Heading into 2026, one in three U.S. adults (33%) said they planned to start a business or side hustle—a 94% jump from the year before. With the end of the year less than two months away, November is the time to review your strategy and make sure you're ready for the challenges of the coming year.
The end of the year is always busy with holidays, family time, and planning for the new year. As a small business owner, you also need to tackle tasks like income statements, taxes, and employee incentives.
Balancing work and life as Dec. 31 approaches can be tricky, but focusing on your business now can help you finish the year strong and set yourself up for success in the new year.
What needs to be done, and what’s optional? Use this year-end checklist from Intuit QuickBooks to knock out the essential tasks and free up time for what matters most.
The end of the year is a great time to review your business’s financial health. Use your accounting software to generate key reports, including an income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.
The income statement is particularly important for understanding your profits and gauging your outlook for the new year.
If profits are lower than expected, consider adjustments for the coming year. If profits are higher, it might be a good time to make investments and plan for depreciation.
Before making large purchases, consult an accountant to ensure you have the cash flow needed and understand depreciation rules.
A cash flow statement tracks how your business spends money over the year, with inflows representing income and outflows representing expenses.
Your goal is to generate more income than you spend. Review your cash flow statement at year-end to spot trends.
Cash flow problems can arise for various reasons—identifying them early means you can address them faster. Remember, net cash outflows don’t always signal trouble—cash flow problems occur when outflows exceed inflows.
To calculate cash flow, break it down into three activities:
The formula adds your beginning cash balance to the net changes in each activity to determine your ending cash balance.
A lot can change for a business in a year, and the same goes for your vendors.
At year-end, verify that your vendors’ contact details—such as phone number, email, and contact name—are up to date. Remove any inactive vendors or incorrect information.
If you have time, review your vendor relationships and consider negotiating better deals for the new year.
Confirm that you have current W-9 forms on file for contractors and vendors you'll need to report to the IRS.
Schedule a quarterly vendor review to catch outdated information throughout the year. This can help you spot opportunities to renegotiate terms before contracts renew.
Accounts receivable is the money customers owe you after purchasing goods or services on credit. If your unpaid invoice list is longer than desired, you’re not alone.
U.S. small businesses with unpaid invoices were owed about $17,700 on average, according to the 2026 QuickBooks Small Business Late Payments report.
To gauge how efficiently you collect revenue, calculate your accounts receivable turnover ratio. A higher ratio means customers pay quickly, while a lower ratio suggests your collections process may need improvement.
Regardless of your ratio, it’s wise to collect invoices before year-end to boost cash flow and start the new year with a clean slate.
It’s important to address any payroll issues before the year ends. Ensure you account for taxable fringe benefits like third-party sick pay or a company car in your payroll checklist.
Don’t forget other benefits such as educational reimbursement (up to the $5,250 tax-free limit), health and life insurance, and transportation subsidies.
Confirm that any year-end bonuses are processed before Dec. 31 so they're recorded in the correct tax year. The same applies to taxable compensation, like cash or cash-equivalent gifts, which should be included in payroll.
Preparing your taxes ahead of time ensures you have everything needed to file and can help avoid penalties. Knowing which forms you’ll need to file for small business taxes ahead of time is an essential step.
The tax form you have to file will depend on your business structure—and you might even have to file a couple of different forms. Some common tax forms for small businesses and solopreneurs include:
Before the year ends, consider talking to a dedicated tax professional to understand which forms you need to file and make a list of them.
You may have to look for different types of paperwork as tax season approaches. Stay prepared by keeping a tax checklist and gathering the necessary documents ahead of time.
Here are some common documents you may need to gather to submit your business’s taxes:
Plan ahead of time to find these documents, gather employee tax forms, and keep all documentation stored in one place to make it easier to file your taxes.
If you want to reduce your small business tax bills, look for tax deductions and credit opportunities before the year ends.
You may find expenses and investments you can deduct from taxable income, which reduces how much you’ll owe for tax returns.
Understand which tax deductions and credits you’re eligible for before tax season to ensure a lower small business tax bill. Some common deductions for small businesses include:
There are also different small business tax credits you may qualify for, including the Investment Credit, Work Opportunity Credit, and Small Employer Health Insurance Premium Credit. Prepare the documentation beforehand and consult with a tax preparation expert to maximize your savings.
Enhance with AI: AI can help identify potential deductions and credits by analyzing your financial records, flagging eligible expenses, and providing suggestions to reduce your tax burden. This can save you time and ensure you don’t miss out on savings.
Sometimes your tax situation is complex, or you can’t prepare everything ahead of time. If you believe you won’t be able to file your business tax return on time, consider requesting a tax extension.
Use Form 7004 to get a six-month extension for business taxes. You’ll still have to keep up with your estimated tax payments even with an extension, as it only allows you to submit your tax forms later.
Using financial statements, customer feedback, and team input, evaluate last year’s goals. Did you achieve them, or did you take an unexpected path to a different kind of success?
With your earnings in mind, set goals for the new year. Focus on financial, client, and management goals.
Once you’ve outlined your goals, create a high-level action plan for each to guide your progress.
In today’s e-commerce-driven world, your website is often the first impression customers have of your business—making it essential to keep it in top shape.
Go through your business website, click every link, test the “Contact Us” form, and call your 800 number to ensure everything works.
These small tasks may seem mundane, but they’re crucial for maintaining your website as a reliable digital calling card.
Counting and valuing inventory at year-end helps meet customer demand and prepares you for tax returns. Whether you use an automated inventory tracking system or need an analysis, take time to review your inventory.
Select a valuation method, such as FIFO (first in, first out), LIFO (last in, first out), or weighted average—based on what makes sense for your business.
Set a specific day for the count and organize your inventory space. Record quantities, calculate total value, and update financial statements to start the new year organized.
Evaluate your business’s marketing efforts at the end of the year to identify the effectiveness of your strategies. Understanding what worked and what didn’t can help you make better decisions for the upcoming year.
Here are some steps to evaluate your marketing efforts:
Next, start planning ahead. Develop a marketing plan for the new year based on your evaluation. Outline specific changes, new strategies, and optimizations to promotional campaigns and sales targets.
Even if you don’t rely heavily on technology, it’s wise to get your IT in order by year-end.
Back up essential files like accounting documents, client information, and emails. Provide employees with external drives or cloud storage to ensure all data is securely stored for the new year.
Regularly check that you can restore backup files without issues and protect your backups with encryption to prevent unauthorized access.
For easy data backup, follow the 2:1 rule:
Even with cloud storage, downloading “hard” copies of important documents ensures you have access in case of outages or data loss.
Use a consistent naming convention, such as YYYY-MM_DocumentName to keep files searchable and organized across all backup locations.
Closing out the end of the year is manageable if you keep and follow this year-end checklist. If you work with a trusted accountant, make an appointment with them as early as possible.
The more you plan for these tasks throughout the year, the easier your year-end will be.
Data in this article is drawn from the Entrepreneurship in 2026 report, based on a December 2025 online survey commissioned by Intuit QuickBooks of 3,000 U.S. adults age 18+, and the 2026 Small Business Late Payments Report, which draws on the Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Insights survey and the Business Ownership in 2026 survey of 1,305 U.S. business owners commissioned in December 2025. Additional context is drawn from the IRS and IRS Form 7004 pages.
This story was produced by Intuit QuickBooks and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
