As the year draws to a close, chiropractors often find themselves balancing patient care, holiday chaos, and the mountain of administrative tasks that come with running a business. But before you flip the calendar to 2025, it’s essential to take some time to review your financial health. Proactively managing your finances now will help you avoid costly mistakes, maximize tax deductions, and set realistic goals for growth in the new year.

Here are 4 essential financial tasks every chiropractor should complete before the year ends.

1. Reconcile Your Accounts

Reconciliation might sound tedious, but it’s the foundation of accurate financial reporting. This step ensures that your accounting records match your bank and credit card statements. Unreconciled accounts can lead to errors on your financial statements, missed deductions, and headaches during tax season.

What to Reconcile:

• Business Checking Accounts
• Business Savings Accounts
• Credit Card Statements
• Loan Balances

When reconciling loans, make sure to differentiate between the principal and interest portions of each payment. Misclassifying the full payment as an expense is a common DIY bookkeeping mistake that can distort your financial statements.

Pro Tip:
If you’re managing your own books and feeling overwhelmed, now might be the perfect time to hire an outsourced bookkeeper. They can help clean up your records and keep everything accurate moving forward.

2. Review Your Profit & Loss Statement and Balance Sheet
   Your Profit & Loss (P&L) Statement and Balance Sheet provide a clear snapshot of your business’s financial health.

• The P&L Statement shows your revenue, expenses, and profit over the year. Reviewing it allows you to identify trends, compare monthly and yearly performance, and understand which areas of your practice are thriving or need improvement.
• The Balance Sheet lists your assets (bank accounts, equipment) and liabilities (loans, debts), giving you a snapshot of your business’s net worth.

What to Look For:

• Did you meet your revenue and profit goals?
• Are your expenses aligned with industry benchmarks? (Common high-cost categories for chiropractors include advertising, payroll, and office expenses.)
• How has your debt changed over the year?

Free Resource:
Need help understanding what a healthy P&L looks like for a chiropractic business? Download my free sample Profit & Loss Statement for Chiropractors here. It breaks down expense categories as percentages of revenue, helping you compare your own numbers to industry standards.

3. Organize Your Tax Documents and Communicate with Your Tax Professional
   Tax season is right around the corner. Getting your documents in order now can save you time, stress, and potential penalties.

What to Gather:

• Receipts for deductible expenses (equipment, continuing education, travel)
• Financial Statements
• Payroll records
• 1099 forms (both those you’ve received and issued)

Don’t Forget:
If you’ve paid for business expenses with personal funds, make sure to let your bookkeeper know. These transactions won’t show up in your business accounts unless you report them.

Schedule a Year-End Meeting:
Reach out to your tax professional before the year ends. Meeting prior to the end of the year allows you to take advantage of tax-saving strategies that might not be available once the calendar flips to January.

Pro Tip:
Use accounting software like QuickBooks Online and a business bank account like Relay Financial for seamless integration and automatic transaction syncing. This makes tracking and reconciling expenses a breeze.

4. Review and Update Your Financial Goals
   Reflecting on the past year helps you set realistic and achievable goals for 2025.

Questions to Ask:

• What worked well financially this year?
• What didn’t work?
• What specific goals do you have for 2025? (e.g., increasing monthly revenue, reducing overhead, building an emergency fund)

Tips for Goal Setting:

• Break Down Big Goals: Instead of saying, “I want to save $20,000,” calculate how much you need to save monthly or quarterly to achieve that.
• Align Business and Personal Goals: Your business finances and personal finances are closely tied. If you’re planning a major business investment (like new equipment) and a personal expense (like home repairs), prioritize and plan accordingly.
• Review Quarterly: If your income fluctuates throughout the year, set quarterly goals and adjust as needed. Chiropractors often see seasonal trends in their practice; use past P&Ls to predict these patterns.

Pro Tip:
Budgeting is one of the best ways to stay proactive in your business. If you’ve fallen out of budgeting, start fresh for 2025. Plan for at least six months ahead, and remember: a budget helps you look forward (through the windshield), not just backward (through the rearview mirror).

Taking these four steps — reconciling accounts, reviewing financial statements, organizing tax documents/connecting with your tax pro, and updating goals — will set your chiropractic business up for a successful and stress-free 2025. Remember, you don’t have to do it perfectly. Imperfect action is better than none at all.

Need more support? Check out my Free Resources or listen to the Financially Adjusted Podcast for more tips to simplify your finances.

By taking action now, you’re not just closing out 2024 — you’re setting yourself up for clarity, control, and confidence in the year ahead.

You’ve got this, my entrepreneurial friend! 💪