QuickBooks Online year-end guide

Stay ahead of the game and learn how to have a successful year-end with QuickBooks Online. This post covers the highlights of year-end planning.

Here’s what you and your accountant need to know to close out the previous year and prepare for the next with ease:

Review the first month of your fiscal year

Check when your accounting period starts.

1. Go to Settings and select Account and settings.
    
2. Select Advanced.
3. In the Accounting section, select the pencil icon ✎.
4. Select the First month of fiscal year ▼ dropdown, then select the month where you start your fiscal year.
5. Select Save, then Done.

Check customer account balances

Make sure your customer’s info is up to date.

Follow this link to complete the steps in product 

1. Select the Type report name here ▼ dropdown.
2. Search for and select the Accounts receivable aging summary or Accounts receivable aging detail report.
   Note: These reports are only available in QuickBooks Online Advanced, QuickBooks Online Plus, and QuickBooks Online Essentials.
3. Review the report. Then, identify customers with outstanding balances.
   Note: If you find outstanding balances, create and send a statement to the customer.

Clear outstanding deposits

Clear any outstanding bank deposits from your deposit queue. Record and create bank deposits if there are still payments in the undeposited funds account. This helps you record all your payments in the correct bank account history. 

Note: QuickBooks includes undeposited funds in the income. You still need to move the funds to the bank account history that receives the payments or deposits.

Check supplier account balances

Review your supplier account balances and check if you have any outstanding bills.

Follow this link to complete the steps in product 

1. Select the Type report name here ▼ dropdown.
2. Search for and select the Accounts payable aging summary or Accounts payable aging detail report.
   Note: These reports are only available in QuickBooks Online Advanced, QuickBooks Online Plus, and QuickBooks Online Essentials.
3. Review the report, then identify the outstanding bills.
   Note: You can pay with a cheque or bill payments to settle any outstanding bills to your suppliers.

Reconcile all accounts

Reconcile all your accounts monthly. This helps you get balanced and accurate data by year end.

Prepare to reconcile your accounts for the year end and understand the reconciliation workflow.

Run year-end reports

Run reports to identify issues and check for discrepancies. Here's how.

Follow this link to complete the steps in product 

Select + Management report, then enter a name in the Management report name field. 

1. Fill out info as needed.
2. Select Reports and charts. 
3. Enter Balance Sheet in the Report ▼ dropdown. Then, select a date range from the ▼ dropdown showing the report period.
   Note: If the field to select the report period is not visible, select the pencil icon
    

    

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4. From the Add ▼ dropdown, select Report. 
5. Enter Profit and Loss in the Report ▼ dropdown. Then, select a date range from the ▼ dropdown showing the report period.
     Note: If the field to select the report period is not visible, select the pencil icon
    

    

   .
6. Select Save and Close.

Note: If your current net income doesn’t match what’s in your reports, here are the possible reasons and recommended solutions.

You can check and run other reports as needed. You can also create a management report to see how much you’ve made.

Distribute profits

If needed, your accountant can help you distribute retained earnings among partners.

Prepare your sales tax returns with your accountant

Your accountant can help you with your year-end process. If you haven’t invited yet, you can add your accountant to QuickBooks Online. This lets them prepare and file sales tax on your behalf.

Reclassify transactions

If needed, your accountant can review your accounts and reclassify transactions. They can also manage your transactions to help you organize your books.

Close your books

After you review all of your financial data, you can close your books for the year-end. This prevents unwanted changes that may affect your reports before filing your sales tax.