· Reviewed by Nimra Khalid
What is year-end slip preparation?
Year-end slip preparation turns a year of payroll and contractor payments into the statutory forms employees, contractors and tax authorities receive: W-2 and 1099 in the US, T4 and T4A in Canada, P60 and P11D in the UK, and STP finalization in Australia. The work is mostly reconciliation: making sure slip totals agree with what was paid and remitted.
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Year-end slips: what we do and how it runs
Year-end slip preparation turns a year of payroll and contractor payments into the statutory forms employees, contractors and tax authorities receive: W-2 and 1099 in the US, T4 and T4A in Canada, P60 and P11D in the UK, and STP finalization in Australia. The work is mostly reconciliation: making sure slip totals agree with what was paid and remitted.
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What it is
Year-end slip preparation turns a year of payroll and contractor payments into the statutory forms employees, contractors and tax authorities receive: W-2 and 1099 in the US, T4 and T4A in Canada, P60 and P11D in the UK, and STP finalization in Australia. The work is mostly reconciliation: making sure slip totals agree with what was paid and remitted.
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What you get
W-2, 1099, T4, T4A, P60 and STP finalization data compiled and checked
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How it runs
Payroll register reconciled to the ledger and remittances before slips are run
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Discovery call
A 20-minute call about your headcount, contractors, jurisdictions, payroll software, and who files today: the payroll provider, your CPA or accountant, or you.
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A named accountant, a backup and a team lead
Inside your own software, on a fixed close calendar, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or start a quote.
Get a custom quote 06 / 06
Who it is for
Owners who dread January
Contractor addresses are missing, a bonus was paid outside payroll, and the deadline is days away. You want the data checked and ready before the crunch.
Businesses with staff and contractors in several jurisdictions
Employees in three states or two provinces, plus contractors, mean several form types and several deadlines. One reconciled dataset feeds all of them.
Accounting firms and bookkeepers at capacity
Year-end slips pile onto tax season. Handing the compilation and reconciliation to a dedicated team keeps your reviewers reviewing.
What's included
- Annual payroll register reconciled to the general ledger by employee and account
- Remittances and filings reconciled to the register: federal, state, provincial
- Employee master data checked: names, identifiers, addresses, status
- Off-payroll items captured: bonuses, taxable benefits, allowances, reimbursements
- W-2 and W-3 data compiled and checked in Gusto, ADP, Paychex or QuickBooks Payroll
- 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC vendor data compiled from the ledger with W-9s on file
- T4, T4A and T5018 data compiled in Wagepoint, ADP Canada or QuickBooks Online
- P60 and P11D data compiled from Xero Payroll or your UK payroll software
- STP finalization data reconciled in Xero Payroll, MYOB or KeyPay for Australia
- Discrepancy list with proposed corrections for your approval
- Filing calendar for every slip type and jurisdiction
- Amended slip data compiled when a correction is needed after filing
Deliverables and KPIs
| Deliverable | KPI we report | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll-to-ledger reconciliation | Register, ledger and remittances agree to the dollar before slips run | Annually, by mid-January |
| Filing-ready slip data | Data complete in your payroll system at least 10 business days before the deadline | Annually |
| Contractor data file | Every reportable vendor with identifier and address, or flagged as missing | Annually |
| Discrepancy list | Every difference explained with a proposed correction | Annually |
| Filing confirmation log | Confirmation for every submission stored in the LedgerDesk portal | Annually |
| Amendment support | Corrected data compiled within 5 business days of a confirmed error | As needed |
KPIs are what we measure and report, agreed per engagement. Service-level commitments are set in your agreement.
How it works
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Discovery call
A 20-minute call about your headcount, contractors, jurisdictions, payroll software, and who files today: the payroll provider, your CPA or accountant, or you.
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Mid-year data check
Where we start early, we review employee and vendor master data mid-year and collect missing W-9s, identifiers and addresses while people are still easy to reach.
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Year-end reconciliation
A named accountant reconciles the full-year payroll register to the ledger and to every remittance, captures off-payroll items, and issues the discrepancy list for your approval.
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Slip data and filing support
Once corrections are approved, the slip data is completed in your payroll system and reviewed under Two-Tier Review. You or your preparer submit, and confirmations are logged.
Software we work in
How much does year-end slips cost?
Year-end slips are priced as an annual project based on employee and contractor counts, the number of slip types and jurisdictions, and how clean the payroll ledger is. Clients on our payroll support service get it as part of the annual cycle. Pricing depends on volume and scope, so we send a custom quote within 1 business day.
What moves the quote
- Number of employees and reportable contractors
- Slip types and jurisdictions: W-2, 1099, T4, T4A, P60, P11D, STP
- Whether the payroll register already reconciles to the ledger
- Timing: starting in October costs less effort than starting in late January
Market benchmarks
| Market | Typical range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | Outsourced bookkeeping $150 to $1,600 per month; in-house bookkeeper $40k to $60k salary | indinero, RadCity, UseCalcPro (2026) |
| Canada | Freelance bookkeeping C$30 to C$90 per hour; fixed fees C$300 to C$2,000 per month | Outsource Bookkeeping CA, TheAccTaxCo (2026) |
| UK | Hourly payroll and bookkeeping support £20 to £55 | UK provider pricing surveys (2026) |
| Australia | Bookkeepers A$40 to A$100 per hour; registered BAS agents A$75 to A$150 | Australian bookkeeping fee surveys (2026) |
Third-party ranges for orientation, not our prices.
Get a custom quote No setup fee. Month-to-month.
Year-end slips for your industry
Case study
1 state to 5 states
Case studyHow a NEMT provider scaled from 1 state to 5 with an outsourced back office
A non-emergency medical transportation provider in the southern US ran a single-state operation with one office manager handling trip billing, broker portals and the books. Each new state meant a new Medicaid broker, new claim formats and new timely-filing rules, and the office could not absorb the volume. The owner engaged LedgerBPO for NEMT billing, insurance follow-up calls and accounts receivable, with a named billing agent, a backup and a team lead working inside the provider's own dispatch software and QuickBooks Online. Over the engagement the provider expanded from 1 state to 5 states without building an in-house billing department. The same back-office playbook was repeated for each state contract, so growth did not depend on hiring and training local staff every time a contract was won.
- States served15
Security and compliance
- Employee identifiers stay inside your payroll software; nothing is downloaded locally
- MFA on every login, per-client access log, NDA per engagement
- W-9 and identifier requests go out under your name from your systems
Full control list on the security page and country rules on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.
Frequently asked questions
How much do T4 preparation services cost?
Pricing depends on volume and scope, and we send a custom quote within 1 business day. As a market reference, Canadian freelance bookkeeping runs C$30 to C$90 per hour and fixed fees C$300 to C$2,000 per month (Outsource Bookkeeping CA, 2026); US outsourced bookkeeping runs $150 to $1,600 per month (indinero, 2026). Year-end slips are quoted as an annual project by headcount.
Which forms and slips do you prepare data for?
W-2, W-3, 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC in the US; T4, T4A and T5018 in Canada; P60 and P11D in the UK; and the Single Touch Payroll finalization declaration in Australia. Contractor forms in the US are covered in more depth on our 1099 preparation page.
Do you file the slips with the IRS, CRA, HMRC or ATO?
No. We compile, reconcile and complete the data inside your payroll software or preparer's system. Your payroll provider, your CPA or accountant, or you submit. In Canada only registered EFILE transmitters file electronically, so we position this as preparation support for your CPA.
When are the main deadlines?
In the US, W-2 and 1099-NEC are due to recipients and the IRS or SSA by January 31. In Canada, T4 and T4A slips are due on the last day of February. In the UK, P60s go to employees by 31 May and P11Ds by 6 July. In Australia, STP finalization is due by 14 July. We aim to have data ready 10 business days before each.
Why do you reconcile payroll to the ledger before running slips?
Because slips that do not match what was paid and remitted generate notices and amendments. Reconciling the register to wages expense, liability accounts and every remittance catches the bonus paid through accounts payable, the duplicated run, or the benefit never grossed up. Our payroll reconciliation service does this monthly.
What if we are missing W-9s, SINs or addresses?
We produce a missing-data list and draft the request in your name from your systems, so contractors and employees hear from you. Anything still missing at the deadline is flagged on the discrepancy list so you and your preparer decide how to proceed.
Can you fix slips that were filed wrong last year?
Yes. We compile the corrected data for W-2c, amended 1099, amended T4 or P11D within 5 business days of confirming the error, and your preparer or payroll provider submits the amendment. We also trace why it happened so the same error does not repeat.
Is this only for Canadian businesses?
No. The page is named for T4 preparation because that is the most searched term, but the same service covers US W-2 and 1099 data, UK P60 and P11D data, and Australian STP finalization. Our payroll support service runs the cycle all year; this service closes it out.
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