7 Signs Your Bookkeeper Didn’t Close the Year Properly

Even if you have a bookkeeper, the year may not be properly closed. Here are the signs to watch for before your CPA starts asking questions.

1. Unreconciled accounts

If you see “Reconcile Now” on multiple accounts, year-end is not complete.

2. Large Uncategorized Income or Expense

Any big uncategorized totals means your financials aren’t tax-ready.

3. Negative asset or liability accounts

These usually signal misapplied payments or incorrect journal entries.

4. Messy loan balances

If principal and interest aren’t separated, your tax filing won’t be accurate.

5. Strange A/R and A/P numbers

If customers owe you money from 2022, something wasn’t closed correctly.

6. Expense spikes or drops without explanation

These often mean duplicate entries or missing months.

7. Your CPA asked for multiple corrections last year

If that happened once, it will happen again.

Conclusion

If any of these signs appear, get a QuickBooks cleanup before tax season. A cleanup makes it easier for your CPA and saves you money long term. After that, monthly bookkeeping services keep everything clean going forward.