Year-end accounts preparation is easier when you treat it as a controlled handover rather than a last-minute search for receipts. The objective is a complete set of records, reconciled balances and clear explanations of anything unusual or unresolved.
In this article
- Set a year-end timetable
- Gather statements and records
- Resolve missing information
- Review with your accountant
Start before the year ends. Agree the period, delivery date and document list with the accountant. Assign one person to coordinate questions, even if different team members provide sales, payroll, purchasing and stock information. This prevents conflicting answers and repeated requests.
Before the year-end date
Plan any stock count and confirm how movements during the count will be controlled. Review missing purchase documents and old customer or supplier balances while there is still time to investigate them.
List equipment bought, sold, scrapped or no longer used. Locate finance agreements and identify contractual changes. Ask directors to explain personal payments, reimbursements and money introduced or withdrawn from the company.
Check that everybody knows the cut-off process: which date goods arrived, when work was completed and what period a bill covers. An invoice date or payment date alone may not tell the accountant which accounts period the transaction belongs to.
Reconcile cash and payment channels
Reconcile every bank account to the year-end statement. Include savings, credit cards, petty cash and payment providers. Download settlement reports and make sure sales, refunds and fees are explained rather than recording only net deposits.
Investigate outstanding items carried forward from earlier months. A payment that has not cleared for six months deserves explanation. Save reconciliations with supporting statements so the accountant can reproduce the balance.
| Area | Year-end evidence to provide |
|---|---|
| Banks and cards | Statements and completed reconciliations |
| Customers | Aged balances, disputes and receipts after year end |
| Suppliers | Aged balances, statements and missing invoices |
| Stock | Count sheets, ownership information and valuation basis |
| Equipment | Purchase, finance and disposal documents |
| Payroll and tax | Reports and reconciled outstanding balances |
| Owners and directors | Transaction explanations and supporting records |
Check customer and supplier balances
Allocate unidentified receipts and supplier payments. Remove genuine duplicates through a documented correction, not by deleting anything inconvenient. Match approved credit notes and explain credit balances.
For customers, identify disputes and debts whose recovery is uncertain. Provide later receipts as evidence of collection. For suppliers, check statements and invoices received shortly after year end that may relate to earlier goods or services.
Illustrative example: a maintenance contractor completes work on 28 March for a company with a 31 March year end, but invoices £900 on 10 April. Give the accountant the work date, invoice and contract. The late invoice date should not cause the March work to be overlooked. The final accounting assessment depends on the facts.
Prepare timing and valuation schedules
List costs paid in advance, such as annual insurance or software, with coverage dates and total amount. List work or services received for which no bill has arrived. Provide a reason and calculation for any estimate rather than a rounded number without support.
For stock, document quantities, unit costs and damaged or slow-moving items. For equipment, confirm location, use and disposals. For loans, provide the latest balance and repayment schedule, distinguishing capital from financing costs.
Keep these schedules connected to the original documents. A spreadsheet that says “prepayments £4,000” is less useful than a line-by-line list explaining supplier, invoice, coverage period and amount remaining.
Record uncertainties openly
Maintain a query log showing what is missing, the possible effect, who is responsible and when an answer is expected. Highlight substantial or unusual transactions first. Do not bury a missing contract inside an email about small receipt errors.
For companies, HMRC’s record guidance includes assets, debts, stock and the supporting stocktaking records. A year-end pack should therefore preserve the evidence behind balances, not just provide totals.
Review the draft and close the handover
Ask the accountant to explain significant adjustments and changes from the previous year. Check unfamiliar balances and confirm that known events, disputes and commitments have been considered. Schedule director approval and filing with enough time for corrections.
After completion, obtain the final adjustments and agreed opening balances for the next period. Retain the approved accounts and relevant filing acknowledgements. Update the bookkeeping routine where year-end work exposed recurring gaps.
EPOS annual accounts support can be discussed around the preparation checklist and handover dates. If missing records recur each year, bookkeeping services offer a relevant route for addressing the underlying workflow.