December gets the same routine as every other month. The difference is timing, and what your CPA receives in January.
Every month of the year, closing the books means the same four things: categorize everything, reconcile every account, review the reports, and file the paperwork. December is not special because the work changes. It is special because it is the last month, and whatever shape it is in becomes the shape of your whole tax year.
Statements arrive in early January. If December closes in that first week, tax season starts calm: your books are done before your CPA even asks. Let it slide into February, and December becomes one more month in a pile, usually the most expensive kind of pile, because CPAs charge for untangling, not just filing.
1. Every account reconciled to a real statement. Bank accounts, credit cards, and loans, each matched to its December 31 statement. If an account does not reconcile, the year does not balance, and everything built on it wobbles.
2. Contractor records ready for 1099s. For 2026 payments, contractors paid $2,000 or more need a 1099, due January 31. That means a W-9 on file and a payment total you trust for every contractor, gathered in January, not hunted down in a panic.
3. A year-end package your CPA can actually use. Profit and loss, balance sheet, general ledger, all reconciliations with year-end statements, records of equipment purchases and loans, and notes on anything unusual. One package, delivered once, beats eleven emails across February.
If several months need catching up, November is the month to start. A cleanup booked by November 30 gets your books reconciled through year-end and the CPA package above in your hands in January, for one fixed quote agreed before any work starts. Cleanup projects start at $499.
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Or work through the routine yourself with the small business bookkeeping checklist. Questions: meehanbookkeeping@gmail.com