Why prepare the year-end closing well in advance?
The year-end closing summarises the entire financial year. Everything that occurred during the year must be recorded, reconciled, and accrued to the correct year. The better prepared the documentation is, the faster the work proceeds and the lower the risk of errors.
Ideally, start a few weeks before the financial year ends. This gives you time to locate missing receipts, resolve queries, and plan any necessary actions before the turn of the year. Specific rules and deadlines for your business can be found at the Swedish Tax Agency and the Swedish Companies Registration Office.
A simple timeline
It is easier to organise the documentation if the work is broken down into a few steps, rather than tackling everything at once after year-end. A simple timeline might look like this:
- 1Before year-end: review the bookkeeping, locate missing receipts and invoices, and plan any purchases or salary payments.
- 2On the balance sheet date: retrieve bank statements, count petty cash, and perform a stocktake.
- 3Shortly after year-end: collect late invoices, aged debtor and creditor reports, and other supporting documents.
- 4Next: send everything to your accounting consultant and answer any queries so the year-end closing can be finalised.
1. Bank and cash
The balance in the accounts must reconcile with the bank statement on the balance sheet date.
- Save bank statements for all accounts as of the balance sheet date.
- Verify that all transactions during the year have been recorded.
- Include any savings accounts, foreign currency accounts, and credit cards.
- Count the petty cash if the business holds cash on hand.
2. Trade debtors
Review which customers have outstanding balances at year-end.
- Generate an aged debtors report (unpaid customer invoices) as of the balance sheet date.
- Highlight invoices that you consider doubtful or unlikely to be paid.
- Check that all deliveries and completed work during the year have been invoiced.
- Note any customer advances received for work not yet performed.
3. Trade creditors and accrued expenses
Expenses relating to the financial year must be accounted for in that year, even if the invoice arrives later.
- Generate an aged creditors report (unpaid supplier invoices) as of the balance sheet date.
- Gather invoices arriving after year-end that relate to the prior year.
- Note prepaid expenses, such as rent or insurance policies covering the coming year.
4. Stock and work in progress
If the business holds stock or has ongoing projects, these must be valued.
- Carry out a stocktake as close to the balance sheet date as possible and document the count.
- Identify damaged, obsolete, or slow-moving stock.
- Compile a summary of work in progress (WIP) that remains uninvoiced at year-end.
5. Fixed assets and capital investments
Major purchases intended for multi-year use are generally treated as fixed assets.
- List fixed assets acquired or disposed of during the year, complete with invoices.
- Verify that the fixed asset register matches the physical assets currently held.
- Note down any fixed assets that have been scrapped or are no longer in use.
6. Salaries, taxes and contributions
If the company has employees, payroll-related items need to be reconciled.
- Check that all salaries and monthly employer tax filings for the year have been booked.
- Compile the holiday pay liability and any accrued salary or bonus.
- Reconcile the tax account against the bookkeeping.
- Check that the VAT reporting for the year is correct.
7. Loans, contracts and other events
Certain information is required to ensure that the year-end closing and annual report give a true and fair view.
- Loan statements and interest certificates as of the balance sheet date.
- Leasing agreements and other long-term contracts.
- Information regarding shareholder contributions, dividends or changes in ownership.
- Events after the financial year-end that may affect the view of the business.
8. Questions to discuss with your accounting consultant
The year-end closing is a great opportunity to look ahead. Reflect on how the year went and what you would like help with for the coming year, such as salary withdrawals, dividends, investments or budgeting. Your accounting consultant can present the available options based specifically on your company.
After the year-end closing
Once the year-end closing is complete, the annual report is prepared for limited companies and the tax return is submitted. Limited companies submit their annual report to the Swedish Companies Registration Office. The applicable deadlines depend on the financial year and the business structure, and up-to-date information is available from the Swedish Companies Registration Office and the Swedish Tax Agency.
At Bokföringskollen, the year-end closing and annual report are not included in the monthly fee. They cost from approx. SEK 4,500 excl. VAT per year, depending on the scope. If we have managed the ongoing bookkeeping throughout the year, the supporting documentation is usually already in place.
Year-end closing →Annual report →Group accounting →How much does an accounting firm cost? →
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