The September 15th Deadline Is Around the Corner – Are Your Books Ready?
The September 15th tax extension deadline is coming fast, and if your books are still in “I’ll get to it later” mode, you’re not alone. If you’re a small business owner who filed for an extension earlier this year, now is the time to act. At TruePath, we work with business owners who wear every hat and often put their finances on the back burner until the pressure’s on. But when tax time hits, scrambling leads to missed deductions, rushed decisions, and higher costs. This post breaks down 5 critical bookkeeping fixes before September 15th to help you avoid last-minute chaos, IRS issues, and overpayments.
Here are 5 essential bookkeeping fixes we recommend making before you hit “send” on your return.
1. Reconcile All Your Accounts: A Crucial Bookkeeping Fix Before September 15th (Bookkeeping Fix #1)
Mindset trap: “If the bank balance looks right, I’m good.”
Many business owners assume their books are close enough if their checking account seems to match their bank feed. But reconciliation is more than a balance check – it’s a match-by-transaction accuracy check, and skipping it opens the door to big mistakes.
What gets missed:
Merchant accounts (Stripe, Square, PayPal)
Business credit cards
Loans and lines of credit
Unposted or duplicated entries
Real example: One client came to us two weeks before filing. Their Stripe account hadn’t been reconciled in six months. We uncovered $3,000 in unrecorded income and $700 in duplicate expenses. That’s the kind of stuff that slips through the cracks.
Related: Check out our Bookkeeping Services for Small Businesses
2. Missing Expenses? Fix This Before the September 15th Bookkeeping Deadline (Bookkeeping Fix #2)
Mindset trap: “I’ll go back and add those receipts later.”
You swipe your card, pay bills online, and cover business costs on the fly, but if those expenses never make it into your books, they’re not reducing your tax bill. That’s money you’re just giving away.
What gets missed:
Subscriptions paid from personal cards
One-off vendor payments
Client meals or travel
Forgotten reimbursements
The result? Higher profit on paper → higher taxes owed → more cash out the door.
Pro tip: Use an app like Dext or QuickBooks mobile receipt capture to automate this moving forward.
3. Clean Up Misclassifications (Bookkeeping Fix #3)
Mindset trap: “QuickBooks can figure it out.”
Many owners rely on QuickBooks rules or automated tags. But without human review, your Chart of Accounts becomes a junk drawer and your financial reports? Completely unreliable.
What goes wrong:
Meals marked as Office Supplies
Contractor payments under Advertising
Sales tax coded as income
Why it matters: Bad categories cause missed deductions, mislead your CPA, and can raise red flags if you’re ever audited.
4. Run and Actually LOOK At Your Reports (Bookkeeping Fix #4)
Mindset trap: “That’s for my CPA, not me.”
If you haven’t looked at your Profit & Loss or Balance Sheet in months (or ever), you’re not alone. But these reports aren’t just tax documents, they’re tools for running your business.
The risks:
You can’t see if you’re profitable
You miss signs of fraud or cash flow issues
Your CPA is flying blind
Not sure how to read them? That’s something we cover with our Bookkeeping Services
5. Store and Organize Your Backup Docs (Bookkeeping Fix #5)
Mindset trap: “I’ll keep it if they ever ask.”
The IRS doesn’t care what you remember, they care what you can prove. That means invoices, receipts, mileage logs, and more. Without those, a legitimate deduction can be disallowed.
👉 If the IRS asked for a $1,200 invoice from March, could you find it in 2 minutes? If not, it’s time to tighten your system.
Most common issues:
Receipts in a shoebox or random email
No system for attaching proof to transactions
Lost paper trails for cash payments
What to do: Use cloud-based storage or upload receipts to your bookkeeping software. Don’t just have documentation, make it easy to find.
Why These Bookkeeping Fixes Before September 15th Matter
Rushing through tax prep leads to costly errors. Making these bookkeeping fixes before September 15th ensures:
✅ You don’t overpay or underreport
✅ Your CPA doesn’t waste time (or charge extra)
✅ You’re prepared in case of an audit
✅ You actually know how your business is performing
And best of all—you gain confidence in your numbers, which helps with decisions long after tax season ends.
Let TruePath Clean It Up…Fast
Whether you need help fixing your 2024 books before filing or want someone to take it off your plate entirely, TruePath is here. We help business owners:
✅ Reconcile messy accounts
✅ Track down missing expenses
✅ Fix categorization errors
✅ Run clean, ready-to-file reports
✅ Get documentation audit-ready
And we do it with no minimum hours and no long-term contracts.
Let’s Get You Filed – Without the Panic
You don’t have to DIY this or wait until the last minute and hope for the best.
Let’s get your books ready and your mind clear before the September 15th deadline.
Book Your Free Strategy Call
To Your Success,
Stacy Caslow
CEO / Owner
TruePath Solutions
