Essential QuickBooks® Online Year-End Prep for 2025

As the year draws to a close, ensuring a seamless transition into 2026 starts well before December. For businesses utilizing QuickBooks® Online (QBO), this is a critical time to transition from impulsive, last-minute tasks to organized, tax-ready bookkeeping and strategic planning. With newly introduced features and heightened IRS oversight, proactive year-end preparation can save time, mitigate risks, and position your business favorably for the coming year.

1. Reconcile Accounts and Tidy Up Transactions

Navigate to Settings → Chart of Accounts → Reconcile within QBO. Align your closing bank and credit card statements, scrutinize Undeposited Funds, and ensure that all outstanding elements are accounted for. QBO’s integrated guidance helps spotlight unreconciled items, preventing unwelcome surprises come April.

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2. Analyze Customer & Vendor Aging Reports

Generate Accounts Receivable and Payable Aging reports. Address any uncollectible receivables and unpaid vendor invoices promptly to ensure your profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet remain accurate, thereby avoiding delays in tax preparation.

3. Utilize Enhanced Reporting Tools

With the expanded 'Modern View' in QBO, utilize advanced filters, faster load times, and increased customization. This functionality improvement allows you to efficiently generate reports such as Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Forecasts, enhancing your financial overview.  

4. Configure and Track 1099/NEC for Contractors

If your business employs freelancers or independent contractors, head over to Expenses → Vendors → Prepare 1099s. Ensure collection of W-9 forms, track payment thresholds, and verify that QBO correctly marks vendors. Skipping this step may lead to costly filing penalties in the first quarter.

5. Finalize Book Closures and Verify Fiscal Settings

In Settings → Advanced, verify the "First month of fiscal year". Subsequently, publish closing balances and secure against further modifications. This practice guarantees clean year-end data for your tax preparer, safeguarding against unintentional alterations.

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6. Project for 2026 and Fortify Cash-Flow Resilience

Utilize QBO’s Cash Flow projections to model scenarios for January-March 2026, such as potential revenue fluctuations, tax payment schedules, and anticipated cost increases. Planning ahead can provide a financial buffer and strategic clarity, not merely file consolidation from the previous year.

7. Optimize Tools and Embrace Automation

Leverage QBO’s newest features, including streamlined pay item deactivation and e-signatures for payroll records. These improvements enhance workflow efficiency and minimize errors, aiding in a smoother year-end transition.  

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In conclusion, dedicating 30-60 minutes each week to reconcile accounts, evaluate vendor/customer aging, utilize enhanced reports, track contractor responsibilities, and finalize settings will ensure you emerge into 2026 not with disarray but with strategic foresight and orderly books. Beyond data entry, QuickBooks® Online is designed for strategic advantage.

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