2021 End of Year Checklist

/ Empower Consulting/

It’s that time of year…time to prepare your organization for the end of year bookkeeping tasks. Take the time to prepare now so you’re not caught off guard.

1. CHECK YOUR PAPERWORK.

Ensure you have all your invoices, receipts, purchase orders, payroll records, and bank statements on file.  We recommend a paperless approach whereby you scan all receipts to PDF format and archive them in an online file sharing service. You can do this easily with your existing smartphone camera. and a cloud-based file system like Sharefile, Dropbox, or Google Drive. Your CPA or bookkeeper will appreciate your organized record-keeping!

2. UPDATE YOUR FINANCIALS.

Close your books for the year by reconciling your bank, investment, and credit card statements, and confirming your sales / donation deposit income matches your records. We use Quickbooks Online for simple, easy-to-use, cloud-based bookkeeping software.

3. SEND FORMS 1099-MISC.

Forms 1099-MISC are due January 31st, 2022. You are required to issue these for any individual or vendor that you pay $600 or more during the year cumulatively (even babysitters who you pay $50 per week...if the payments total $600). IRS penalties are steep for delays and non-filing, so make sure you prioritize this task. Empower provides 1099 filing using our secure, cloud-based service. Our fees are $25 for each form from 1 to 5, and $20 per form for forms 6 and up. Let us know if we can help.

4.  RECORD YOUR PAYROLLS.

Your payrolls should be recorded and payroll taxes paid and filed for each quarter.  Make sure you include your year-end bonuses and taxable fringe benefits (counseling, gym memberships, health allowances, car allowances, etc) on your last payroll of the year.    Payroll vendors such as ADP , Gusto, and Clergy Financial (for churches) are great providers for cost-effective, fully-outsourced payroll service.   If you use a vendor, pay attention to their year-end updates, including verifying employee names, addresses, and social security numbers for accurate W2 reporting and delivery.

We hope you have a headache-free end of the year bookkeeping experience. If you need any assistance please contact us, and we'd be happy to work with you.