Digital product · instant download

January-you will thank December-you.

One sitting in December: list your contractors, collect the missing W-9s, count who crossed $600. Then January is a handoff, not a scramble.

Get the 1099 Prep — $7 $7 Excel workbook + one-page printable · Instant download

What's inside

Two files. Records only — your CPA makes the calls.

Workbook

Vendor tracker

Forty rows with dropdowns for entity type and W-9 status. W-9 missing turns red; totals at $600 or more turn amber. You can see your whole list's status at a glance.

Workbook

Triage tab

Counts it for you: vendors tracked, who you paid $600 or more, and how many of those still have no W-9. That last number is your December to-do list.

Workbook

CPA handoff checklist

The seven things your tax preparer typically asks for in January — tracker, W-9s, payroll reports, YTD P&L, December statements. Check them off as you collect.

Printable

One-page paper version

The rule of thumb, your five-minute December list, and room for a pen. Pin it above the desk until January.

The rule of thumb

Plain English — and your CPA always makes the final call.

Who typically needs a 1099-NEC from you

Usually YESIndividuals, sole proprietors, single-member LLCs paid $600 or more for services

Your designer, your lawn crew, your freelance bookkeeper — the humans and solo LLCs.

Usually NOC-Corps and most S-Corps — and payments your customers made by card

The card processor handles that side. Your plumbing vendor's LLC is probably a different story — ask your CPA once, remember forever.

Not sureCollect the W-9 anyway

It costs nothing, takes them two minutes, and a W-9 on file never hurts.

Honesty first: this is record keeping, not tax work. This workbook doesn't decide who gets a form and doesn't file anything — your CPA does that. What it does: makes sure the records are ready when they ask, so their January is cheap and your bill is small.

Questions, plainly answered

The ones people actually ask.

Does this file my 1099s?

No — deliberately. Filing is tax work, and that belongs to your CPA or tax preparer. This kit gets every record they need into one tidy place, with a handoff checklist so nothing gets asked twice.

What about my W-2 employees?

Employees are payroll, not contractors — the handoff checklist includes your payroll reports for the year so those go to your CPA complete too.

It's October. Am I too early?

You're exactly on time. W-9 requests go out while people are still answering email; waiting until January turns a two-minute ask into a chase. Future-you approves.

Pairs well with

The rest of the shelf, if you want it.

Books Health Check

Question 8 on the scorecard is literally this. See how your whole books score in three minutes.

Take the Health Check →

$19

Small Biz Books Starter Kit

If the vendor list is the easy part and the books behind it are the mess, the Kit is the cleanup system.

See the Kit →