Year-end review and 1099 candidates
At your fiscal year-end, Financials lists what may still need settling: missing depreciation, loan payments with no interest, and payees who may need a Form 1099.
Open the year-end review
Go to Financials.
Pick the last month of your fiscal year in the period picker, for example December 2025 for a calendar year.
The Year-end review card, "Things to settle before closing {year}", appears above the statement.
Your fiscal year comes from First month of the fiscal year in Company settings. Once a year has findings, the card also shows on that year's other months.
The card only reads your books. Nothing is posted from it, and it doesn't change anything.
Important: The year-end review isn't tax advice. It lists what ZeraBooks found in your books so you can check it with your tax preparer. They decide what to record and what to file.
What it looks for
| Finding | When it appears |
|---|---|
| "Depreciation for {year} hasn't been recorded" | You have fixed assets, such as equipment or vehicles, with a balance, and nothing was recorded to accumulated depreciation during the year. |
| "Your {loan} payments don't show any interest" | A loan received 6 or more payments from a bank account during the year, and no interest for that lender was recorded anywhere. |
| "{n} payees may need a Form 1099 for {year}" | See below. |
For depreciation, the card estimates an amount and shows it as "Suggested entry for your bookkeeper…", with the debit and credit lines. For a loan, it suggests an interest entry only when an interest rate is on file. These are text only: to record one, use a journal entry (see Record a journal entry), or answer Autopilot's month-end question (see Month-end entries).
When nothing stands out, the card reads "Nothing stands out for {year}: depreciation, loan interest and contractor payments look covered."
How ZeraBooks picks 1099 candidates
The 1099 list only appears for books kept in US dollars. A payee is listed when all of these are true:
They were paid from a bank account during the fiscal year, by transfer, Zelle, check or similar. That includes paying their bills in Bills, whether the payment was matched from a bank statement or recorded with Mark as Paid from a bank account; a bill payment counts under the bill's own categories. Payments made by credit card are left out.
The payment was categorized as services or rent. Services means categories such as legal and professional fees, repairs and maintenance, commissions, contract labor, consulting or cleaning. Rent means rent, lease or equipment rental categories.
The payments total $600 or more for that payee in the year.
Some categories are never counted, whatever their name: for example bank charges, payment processing fees, subscriptions, utilities, insurance, taxes and licenses, interest, meals, travel, advertising, and shipping.
Each line shows the payee, the total, the number of payments, the categories they were booked to and the form it points to: 1099-NEC for services, 1099-MISC for rent. A payee booked to payroll but paid by Zelle, Venmo, Cash App or check is also listed, as a possible 1099-NEC if they aren't on payroll.
Likely exempt
A payee whose name reads like a corporation (ending in Inc, Corp, Co, Ltd and similar) is moved to a Likely exempt: line instead of being dropped. Payees booked to legal fees stay on the main list even when they look like a corporation. ZeraBooks may also use AI to judge whether a name belongs to a person or a corporation; when it does, it only moves payees between the two lists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where are the 1099 candidates?
In the Year-end review card on Financials, when you pick the last month of your fiscal year.
Does ZeraBooks file 1099s for me?
No. ZeraBooks lists payees that may need a Form 1099. It doesn't collect W-9s, prepare or file forms. Share the list with your tax preparer.
Why isn't a contractor I paid by credit card on the list?
Card payments are left out of the list. Only payments made from a bank account are counted.
Why is a payee I paid over $600 missing?
Their payments are in a category ZeraBooks doesn't read as services or rent, were paid by card, were spread across different payee names, or paid a bill that is still unmatched to its payment (a bill counts once its payment is matched or marked as paid). Check the categories in Banks & Cards and link the descriptions to one vendor. See Link bank descriptions to vendors.
Why don't I see the 1099 list at all?
Either no payee met all the rules, the period isn't your fiscal year's last month, or your books aren't kept in US dollars.
Can I post the suggested depreciation entry from the card?
No. The card only shows the suggestion as text. Record it with a journal entry, or answer Autopilot's month-end question.
What does "The year-end review could not be loaded" mean?
The review couldn't be fetched. Reload the page to try again.
Learn more about AI-native general ledger: A double-entry ledger where statements become proven transactions.
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