End-of-Year Accounting Checklist for Nashua Small Businesses

An end-of-year accounting checklist for Nashua small businesses is a dated list of the closing, payroll, and tax tasks that run from November through the spring filing deadlines, so 2026 books close accurately and 2027 returns go out on time. Most expensive mistakes come from timing, not math: equipment delivered in January, a contractor with no W-9 on file, or bank statements left unmatched for three months. The IRS and the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) don’t move deadlines because December got busy.

A generic checklist for small business owners usually skips New Hampshire’s profits and enterprise taxes. This one is organized by due date, with federal and state deadlines in one table.

What Does a Year-End Close Involve for a Nashua Company?

A year-end close is the accounting process of reconciling every account, correcting errors, and producing final statements for the fiscal year so the numbers can support tax returns, lending decisions, and a clear view of business finances. For most owners the end of the fiscal year is December 31. Any year-end checklist for small businesses follows the same order: make sure financial records are accurate, then make tax decisions, then file.

New Hampshire has no personal income tax (the Interest and Dividends Tax was repealed starting with 2025), but companies pay the Business Profits Tax (BPT), 7.5% of profits under RSA 77-A:2, and the Business Enterprise Tax (BET), 0.55% of compensation, interest, and dividends paid under RSA 77-E:2. BET paid is a credit against BPT, so a close that gets wages or owner compensation wrong ripples into both state returns and into what the business owes.

2026 Close and 2027 Filing Deadlines at a Glance

These dates apply to a calendar-year company closing 2026 books; weekend deadlines move to the next business day.

November: Book the Planning Meeting While Options Are Open

Meet with your accountant in November, not January. After December 31, purchases, retirement deferrals, and bonus timing for 2026 are locked in, and all that’s left is reporting them. Bring a current P&L, planned purchases, and payroll totals.

Your Nashua CPA can review your financial health, project the federal and NH liability, adjust the December estimate, and flag deductions worth taking, including retirement plan contributions. Employee 401(k) deferrals have to come out of a 2026 paycheck, while SEP-IRA contributions can generally wait until the return due date, including extensions. In small business accounting, this meeting is step one of the year-end close process.

Early December: Reconcile Accounts and Clean Up Receivables

Reconciliation comes first because it ensures accurate financial reporting for every later step. Pull bank statements, credit card statements, and loan documents and match each financial transaction against your bookkeeping and financial records.

Bank, Card, and Loan Reconciliation

Reconcile checking, savings, credit lines, merchant accounts, and petty cash. QuickBooks bank feeds catch formatting mismatches. They don’t catch a vendor who billed you twice. Look hard at:

• Outstanding checks that haven’t cleared in 90+ days
• Deposits in transit recorded in your books but not yet at the bank
• Automatic charges you forgot to cancel or reclassify

Booking a full loan payment as an expense, instead of splitting out principal, overstates deductions and leaves the balance sheet liability too high. Match each loan to the lender’s December statement.

If you sell through a payment app or marketplace, compare recorded sales to any Form 1099-K. Since the 2025 federal tax law, those platforms issue one only above $20,000 and 200 transactions, while card processors report any amount. All income is taxable either way.

Receivables and Bad Debt Write-Offs

Run an aging report on accounts receivable and chase anything past 30 days before the end of the year; decide whether invoices past 90 days get escalated or written off. The gotcha for cash-basis companies: a bad debt deduction exists only if the income was already reported, so unbooked revenue can’t be written off. Accrual-basis companies can deduct worthless receivables, but the IRS expects proof of collection attempts.

Before December 31: Tax Moves That Must Happen Inside the Tax Year

Gather receipts for travel, meals, insurance, mileage, and software now, because undocumented business expenses invite an audit. Then handle four year-end preparations with hard cutoffs:

• Equipment purchases. For tax years beginning in 2026, the Section 179 limit is $2,560,000, reduced once qualifying purchases exceed $4,090,000, per IRS Publication 946. Property acquired and placed in service after January 19, 2025 also qualifies for 100% bonus depreciation. “Placed in service” means installed and ready to use, so a machine delivered January 4 is a 2027 asset.
• The de minimis safe harbor. Companies without audited statements can expense items up to $2,500 per invoice or item, but only with a written accounting policy and an election statement attached to each timely filed return.
• Bonuses and deferrals. These must run through a 2026 paycheck to count as 2026 wages, which also sets compensation on the BET return.
• The fourth NH estimate. BPT/BET estimates are paid in four 25% installments on the 15th day of the 4th, 6th, 9th, and 12th months (RSA 77-A:7), so December 15 is the last 2026 payment. A declaration is required once estimated tax reaches $200 (RSA 77-A:6, II).

Two cautions. Section 179 can’t exceed business taxable income (the excess carries forward), while bonus depreciation has no income limit. And New Hampshire doesn’t automatically adopt every federal depreciation change, a common small business tax surprise, so the BPT deduction can differ. Buying equipment you don’t need for a write-off is still a net loss. A Nashua tax professional can run both versions first, and this overview of what New Hampshire businesses can deduct covers commonly missed categories.

January: Payroll and Contractor Forms Due February 1, 2027

Because January 31, 2027 is a Sunday, 2026 W-2s and 1099-NECs are due to recipients and the government on Monday, February 1, along with the fourth-quarter Form 941 and annual Form 940.

Payroll accuracy starts with the employee file: confirm names, Social Security numbers, and addresses, then reconcile wages against deposits. When the four quarterly 941s don’t agree with W-3 totals, notices follow.

The contractor threshold changed. For payments made in 2026, Form 1099-NEC is required at $2,000 or more, up from $600 through 2025, per the IRS Instructions for Forms 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC. Rents and other income on Form 1099-MISC moved to $2,000 too. Collect each W-9 before the final payment; chasing taxpayer IDs in late January is how forms end up late at the start of tax season.

February to April: Final Statements and the 2027 Returns

Product companies should count inventory at December 31, compare it with QuickBooks, and book adjusting entries for shrinkage and obsolete stock. Update the fixed asset register too, adding 2026 purchases and removing anything sold or scrapped. Then produce the year-end financial statements:

• Balance sheet showing assets, liabilities, and equity as of December 31
• Profit and loss statement (income statement) summarizing revenue and expenses for the full 12 months
• Cash flow statement tracking money in and out, which reveals liquidity problems a P&L can hide

Compare each line to the prior period and to budget; a 40% increase in supply costs might signal a vendor pricing issue or internal waste. Accurate financial reports are also what lenders ask for each spring.

Under RSA 77-A:6, partnerships file NH BPT and BET returns by the 15th day of the third month, March 15 for calendar filers. S corporations file federal Form 1120-S by March 15, but their New Hampshire returns follow the April 15 date for corporations and sole proprietors, a split that catches many S corporation owners off guard.

A BPT return is required once gross business income tops $109,000 for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025 (the statute sets a $92,000 base and adjusts it for inflation every two years). A BET return is required once gross receipts or the enterprise value tax base tops $298,000 for 2025 and 2026 periods (indexed from a $250,000 statutory base), and RSA 77-E:5 raises both BET figures to $400,000 effective January 1, 2027. Check the DRA’s current amounts before deciding a return isn’t required.

Set Goals and Fix Accounting Workflows for the Year Ahead

A useful year-end review should look at your financial results by service line, plus customer retention and marketing return, then set business goals for the upcoming year. “Grow revenue” is not a goal. “Increase Q1 revenue by 12% through two new service offerings” is, and it gives the budget a target for growth in the coming year.

If expenses still live in spreadsheets, accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero automates invoices, bank feeds, and reporting. These QuickBooks tips for New Hampshire entrepreneurs cover setup choices that matter for BPT and BET, and QuickBooks support can clean up a messy chart of accounts before January transactions pile on top. If you plan to grow your business in 2027, fix workflows now.

Confirm registrations with the DRA and the New Hampshire Secretary of State, whose annual report is due April 1 with a $50 late fee, and check liability and workers’ compensation coverage against new employees or equipment. A written business financial plan ties all of it to the deadlines above.

Printable End-of-Year Accounting Checklist for Nashua Small Businesses

Work through these ten year-end accounting tasks in order and share this template with whoever keeps your books.

1. November: meet with your accountant to project 2026 federal and NH tax.
2. Early December: reconcile bank, credit card, loan, and merchant accounts.
3. Early December: age receivables and write off uncollectible invoices.
4. By December 15: pay the fourth NH BPT/BET estimate.
5. By December 31: place planned equipment in service and run bonuses and 401(k) deferrals through the final paycheck.
6. December 31: count inventory and update the fixed asset register.
7. By February 1, 2027: file W-2s, 1099-NECs for contractors paid $2,000 or more, and Forms 941 and 940.
8. February: produce the balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement.
9. March 15 or April 15, 2027: file federal and NH BPT/BET returns by entity type, plus the NH annual report by April 1.
10. Set measurable goals and fix the workflow gaps the close exposed.

Start the end-of-year accounting checklist for Nashua small businesses with the November planning meeting, then reconcile accounts while December is still quiet. If your books are more than two months behind, hand the catch-up work to a bookkeeper first so the meeting runs on real numbers going into the new year.

Year-End Close Questions From Nashua Owners

What should a company finish before December 31?

Reconcile accounts, place planned equipment in service, run bonuses and 401(k) deferrals through a 2026 paycheck, and pay the December 15 NH estimate. After December 31, those choices can only be reported.

When are 2026 W-2s and 1099-NEC forms due?

Both are due February 1, 2027, because January 31 falls on a Sunday. Form 1099-NEC applies to contractors paid $2,000 or more in 2026, up from $600.

When are New Hampshire BPT and BET returns due?

Partnerships file by the 15th day of the third month after the period ends, March 15 for calendar filers. Corporations, S corporations, and sole proprietors file by the 15th day of the fourth month, April 15.

Do I need a CPA to close the books?

Not for routine tasks. An accountant adds value by catching statement errors, timing deductions, and coordinating federal returns with BPT and BET.

What financial documents should I prepare?

Prepare a balance sheet, income statement, cash flow statement, payroll summaries, and bank reconciliation records. Together they show your financial situation and support the business tax return.

Why review profit and loss before closing the books?

The P&L shows whether revenue exceeded expenses. Reviewing it before the close reveals spending trends and cost categories that grew faster than expected, which supports informed business decisions in the next period.