If you prepare your financial statements using the accrual method, but maintain your books on a daily basis using the cash method, you normally do not make entries to your accounts receivable general ledger account during the accounting period. At the end of your accounting period, you need to make an adjusting entry in your general journal to bring your accounts receivable balance up-to-date.

If your business is a corporation, and your corporation has declared a dividend payable to shareholders, the declared dividend needs to be recorded on the books. Assuming the dividend will not be paid until after year end, an adjusting entry needs to be made in the general journal.

If you've been making monthly payments on a loan, you will probably need to make an adjusting entry in your general journal at year end so the correct amount of interest expense is on your books, and the loan balance as of year end is correctly shown on your books.

Bonuses should follow the same general guidelines used for salary with respect to compensation for C corporation owners. In addition, in a C corporation, paying yourself a large, last minute bonus at the end of a good year is not a habit you want to get into. Particularly avoid paying a bonus that's greater than your usual salary. The timing is often as important as the amount when it comes to raising red flags for a tax auditor.

If you prepare your financial statements using the accrual method, but maintain your books on a daily basis using the cash method, you do not make entries to your accounts payable general ledger account during the accounting period. At the end of your accounting period, you need to make an adjusting entry in your general journal to bring your accounts payable balance up-to-date.

Although your former grade school teachers may not want to hear it, putting something off can sometimes be a good idea.

If your business is a corporation, it is a separate entity that is required to pay income taxes. After your accountant computes the income tax liability of the corporation, an adjusting entry should be made in the general journal to reflect the income tax expense for the year.

Do you extend credit to your customers? If so, do you have any accounts receivable at year end that you know are uncollectable? If you do, the end of the year is a good time to make an adjusting entry in your general journal to write off any worthless accounts.

The current ratio is a way of looking at your working capital and measuring your short-term solvency. The ratio is in the format x:y, where x is the amount of all current assets and y is the amount of all current liabilities.