Year End | checklist for Clients

At year end, you'll need to run a number of checks that all affect your Xero bookkeeping.

As part of the AccountsUp! process, we'll check you've done them all, but here's a high level reminder of the top 10:

1. Bank reconciliation -Ensure balance per Xero agrees to your bank statement -Ensure all bank transactions are cleared (reconciled) -Run a bank reconciliation for every bank account, credit card, and loan See our guide here: https://www.accounts-up.co.uk/post/bank-reconciliations-praise-them
   

2. Stock count - Complete a full stock count at year end - Write off any missing, old or dilapidated stock in your stock system - Ensure the balance in Xero agrees to your stock system (or count if no system)

3. Bills - Ensure all your bills are in Xero - And they're all approved! - Review your aged payables report
   

4. Sales system -Ensure sales for the year per your sales system agrees to Xero's P&L
   

5. Invoices - Ensure all your invoices are in Xero - And they're all approved! - NB. Any work done during the year should be included - Review your aged receivables report
   

6. Fixed assets - Ensure all assets purchased this year are in Xero's fixed asset register - Run depreciation for the year - Run the Xero Fixed Asset Reconciliation report https://central.xero.com/s/article/Fixed-Asset-Reconciliation-report-new
   

7. Director's Loan Account DLA - Review DLA transactions to ensure none are posted there incorrectly - Remember to use your annual trivial benefits! - If your DLA is overdrawn at your year end, decide how to approach this. See our guide here: https://www.accounts-up.co.uk/post/s455-charge-biks-and-how-to-save-tax-on-your-directors-loan-account
   

8. Dividends - Ensure they've all been correctly declared and recorded in Xero

9. Trial balance - Run down each account - Check each looks as expected - This is a really useful check!
   

10. P&L and Balance Sheet - Stand back and check they both look as expected. - Compare them to last year's and to your budget and forecast - Do you know what each balance sheet item is made up of? - Should anything have instead gone to P&L? - See if your P&L all stacks up: is this the story of your business for the year?