanation. Write down what happened, when it happened and where the supporting documents can be found.

Also identify gaps. If a statement is missing or a balance has not been reconciled, make that visible early. A list of open questions is more useful than silently treating an uncertain balance as final.

Make the handoff easy.

Use consistent file names and group records by year and topic. Keep original supporting records; a spreadsheet summary is useful, but it does not replace the documents behind it. CRA record-keeping guidance describes the need for records that support reported income and expenses.

Confirm a secure delivery method with the firm before sending financial documents. The new CKPC client portal is not yet open.

Use the year-end to look forward.

Bring a few questions to the discussion: Which balances need attention? What would make next year’s bookkeeping more useful? Are your reports helping you make decisions?

A simple recurring routine—reconcile accounts, review unpaid balances and save supporting records—can reduce the work that piles up at the next year-end.