Assemble the year’s payment totals
Each vendor’s payments pulled from accounts payable and the general ledger for the calendar year, traced back to the accounts and records they came from.
For U.S. businesses and CPA firms
Form 1099 Preparation and Reconciliation
1099-NEC, MISC, INT, DIV and the other series forms prepared from the records you provide, reconciled back to your ledger, with missing recipient details listed for you to resolve.
A year-end run on all-year records
The 1099 run is only as good as the vendor records
A 1099 is the payer’s own document. It is issued by the person or company that made the payments, in their name, from their records — the vendor list, the W-9 forms they hold and the payment history in their ledger, provided to us as the engagement defines. Almost all of the work happens before a form is touched: establishing what each vendor was actually paid during the calendar year, which of those payments are reportable, and whether the vendor record on file matches the entity that was paid. The forms themselves are the last step and the quickest one.
This sits with the payroll and accounts payable work because it runs on the same records and lands in the same window as W-2 record-keeping and the year-end close. Preparation assembles the totals, lists what is missing, reconciles the result to the ledger and hands the forms back for your review and filing. Every determination about what is reportable, and about how a worker is classified, stays with you and your adviser.
The preparation work
Four steps before a form is prepared
Actual inclusion depends on the records, systems and vendor volume confirmed at scoping. The steps below describe the shape of the work rather than a fixed package.
Separate reportable from non-reportable
Applied using the treatment the business already uses in its vendor and account setup. Anything that does not match an existing treatment is raised, not decided.
Check the vendor records
Vendor list checked against the W-9 records on file. Missing forms, name and identification-number mismatches and stale records are listed by vendor for you to resolve.
Reconcile and compare
Prepared totals tied back to the ledger, and each vendor compared against the prior year so a disappearance or a large movement is explained before the forms are finalised.
Which forms
The series, not one form
“1099” is a family of information returns, and each one is built from a different record in the business’s own books. That is the practical difference between them, and it is why the inputs are confirmed per form rather than once:
- 1099-NEC — from the contractor and vendor payment history in accounts payable
- 1099-MISC — from the other reportable payment categories the business codes separately
- 1099-INT — from interest paid, per the loan and note records
- 1099-DIV — from distributions, per the equity and shareholder records
Other forms in the series can be scoped the same way. Which variants apply to a business is confirmed at scoping, because it follows what the business actually paid out rather than a standard list — and the recipient details and supporting records for each come from the business, as described above.
The boundary
Worker classification is not a preparation decision
This is the line that matters most on a 1099 engagement, and it is worth stating before anything else. Whether someone is a contractor or an employee is an employment-law and tax determination, and it is outside the scope of every Accounstone service. Preparation works from the classifications you and your advisers have already applied; where a payment pattern looks inconsistent with how a vendor is set up, it goes on the open-item list.
The following also stay with you or your CPA:
- Which payments are reportable, and on which form in the series
- Taxpayer identification number matching and backup withholding
- Submission to the IRS and delivery of copies to recipients
- Any correction filing, penalty notice or dispute
Accounstone does not hold filing credentials and does not submit information returns. For the wider boundary on payroll and employment matters, see payroll support and compliance and boundaries. HR compliance, benefits administration and employment-law advice are not offered in any form.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Which forms in the 1099 series can be prepared?
The common ones a business issues — 1099-NEC for contractor and vendor payments, 1099-MISC for the other reportable categories, 1099-INT for interest paid and 1099-DIV for distributions — and others in the series can be scoped the same way. Each is built from a different record, so the inputs are confirmed per form: accounts payable for NEC and MISC, loan and note records for INT, equity and shareholder records for DIV. Which variants apply follows what the business actually paid out rather than a standard list.
What does Form 1099 preparation support include?
The 1099 is issued by the payer, so the work starts from records the person or company provides — the vendor master list, the W-9 forms they hold, and the accounts payable and general ledger detail for the year. From those: assembling each vendor’s reportable payment total, separating reportable from non-reportable payments using the classifications the business already applies, checking the vendor list against the W-9 records on file and listing what is missing, reconciling the 1099 totals back to the ledger, and preparing the forms or data file for the business or its CPA to review and file.
Does Accounstone decide whether a worker is a contractor or an employee?
No. Worker classification is an employment-law and tax determination and it is outside the scope of every Accounstone service. Preparation works from the classifications the business and its advisers have already applied. Where a payment pattern looks inconsistent with how a vendor is classified, it is listed as a question for the business rather than reclassified.
Does Accounstone file the 1099s or send them to recipients?
No. Forms are prepared to a filing-ready state and handed back. Accounstone does not submit information returns to the IRS, does not hold filing credentials, and does not distribute copies to recipients. Submission, recipient delivery and any correction filing stay with the business or its CPA.
How are missing or incomplete W-9 records handled?
They are listed, by vendor, with what is missing — no form on file, a name and taxpayer identification number that do not agree with the ledger record, or a form that predates a change of entity name. The list goes back to the business to resolve before the forms are finalised. Accounstone does not perform TIN matching and does not determine whether backup withholding applies.
How do the 1099 totals get reconciled to the books?
Each vendor’s reportable total is traced back to the ledger accounts and payment records it came from, and the sum of the prepared forms is compared against the ledger total for reportable payments. Differences are identified by cause — a payment posted to the wrong vendor, a reimbursement included in error, a credit applied in a later period — and listed rather than cleared with an adjustment.
Which payments are reportable?
That depends on the payment type, the recipient’s status and the facts, and the determination belongs to the business and its CPA or tax adviser. Preparation applies the reportable and non-reportable treatment the business already uses in its own vendor and account setup, and raises anything that does not match an existing treatment as an open item rather than deciding it.
Why is this treated as part of payroll rather than tax preparation?
Because the records it runs on are the same ones. The vendor and contractor payment history sits in accounts payable alongside the payroll accounting work, and the year-end 1099 run competes for the same window as W-2 record-keeping and the year-end close. Scoping it with the recurring payroll and AP work usually means the source records are already current when the year-end run starts.
What records are needed before 1099 preparation can start?
The vendor master list with current W-9 records, accounts payable and general ledger detail for the calendar year, the accounts and payment types the business treats as reportable, prior-year 1099 records so the opening position and prior treatment are visible, and confirmation of who reviews and files. Where records are incomplete, a missing-item list is produced rather than a total estimated.
Can prior-year 1099 records be compared?
Yes, and it is usually where the useful questions come from. A vendor that received a form last year and none this year, or a total that has moved substantially, is either a real change in activity or a posting problem. Comparing the two years and listing the differences surfaces that before the forms are finalised rather than after a recipient queries one.
How does this fit with the recurring payroll work?
The 1099 run is a year-end task on top of the recurring payroll and accounts payable workflow, and it can be scoped either with that work or on its own. Where the recurring bookkeeping and AP processing are already in scope, the vendor records the 1099s depend on are being maintained through the year, which is what makes the year-end run shorter.
Free consultation
Talk to Us About Your Firm’s Busy Season
A free consultation, and a call that costs you nothing but the half hour. Tell us where the preparation is backing up and we will scope a pilot around it.
- Start with one client or one month of close work
- We prepare; your firm reviews, signs and e-files
- No EFIN, no banking control, no client-facing contact without your say-so
How Many Vendors Are in the Year-End Run?
Tell us roughly how many vendors you report on, which system holds the payment history, and who reviews and files. We can scope the year-end run from there.