10 Things Washington Contractors Should Do Before Year-End Filings
If you run a contracting business in Washington, year-end can sneak up fast. Jobs overlap. Weather delays projects. Payroll keeps going. Meanwhile, paperwork and state requirements sit quietly in the background until something is due. Then it becomes stressful.
The goal is simple. Finish the year clean. Avoid surprises. Start the next one in control. The list below is practical, not overly technical, and comes from what we see real Washington contractors deal with every year.
1. Reconcile All Business Accounts
Most contractors have more than one account to keep track of. Reconciling is not just a bookkeeping exercise. It is making sure your financial reality matches what the bank, credit cards, vendors, and lenders say.
Look at:
Business checking
Credit cards
Vendor house accounts
Equipment loans
Lines of credit
When accounts are off, reporting becomes unreliable and planning becomes guesswork.
2. Review Your Washington B&O Tax Position
Washington does not tax income. It taxes revenue through B&O tax. Many contractors misunderstand this part. Before year-end, take a calm look at how revenue was reported. Make sure the work type matched the right category and filings were submitted correctly.
We regularly see contractors either overpay or underpay here simply because a classification was not set correctly.
3. Make Sure Your Washington Annual Report Is Current
If your business is an LLC or Corporation, the Secretary of State expects your Annual Report to be filed. It is quick to check. When it is missed, it turns into a larger problem than it ever needed to be.
We have seen great companies scramble because their status went inactive and suddenly banks or clients would not move forward until it was fixed.
4. Review L&I Payroll Details
Labor & Industries is a big part of running a contracting business in Washington. Year-end is a good checkpoint to make sure employee classifications were right, hours were tracked correctly, and payroll records match work performed.
When L&I finds mistakes, it rarely goes away quietly. It is usually easier to review now than argue later.
5. Look at Sales Tax and Local Jurisdiction Requirements
Contractors who work across different cities know this already. What is required in Seattle is not always the same as Everett or Tacoma. Depending on how jobs were billed, you may need to look at sales tax, use tax, and city differences.
If you worked across several locations this year, it is worth a quick review instead of assuming everything lined up on its own.
6. Clean Up Open Jobs and Work in Progress
Many contractors end the year with open jobs. That is normal. The important part is making sure deposits were recorded correctly, expenses landed in the right place, and completed work was billed.
A lot of lost profit is not because the job went badly. It is because pieces of the job never made it into billing or were not tracked accurately.
7. Review Equipment and Big Purchases
Contractors buy trucks, trailers, tools, and machinery throughout the year. That is just part of the work. Make sure those purchases are recorded correctly and loan payments are broken down between principal and interest.
Getting this right keeps reporting clean and helps avoid confusion later.
8. Check License, Bond, and Insurance Status
This one is simple but important. Make sure nothing expired without you noticing. A surprising number of great contractors lose momentum because paperwork was overlooked while they were busy actually doing the work.
9. Get Subcontractor and 1099 Information Ready
If you use subcontractors, do yourself a favor and organize this now. Confirm W-9s are on file, names are correct, and details are ready before 1099 season begins.
We see contractors wait on this every year, and it always becomes a rush.
10. Have a Conversation Before the Year Actually Ends
A short conversation with a bookkeeper or CPA before year-end can reduce stress and prevent problems. Most issues are easier to solve before the final numbers are locked in.
Contractors already deal with enough pressure from schedules, weather, clients, inspections, and job performance. Financial clarity should support you, not drain you.
Final Thought
Washington contractors work hard and deal with rules that most business owners in other states do not experience. Year-end preparation is not about perfection. It is about control, fewer surprises, and protecting what you are building.
If you want help cleaning things up, checking filings, or getting confidence that everything is where it should be, working with someone who understands Washington contracting can make things a lot easier.
