Prepare your books for tax filing with QuickBooks Live Expert Full Service Bookkeeping

Income reported on your books should include every source of revenue your business has generated over the tax year. Your QuickBooks Live Expert will review and reconcile your income transactions to your bank accounts and accounts receivable invoices.

You should maintain documentation of all receipts and invoices, for deductions you plan to claim, such as rent, utilities, and advertising costs. Having accurately categorized expenses is equally important, as misclassification could lead to missed deductions or complications during an audit. Our QuickBooks Live Experts will thoroughly review these to ensure they are reflected properly in your books.

Having an updated, accurate balance sheet helps in tax preparation by providing essential information, like current cash balances, loan and accounts payable balances and asset depreciation, which may affect your tax obligations. This is also an area our QuickBooks Live Experts ensure accuracy and completeness.

Your books should include detailed payroll records that reflect gross wages, taxes withheld, and any benefits provided like retirement account contributions or fringe benefits. Incomplete or inaccurate payroll records could lead to tax penalties, so ensuring these are consistently up-to-date is essential.

If your business hires outside labor or independent contractors, it is important to have their information documented and on file as well as to keep a record of payments made to them throughout the year for services provided. This information will be essential in properly reporting their income to them for their tax purposes.

If your business has long-term assets like equipment, real estate, or goodwill, these may qualify for depreciation or amortization expense. Having these accurately classified by our QuickBooks Live Experts in your books will make it much easier for your tax preparer to track these assets correctly to maximize your deductions over their useful lives. This can be a complex area, so your QuickBooks Live Experts will make sure these are classified correctly.

Having clear and up-to-date records of what your customers owe (accounts receivable) and what you owe vendors or vendors (accounts payable) will help you see what the potential collections are for your business as well as what the cash outflow will be. Both of these are reviewed by our QuickBooks Live Experts as they impact your cash flow as well as your taxable income.

Having your account balances up to date at the end of the year, with all transactions correctly classified, as well as reconciled for the most recent time period is essential in giving you visibility into your cash flow, and making sure all of your income and expenses are captured.

• Employee forms:
  • W-4: Employee tax withholding certificate
  • W-2: Wage and tax statements for each employee
• Subcontractors and professional services:
  • W-9: Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
  • 1099: Nonemployee information form, including forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC

Getting Started

• Copy of articles of incorporation or bylaws including any amendments, if applicable
• Copy of IRS EIN assignment on form CP575, if applicable 
• Copy of IRS acceptance letter of S election or previously filed Form 2553, if applicable
• Last year’s federal, state, and local tax returns (not applicable for new business in 2024)
• List of states and state ID numbers in which your business has nexus or a presence that requires reporting
• All amounts and dates for state and local estimated tax payments made

• Prior year depreciation schedules detailing asset cost, date placed in service, prior depreciation, and business use percentage
• Date of purchase, cost, trade-in allowance, and business use percentage for all assets acquired during the tax year
• Date of disposal, cost, sales proceeds, trade-in allowance, expenses of the sale, and accumulated depreciation for all assets disposed of during the tax year

• Year-end bank, credit card, & loan statements
• Third-party app year-end sales reports (Square, Shopify, etc.)
• Annual Payroll Detail Journal
• Copy or summary of all Form 1099 and W-2s issued
• Subcontractors and professional services income:
  • Total of 1099s received, if applicable

• Square footage of office space
• Mortgage interest or rent paid
• Utilities
• Insurance policy
• Vehicle mileage
  • Business Miles
  • Total Miles