Accounts Year End Checklist

As you will be aware, the end of the financial year is a pivotal time for your business. One of the simplest ways to reduce stress and increase efficiency as we prepare your accounts is to put together everything we need before you send your records to us.  The most effective way to cut down on the time taken to close your accounts is to stay on top of the entries throughout the year. To give you an upper hand, we have compiled a comprehensive list of things our clients need to do to prepare for the year end. 

 

Things to do: 

Reconcile your accounts to the underlying records 

Ensure that the accounting software you use matches evidence from: 

Bank statements 

Reconcile all the bank accounts on your software to ensure they agree to the statements provided by the bank themselves; this may be easier to do throughout the year, rather than trying to identify an error that could have occurred at any point in the year. 

Petty cash 

If your business uses a petty cash account, reconcile this balance on the last day of your financial year and gather any receipts for the transactions. 

Credit cards 

If the business uses credit cards for expenses, reconcile these and ensure all expenses have receipts. If you use the credit card for personal and business expenses, it may be worth considering getting another card to use purely for business, to make tracking expenses easier. 

Loans 

If the organisation has any loans, these also need reconciling to the statements. Payments usually include interest, so account for both this and the capital repayment to the correct codes. 

Control accounts 

Any control accounts such as PAYE or VAT also need to be reconciled. The VAT account balance should be the amount of any outstanding returns at the year end plus any items entered late that are not included in a VAT return yet. 

Review supplier accounts payable and customer accounts receivable 

Where you are operating supplier and customer ledgers, review accounts payable to confirm all outstanding debts are listed and see if you have any late or unpaid bills prior to the year end. If so, follow up with suppliers to start the next financial year with a clean slate. Likewise, confirm that all receivables owed are included, if customers have any late or unpaid invoices, they should be contacted and resolved. If you have old or negative balances, they may no longer be collectable or payable and therefore may need writing off, you could consider chasing debts regularly to avoid this. 

Carry out a stock take 

On the last day of your financial year, count physical stock and prepare a detailed schedule for us; we have a template for you to use if needed. If relevant, we also need details of your growing crop planted at the year end. 

 

Things to send in :

Bank statements  

Please include statements for all your business accounts and for the whole period. Also include any cheque books and paying in books if you still use these.  

Loan statements 

Despite the bank sometimes only sending out calendar year statements, we will need to know the closing balance as at your year-end date, this may be available from online banking. 

Business credit card 

If you have a business credit card, please send these statements too.  

Finance agreements  

If you have started any new finance agreements during the year, please send the details, this includes if you have a new hire purchase, or any changes to an existing agreement. 

Payroll records 

We need payroll information for the year, a summary of the annual gross wages broken down by employee plus any amounts outstanding at the year end, is most helpful.  

Income 

Please include all sales invoices for the year, regardless of whether they have been paid or not, these may already be included on your software for us to view. These include grant invoices and any other forms of income. 

Purchases 

All purchase invoices and expense receipts must be included, which may be attached to your software to prevent the need to send them in. 

Stock valuation and cropping areas  

If relevant, please include a stock valuation and cropping area schedule both for the harvest within your financial year and to support the closing cultivations. 

Significant notes 

If there is anything that took place in the year that we should know about then please make it obvious to us, this could include, for example, grants that have not yet been received or capital projects. 

VAT returns 

We will need to see copies of your VAT returns to complete your accounts, these may be accessible from your software. Please also include any further VAT workings if relevant. 

 

In summary, the secret to a smoother financial close is to be well-prepared, organised, and proactive with your accountant throughout the year and to be sure that when your records are handed over, all the relevant information is included, in one go.