The goal is giving your accountant clean, complete, and organized financial records. The less they have to dig, question, or reconstruct, the faster your return gets filed and the lower your professional fees.

Start by reconciling every bank account and credit card through December 31st. This means matching every transaction in your accounting software to your bank statements. Unreconciled accounts mean missing or duplicate transactions that throw off everything else.

Review how transactions are categorized. Common problems include expenses sitting in “Uncategorized,” personal purchases mixed with business expenses, and inconsistent categorization throughout the year. If you called the same vendor “Office Supplies” in March and “Materials” in July, fix that before sending anything to your accountant.

Separate owner draws and personal expenses. If you used the business card for groceries or paid a personal bill from the business account, those need to be recorded as owner’s draw, not business expenses. Your accountant will find them eventually, but it’s faster and cheaper if you handle it first.

Make sure payroll is complete and reconciled if you have employees. Confirm that all wages, taxes withheld, and employer taxes match what was reported and deposited. Your accountant will reconcile W-2s and W-3s against your books, so any discrepancies need to be resolved beforehand.

Gather supporting documents. This typically includes year-end bank statements, loan statements showing interest paid, receipts for large purchases or capital equipment, documentation for unusual transactions, and 1099s you’ve received. If you paid contractors more than $600, you should have sent them 1099s by January 31st.

Prepare the reports your accountant needs. Usually this means a profit and loss statement for the full year, a balance sheet as of year end, a general ledger or transaction detail report, and accounts receivable and accounts payable aging reports if applicable. Export these as PDFs from QuickBooks or whatever software you use.

Make note of anything unusual that happened during the year. New loans, equipment purchases, changes in ownership, significant write-offs, or legal settlements all require explanation. Your accountant shouldn’t discover these by accident while reviewing your books.

If you work with Scottsdale bookkeeping services, most of this happens automatically throughout the year. Monthly reconciliation, proper categorization, and regular cleanup mean your books are ready when tax season arrives. You just forward the reports and answer a few questions.

The businesses that struggle at tax time are usually the ones who did their own books inconsistently or let things pile up. If your books are behind or messy, catch-up bookkeeping can get them in order before involving your accountant. Asking an accountant to clean up your books and prepare your taxes means paying professional rates for work that should have been handled throughout the year.

The basic principle is straightforward: accurate, categorized, reconciled, and organized. Hit those four marks and your accountant has everything they need to file quickly and correctly.