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Finance & Admin

1099 / Contractor Form Tracker

Tracks which contractors still owe tax forms, with reminders until they're in.

Saves about ~1 hr per week

What it does

  • Lists all contractors paid over the filing threshold
  • Tracks who has submitted their tax forms
  • Sends reminder emails until forms arrive
  • Reports completeness for filing season

How it works

  1. Payments aggregated per contractor
  2. Threshold passed → form required
  3. Reminders sent until submitted
  4. Completeness report updated

What's included

  • Contractor aggregation
  • Status tracking
  • Reminder + report

Set it up yourself

Follow these 4 steps in order. You will need accounts for: Gmail, Sheets.

Step 1: Build the contractor list

  1. From payroll/Stripe/QuickBooks, export all contractor payments for the year.
  2. Aggregate by contractor TIN/email in a sheet: Contractor, TIN, Total Paid, Form Status.
  3. Flag those above your region's filing threshold.
  4. Include the correct legal name and address for the form.
  5. Test the aggregation.

Watch out: The TIN and legal-name fields are mandatory for the actual form — a tracker missing them can't produce compliant forms later.

Step 2: Set the status tracking

  1. Status values: Not Sent / Sent / Received / Incomplete.
  2. When a form comes in, note the date.
  3. Add a 'docs reviewed' check.
  4. Have the workflow read the status column.
  5. Test the status transitions.

Watch out: Keep a human check between 'received' and 'complete' — an uploaded form with a wrong TIN is a compliance issue you must catch.

Step 3: Send the reminders

  1. Weekly reminder to contractors whose status is Not Sent / Incomplete.
  2. Include the form link and deadline.
  3. Escalate the tone by week (week 3, mention the deadline).
  4. Send only to the contractor's email.
  5. Test the cadence.

Watch out: Escalate deliberately — a deadline form is legal paperwork; a 3-step reminder with clear dates is defensible, a barrage is harassment.

Step 4: Produce the completeness report

  1. Weekly report: X of Y complete, list of missing.
  2. Post to your finance channel or email.
  3. At filing deadline, export the complete set.
  4. Archive the year's data.
  5. Review the process for next year.

Watch out: The completeness report at deadline is the deliverable — everything else is just to get there on time.

Frequently asked questions

What does the 1099 / Contractor Form Tracker automation do?

Tracks which contractors still owe tax forms, with reminders until they're in. Lists all contractors paid over the filing threshold

How much time does 1099 / Contractor Form Tracker save?

It is estimated to save ~1 hr per week. Actual savings depend on your volume.

Which tools does 1099 / Contractor Form Tracker use?

It works with Gmail and Sheets.

What does 1099 / Contractor Form Tracker include?

Contractor aggregation, Status tracking, Reminder + report.

Can I set up 1099 / Contractor Form Tracker myself?

Yes. The do-it-yourself guide on this page walks through 4 steps, from getting access to testing the finished automation.