Review General Ledger and Accounts
Begin by reviewing the general ledger for unusual balances, incomplete postings, and transactions assigned to incorrect accounts or periods. Reconcile bank accounts, credit cards, accounts receivable, and accounts payable to their supporting statements and subsidiary ledgers. Investigate unreconciled items before finalizing balances.
- Reconcile bank and credit card accounts through the final statement date.
- Review customer balances, unapplied receipts, vendor balances, and outstanding payments.
- Verify that adjusting entries, depreciation, prepaid expenses, and accrued liabilities are recorded in the appropriate period.
- Confirm that suspense accounts and other temporary balances have been reviewed and explained.
For each adjustment, retain the supporting calculation, approval, and explanation. This creates a clear audit trail and helps the accounting team answer questions about reported balances after the year closes.
Reconcile Job Costs and Construction Commitments
Job costing is central to year-end preparation for contractors. Review labor, materials, subcontractor charges, equipment costs, and other direct expenses against each project's records. Confirm that costs belong to the correct job and cost code, and compare actual spending with the approved budget and the latest cost-to-complete estimates.
Review open purchase orders, subcontract commitments, received materials, and work completed but not yet invoiced. Where goods or services were received before year-end but the supplier invoice has not arrived, determine whether an accrual is required. The Cut-Off Date Accruals: 2026 Guide for Finance Teams explains how cut-off, accrual discovery, estimation, booking, and reversal support accurate expense recognition.
Also investigate retainage receivable and payable balances, change orders, unapproved cost adjustments, and jobs with significant margin changes. For example, if a subcontractor completed $18,000 of work before year-end but has not submitted an invoice, the accounting team should assess the appropriate accrual based on the contract, work confirmation, and applicable accounting policy.
Verify Payroll, Tax, and Year-End Compliance
Review payroll registers, employee records, tax withholdings, benefits, and employer contributions for the year. Construction companies should also verify job-related labor allocations, prevailing wage or union payroll requirements where applicable, and the supporting records required for government contracts.
Confirm that payroll tax filings and year-end employee or contractor reporting are prepared according to the applicable jurisdiction and deadlines. Review the company's reporting obligations with its accountant or payroll adviser, since requirements depend on the business location, workforce, and contract types.
Contractors working on government projects can use the DCAA-Compliant ERP: 2026 Buyer's Guide + AI Audit Tips when reviewing how ERP configuration, financial records, and supporting controls contribute to year-round audit readiness.
Check Procurement, Accruals, and ERP Configuration
Before closing, confirm that purchasing activity is complete and properly documented. Match supplier invoices with purchase orders and receiving records where applicable, verify approval status, and investigate unmatched receipts or invoices. Clear outstanding procurement items only after confirming their accounting treatment and operational status.
A consistent requisition and approval process supports accurate spending records. Purchase Order Automation: End-To-End Procedures & Benefits provides relevant context for managing requisitions, purchase orders, approvals, and procurement controls across the procure-to-pay process.
Review Sage 100 Contractor's company settings, fiscal-year dates, user permissions, posting periods, and relevant integration mappings before making year-end changes. When evaluating ERP integrations or extending finance workflows, the Cloud ERP System Evaluation Checklist: Guide for 2026 can help teams assess system fit, integration requirements, and financial process needs. Document configuration changes and confirm that they preserve the integrity of existing accounting records.
Prepare Reports and Complete the Close
Generate and review the trial balance, balance sheet, income statement, accounts receivable and payable aging, and job profitability reports. Compare results with the prior year and budget, then investigate material variances before issuing final reports. Confirm that all required adjustments have been posted and that supporting schedules agree with the general ledger.
Year End Reporting covers the preparation and presentation of financial information used by management and other stakeholders to assess annual performance. If the company operates multiple entities or reporting units, Year End Consolidation brings their financial information together according to the applicable reporting structure and accounting policies.
Coordinate the final close with the company's accountant, document outstanding review items, and confirm who is authorized to finalize the year. A broader Year End Close Checklist can complement the Sage-specific tasks by organizing reconciliations, journal entries, approvals, and financial close responsibilities.
Use a Repeatable Checklist for Future Years
Assign each task to a responsible employee, specify the completion date, and record the evidence reviewed. Keep a clear distinction between completed tasks, open issues, and items awaiting external information. Retain backups and supporting records according to the company's retention policy before carrying out year-end procedures or changing fiscal-year settings.
Finance teams introducing additional workflow support can assess how the Hyperbots Platform accommodates company-specific ERP integrations, roles, workflows, and general ledger structures through no-code configuration. Its Process Specific Capabilities support finance workflows using domain-trained AI, while Ready to Deploy Capabilities include pre-trained agents, ERP connectors, and configurable setup for relevant finance tasks.
Over time, Self Learning Capabilities can use human actions and feedback to refine workflows and general ledger coding. A Human in the Loop approach keeps people involved in approvals and exceptions, helping teams review items that require judgment before records are finalized.
Summary
A Sage 100 Contractor Year End Checklist helps construction accounting teams reconcile financial accounts, validate job costs, review payroll and procurement, recognize accruals, and verify year-end reports. Completing and documenting these tasks before finalizing the year improves financial reporting accuracy, strengthens audit readiness, and gives management a clearer view of project profitability and business performance.