Your CPA can do better work when the bookkeeping is organized before tax season. That does not mean every owner needs to learn accounting rules. It means the records should be complete, reconciled, and easy to review.
Think of CPA prep as a handoff. Your job is to prepare the facts. Your CPA's job is to apply tax judgment and give tax advice.
Prepare the core reports
Most CPA handoffs start with a profit and loss statement and balance sheet for the year. The P&L summarizes income and expenses. The balance sheet helps catch issues with loans, owner draws, assets, and liabilities.
If those reports are built on unreconciled accounts, your CPA may need to spend time cleaning bookkeeping before they can focus on tax work.
- Profit and loss statement for the tax year.
- Balance sheet as of year-end.
- General ledger or transaction detail if your CPA requests it.
- Reconciliation reports or statement support for bank and credit card accounts.
Organize documents by the question they answer
A document folder is more useful when it follows the work your CPA needs to do. Keep bank statements together, payroll reports together, loan documents together, and source documents for unusual items easy to find.
For expenses with special tax treatment, ask your CPA what they need. Bonnie can help organize bookkeeping support, but your CPA should decide tax treatment.
- Bank and credit card statements.
- Payroll summaries and contractor payment reports.
- Loan statements and financing agreements.
- Major purchase records, asset invoices, and disposal records.
- Owner contributions, draws, reimbursements, and distributions.
Send questions, not a mystery pile
A clean handoff includes a short issue list. These are items you do not want to guess on: unclear transfers, personal charges that may need adjustment, large one-time expenses, or transactions that changed after year-end.
That issue list helps your CPA focus on decisions instead of searching through the whole year to find them.
Where Bonnie fits
Bonnie helps maintain the bookkeeping trail throughout the year: transactions are categorized, duplicates are flagged, documents stay attached where possible, and the P&L stays current enough to review before the deadline rush.
Bonnie does bookkeeping. It does not replace your CPA, file your tax return, or give tax advice.
CPA handoff checklist
- Reconcile every bank and credit card account through year-end.
- Review uncategorized transactions and transfers.
- Export or share the P&L, balance sheet, and transaction detail your CPA requests.
- Collect payroll, contractor, loan, asset, and owner equity records.
- Write a short list of open questions and unusual transactions.
- Ask your CPA what tax-specific documentation they need before the deadline.
The cleaner the bookkeeping handoff, the easier it is for your CPA to spend time on professional tax judgment instead of bookkeeping cleanup.