Year-End Debtor Cleanup Checklist
Year-end is the moment to clear the dead wood from your ledger and start the new year with a clean book.
What's included
- What to reconcile and resolve before year-end
- How to deal with ageing and uncollectable debts
- How to confirm provisions and write-offs are right
- What to refer before the books close
- How to set the new year up cleanly
6 min read
Why clean up at year-end
A debtor ledger collects clutter over a year — unallocated payments, stale credits, debts that quietly went uncollectable. Year-end is the natural moment to clear it, so your financial statements are accurate and the new year starts on a clean book rather than carrying last year's loose ends. A focused cleanup also surfaces debts that should have been referred months ago, while there may still be time to recover them. This checklist covers commercial debtors; coordinate the accounting steps with your accountant.
The year-end checklist
- Reconcile fully — match every receipt; clear unallocated payments and stale credits.
- Chase the recent — push collectable overdue accounts before the year closes.
- Review the aged report — examine every account in the 90+ bucket.
- Confirm provisions — check doubtful-debt provisions reflect reality.
- Finalise write-offs — write off genuinely uncollectable debts with the right approval.
- Refer the stuck — send still-collectable but stalled accounts for recovery.
- Resolve disputes — close out open credits and disputes where possible.
- Tidy records — ensure every account's history is complete for audit.
How to use it
Start with a full reconciliation so the ledger you are cleaning is accurate — clearing unallocated payments first stops you writing off a debt that was quietly paid. Then split the 90+ bucket honestly into three piles: still collectable (chase or refer), genuinely doubtful (provision), and truly exhausted (write off with proper approval). Do not write off a stalled account that has never been worked externally — many are still recoverable, so refer those debts before the books close. Coordinate the write-offs and provisions with your bad debt provisioning checklist.
Start the new year clean
The reward for a thorough cleanup is a ledger you can trust on 1 July. With the dead wood cleared, your aged report at the start of the year reflects only live, collectable debt, which makes the months ahead easier to read. Carry forward the lessons too: if the same kinds of accounts ended up written off, tighten credit approval and your cadence before they repeat. A clean book is not just tidier — it is a more honest base for every decision that follows.
Tips
- Reconcile fully before deciding any write-off.
- Split the 90+ bucket into chase, provision and write-off.
- Refer stalled-but-collectable debt before the books close.
- Start the new year on a clean, trustworthy ledger.
FAQ
When should I do the year-end cleanup?
In the weeks before your financial year closes — early enough that still-collectable debts can be referred and worked.
Should I write off everything old at year-end?
No — split old debt into collectable, doubtful and exhausted. Refer the collectable, provision the doubtful, write off only the rest.
Who signs off the write-offs?
Whoever your write-off policy authorises for the amount — keep the approval on record for audit.
Templates are a head start — not legal advice
Customise to your business and have important documents reviewed. Need to recover a debt? We can help.