> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://www.practiceownersguide.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Bookkeeping and the tax calendar

> What your CPA needs monthly, the chart-of-accounts basics, and the tax dates that cost money when missed.

## The monthly bookkeeping loop

Books in QuickBooks or similar, closed monthly by you, a bookkeeper, or your
CPA's firm. The [month-end close](/guides/month-end-close) produces the
inputs; the deliverables are a P\&L, balance sheet, and cash position you
actually read. Practice-specific rules: record insurance revenue at
**collected** amounts, not gross charges (contractual adjustments make
charge-based books fiction), and keep entity books separate in
[multi-entity structures](/guides/multi-entity-money), one checkbook per
entity, management fees actually invoiced.

A clean bank layout makes this mostly automatic:
[account structure](/concepts/practice-banking-structure), with a tax reserve
account funded monthly (25-30% of owner draw is a common starting rule).

## The dates

| When                           | What                                                                                                                             |
| ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Jan 15, Apr 15, Jun 15, Sep 15 | Personal estimated tax payments                                                                                                  |
| Jan 31                         | W-2s to employees, 1099-NECs to contractors                                                                                      |
| Mar 15                         | S-corp / partnership returns (1120-S, 1065) or extensions; K-1s out                                                              |
| Apr 15                         | Personal return or extension                                                                                                     |
| Quarterly                      | Payroll 941s (your provider files, you verify)                                                                                   |
| Year-end                       | Retirement plan contributions and [new-plan deadlines](/guides/payroll-benefits-retirement); equipment purchases for Section 179 |

Two habits prevent most tax pain: fund the reserve account with every draw,
and meet your CPA in **October or November**, when there's still time to act
(retirement plans, equipment, salary tuning), not in March.

## Related

* [The numbers that matter](/guides/practice-kpis)
* [Month-end close for a practice](/guides/month-end-close)
* [PC vs. PLLC, and the S-corp election](/guides/entity-tax-basics)
* [Payroll, benefits, and retirement](/guides/payroll-benefits-retirement)
* [The compliance calendar](/guides/compliance-calendar)