Tax Time Loometh

Every year since my husband turned the taxes over to an accountant, who then turned most of the bookkeeping over to me, we've filed an extension and end up filing sometime in September or so.
I thought this meant I had from April until September to do all that bookkeeping stuff I SHOULD have done from January to December.  Turns out I still have to have it all done by April, but the Accountant doesn't have to have his part of it all done until he's good and ready, which can be any time between May and September.

I reconcile two accounts; the business checking account and Hubby's American Express account, then I have some magic to do with his Per Diem calculation and taxis and meals and figuring out where he was on what days, waving my magic wand, and coming up with a number which then I write on a check and pay the household account for in retribution.  I don't understand it, but I follow the instructions carefully laid out for me by the nice accountant. 

Last year (2010) I had kind of stalled out in February, and didn't pick it back up until October, which is a totally stupid time to decide to catch up as everything else in my life starts hurtling toward the holidays, which are a grossly time consuming season for me.  One problem with waiting is then it gets hard to find the statements to match the QuickBooks files up to, and after a while they no longer make them available on line.  It starts getting difficult to accomplish it at all.  But for the 2010 taxes I got it all completed and to the accountant by the middle of March, then I vowed that NEVER AGAIN will I let the bookkeeping get so far ahead of me.

This year (2011) I apparently made good on my vow long enough to get things up to date for that minute.  I had entered up to March in one account, and April in the other before I stalled out.  However I didn't pick everything up to work on furiously until Oh, about a week ago.
So the house, the kids, the laundry, dinner... everything is coming to a complete halt and hanging around my ears until the Quickbooks stuff is all entered up to December.  The per diem stuff may take longer, but I don't have to show that to the accountant immediately (shhhhhh).


I'm just taking this moment here to complain about it.  As of this moment I have finished the checking account through 2011, and I'm on May of the Am Ex account, but I haven't started the whole per diem stuff.  The accountant said he'd sure appreciate it if I could get this to him by the end of the week.  


Ummm... unless I stop eating and sleeping I'm not sure that's going to happen.  And did I mention we have this whole remodel thing going on in the basement?  The contractor told me I have to have a closet in (see previous post) so they can finish the baseboards in that bedroom before the painter comes.  Sigh.