10/01/2026
JANUARY IS TOO LATE TO START THINKING ABOUT 1099s.
The 2027 tax filing season may still feel months away.
But for a well-managed business, 1099 readiness starts now, not in January.
October is the right time to review your 2026 vendor records and make sure the information behind your year-end reporting is complete, accurate, and properly documented.
Think of it as a control process:
Vendor Master → Form W-9 → Legal Name → EIN/SSN → Entity Type → Address → Payment Classification → Cumulative Payments → Reporting Requirement
One simple rule can prevent hours of year-end cleanup:
**Obtain Form W-9 when the vendor is onboarded — not in January when you discover that an information return may be required.**
And there is another important issue for the upcoming filing season: businesses and accounting teams should make sure their systems and procedures are ready for the IRS transition toward **IRIS (Information Returns Intake System)** for information-return filing.
If your current workflow has historically depended on FIRE or a third-party platform connected to FIRE, now is the time to verify your 2027 filing process.
Good accounting is not about fixing problems at the deadline.
It is about building the **documentation, controls, and processes that prevent those problems from happening.**
At BV Trusted Advisor, we help small businesses move from reactive bookkeeping to proactive accounting, tax compliance, and advisory.
Is your vendor file ready for year-end?
Contact us now for a **2026 Vendor & 1099 Readiness Review before January turns a documentation problem into a deadline problem.