The end of your financial year is a critical time for every business. Whether your year ends on 30 June (Australia, New Zealand), 5 April (UK tax year), 31 March (India, some NZ businesses) or 31 December (US, Canada, many others), the same preparation applies. A thorough end-of-year process ensures accurate tax returns, clean financial statements and a solid foundation for the year ahead.
Reconcile all bank accounts and credit cards
Send final invoices and follow up on outstanding receivables
Record all payables and accrued expenses
Review and write off any bad debts
Complete a stocktake if you hold inventory
Review and process depreciation on all fixed assets
Reconcile payroll, super/pension and tax withholding records
Review prepaid expenses and adjust as needed
Back up all financial records and data
Prepare financial statements - P&L, balance sheet, cash flow
Review tax position and plan any last-minute deductions
Engage your accountant for tax return preparation
Businesses in Hong Kong operating under the Profits Tax system must meet these compliance requirements set by IRD:
Starting end-of-year preparation too late
Not reconciling all accounts before closing the year
Forgetting to process depreciation entries
Not writing off bad debts before year-end
Missing opportunities for pre-payments that could bring forward deductions
Not backing up financial records before year-end adjustments
SortBooks connects to your Xero account and finds transactions sitting in catch-all accounts. AI suggests the right account and tax code, learning from your own past coding. You approve it and SortBooks updates Xero. Reconciled transactions are locked by Xero, so those stay in SortBooks with an Open in Xero link.
AI suggests a category and Profits Tax code for each transaction. You approve it before anything changes in Xero.
Growth and above get a quarterly GST/VAT estimate to check before you lodge with IRD.
Ask about your P&L, cash and who owes you, using live Xero data. Every dollar figure is checked against Xero.
Australia and New Zealand: 30 June (some NZ businesses use 31 March). UK tax year: 5 April (many businesses use 31 March or 31 December). US and Canada: typically 31 December for calendar-year businesses. India: 31 March. Your business may use a different year-end if approved.
Ideally, start 4-6 weeks before year-end. This gives you time to chase outstanding invoices, process depreciation, review your tax position and make any last-minute adjustments. With SortBooks, much of this preparation happens automatically throughout the year.
SortBooks helps keep your coding clean year-round, so EOFY is less of a scramble. Transactions in catch-all accounts get the right account once you approve, and your accountant receives cleaner data.
AI suggests, you approve, SortBooks updates Xero. Try it free for 14 days.