Year-end bookkeeping checklist for Canadian small businesses

Year-end is only painful when the books were left to drift. Work through a clear checklist and you hand your accountant a clean, reconciled set of records — which means a faster, cheaper, more accurate return and fewer surprises. Here is the sequence that keeps it calm.

1. Reconcile every account

• Bank accounts — every business chequing and savings account matched to its statements through year-end.
• Credit cards — reconciled to the final statement, with all charges categorized.
• Payment processors — Stripe, Square, PayPal, Shopify and the like tied back to what actually landed in the bank.
• Loans and lines of credit — balances agreed to the lender, interest and principal split correctly.

2. Chase down the missing documents

• Find receipts for any uncategorized or "ask my accountant" transactions.
• Record business expenses paid personally, so you claim what you are owed.
• Confirm every invoice you sent is entered, and every bill you received is captured.

3. Review the key accounts

• Accounts receivable — who still owes you; write off anything genuinely uncollectible.
• Accounts payable — what you still owe at year-end.
• Inventory — if you carry it, count it and value it.
• Owner contributions and draws — recorded as equity, not as income or expense.
• Fixed assets — new equipment and vehicles recorded as assets for depreciation, not expensed in full.

4. Payroll and information slips

If you have employees, make sure payroll is complete and remittances are up to date, and prepare T4 slips. If you paid certain contractors or dividends, T5018 or T5 slips may apply. These have their own filing deadlines early in the new year, so line them up now rather than in a rush.

5. GST/HST and sales tax

Reconcile your GST/HST payable and input tax credit accounts so the balance matches what your returns say, and make sure any final-period return is ready to file. Sales tax errors are among the most common year-end cleanups — catching them now is far cheaper than an adjustment later.

6. Package it for your accountant

Hand over reconciled statements, a trial balance or year-end financials, payroll summaries, sales-tax filings, and a short note on anything unusual. The cleaner the package, the less your accountant bills for making sense of it — and the more time they spend on actual tax strategy.

Official references

• Canada Revenue Agency: Keeping records
• Canada Revenue Agency: Payroll
• Canada Revenue Agency: Business expenses

This guide is general educational information, not accounting or tax advice. Filing deadlines and rules vary by business type — confirm specifics with the CRA or your accountant.

Frequently asked questions

What does year-end bookkeeping involve?

Reconciling every bank, card and processor account, chasing missing receipts, reviewing receivables, payables, inventory and owner accounts, completing payroll and information slips, squaring up GST/HST, and packaging clean records for your accountant to file the return.

When should I start year-end bookkeeping?

Ideally the books are kept current all year, so year-end is a review. If they are not, start as early as possible before your filing deadline — reconciling and gathering documents takes longer than most people expect, especially if several months are behind.

How long do I need to keep my records?

In Canada the CRA generally expects business records to be kept for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to. Year-end is a good time to archive each year's documents in an organized way in case you are ever asked to support a number.