The February scramble repeats
The books do get ready, but only after weeks of rebuilding the year in a hurry.
Monthly routine · Tax ready
Tax-ready bookkeeping that keeps your books ready every month
Every year it is the same: your CPA asks for the material, the business scrambles to put it together, and the bill comes in higher than it should.
Tax-ready bookkeeping is a monthly routine that keeps your books ready for your CPA in any month of the year. Ready means something you can check: every account reconciled through the last closed month, nothing uncategorized, personal spending separated, revenue tied to deposits, contractor W-9s on file and documents attached. It is not a year-end project. It is a close every single month. GS Brasil runs this routine in QuickBooks Online, remotely, and your CPA handles the taxes.
The routine starts from books in order. If QuickBooks is wrong today, the first step is a QuickBooks cleanup. If the year is over and you only need the package delivered, what you are looking for is year-end bookkeeping.
Warning signs
Signs your books are not tax ready
Your CPA bill keeps growing
Part of the billed hours goes to asking, checking and correcting, not to the tax work.
Profit shows up after the return
You only learn what the business made once nothing can be changed for the year.
What ready means
The criteria for tax-ready books and the routine that keeps them
Seven criteria you can check
Tax ready is not a feeling. The books are ready when they pass this list, in any month:
- Reconciled through the last closed month for every bank account, card and loan, with no forced differences.
- Nothing uncategorized and no old amounts sitting in Undeposited Funds.
- Personal separated. Personal spending paid by the business shows as an owner draw, not an expense.
- A correct Balance Sheet. Equipment and vehicles recorded as assets and loan balances matching the lender.
- Revenue that ties to deposits and to what payment platforms report on the 1099-K.
- W-9s on file, collected before the first payment to each new contractor.
- Documents attached to the transactions your CPA may want to see.
Why this cuts CPA hours and the risk of errors
Every question about a transaction becomes an email, a wait and a billed hour. When the criteria above are already met, your CPA starts on the tax side, which is their actual job.
The risk drops too. Revenue counted twice, personal spending booked as cost and equipment buried among expenses are errors that reach the return when nobody checks the month.
There is a benefit beyond taxes. When a bank asks for a P&L and Balance Sheet for a loan, the business sends the last closed month without rebuilding anything in a hurry.
What happens every month
- Categorizing the month's transactions, with questions gathered in a single list for you.
- Payments applied to invoices, so accounts receivable shows only what is truly open.
- Reconciling bank, cards and loans to the statements.
- A W-9 requested from every contractor paid for the first time.
- Reviewing control accounts: uncategorized, Undeposited Funds and Opening Balance Equity.
- Monthly close with P&L and Balance Sheet.
Current numbers your CPA can plan with
With June or September already closed, your CPA can estimate the year's result and advise on purchases, draws and entity structure while there is still time. Tax strategy is theirs. What the monthly routine ensures is that they work with real numbers, not last year's.
How it works
How the tax-ready routine starts and runs
01
Call
Where your books stand today
Twenty minutes, at no cost, to look at accounts, volume and what your CPA usually asks for.
02
Baseline
Checking the starting point
If a criterion fails in past months, it is fixed first with a cleanup or catch-up, while the current month enters the routine.
03
Every month
Monthly close
Categorizing, reconciling, W-9s and reports, within Strategic Bookkeeping Basic.
04
Year-end
A package without the rush
Since December closes like any other month, the CPA package comes straight out of the routine.
Deliverables
What you and your CPA get every month
Monthly P&L and Balance Sheet
Closed profit and loss and balance sheet, with year to date figures.
Reconciliations on file
A reconciliation report for every account, card and loan.
Clean control accounts
No carried over amounts in uncategorized or Undeposited Funds.
Contractor tracking
W-9s and totals paid per contractor, updated monthly. More on the 1099 contractors page.
Documents in place
Documents attached to transactions in QuickBooks Online.
Annual CPA package
Reports, December 31 reconciliations and asset list, produced from the routine.
Tax ready is not a tax return.
The books are ready for your CPA, but your CPA is the one who calculates, plans and files the taxes. GS Brasil does not prepare or file taxes and does not give tax advice.
Frequently asked
Tax-ready bookkeeping questions
How is tax-ready bookkeeping different from year-end bookkeeping?
Year-end bookkeeping is a project that runs from October to February. Tax-ready bookkeeping is the routine of every month, which turns year-end into just another close.
Does tax ready mean you do my taxes?
No. It means the material is ready for your CPA. The difference between the roles is explained in the article bookkeeper, accountant and tax preparer.
My books are behind. Can I start the monthly routine right away?
The current month can enter the routine right away. The past needs catch-up or a cleanup in parallel, or the year will not be ready.
Does my CPA need to change anything?
No. Ideally there is a short conversation at the start about the format they want and what they usually ask for. The routine adapts to that.
How much does the monthly routine cost?
Pricing is quoted per business and depends on transaction volume and level of support. If you want cash projections and margin analysis on top of the routine, look at Financial Support Premium.
Keep reading
Pages related to this routine
Bookkeeping clean-up
The starting point when the books are behind, wrong, or both.
Year-end bookkeeping
The October to April calendar to close the year before tax season.
QuickBooks cleanup
When QuickBooks is in use but the numbers are wrong.
Strategic Bookkeeping Basic
The monthly routine that keeps the books current.
1099 bookkeeping
W-9s, contractor totals and a 1099 package for your CPA.
Miami
Import, foreign exchange, card sales and real estate, books kept current.
First step
Start with the first conversation
Twenty minutes, no commitment, to understand where your company is and point the way.