--- BOOKKEEPING TIPS
What to Give Your Bookkeeper Every Month
Providing the right documents each month helps keep your books accurate, saves time, and ensures you get timely financial reports. Learn what to send, how to organize it, and best practices for a smooth monthly handoff.
Why a Complete Monthly Handoff Matters
Your bookkeeper can only record what they receive. A complete and organized monthly handoff helps ensure your financial records are accurate, up to date, and ready for your review.
Timely and consistent document sharing allows us to track income and expenses, reconcile accounts, identify potential issues early, and provide meaningful financial reports to help you make informed business decisions.
More Accurate Books
All income and expenses are recorded correctly.
Save Time
Less back-and-forth and fewer questions.
Identify Issues Early
Spot discrepancies or missing information quickly.
Better Financial Reports
Get timely and reliable information to run your business.
Your Monthly Bookkeeping Document Checklist
Here are the key documents to provide each month:
Bank Statements
Credit Card Statements
Customer Invoices and Payment Records
Vendor Bills and Purchase Receipts
Payroll Records
Loan and Financing Statements
Employee Expense Reports and Reimbursements
Other Business Income and Expense Documentation
Don't forget: If your business accepts electronic payments through QuickBooks Payments, Square, Stripe, PayPal, or similar services, include your monthly merchant processing reports. These help ensure that gross sales, processing fees, refunds, and deposits are recorded correctly.
Commonly Forgotten Documents
These items are often missing from monthly submissions:
Vendor Receipts
Receipts for office supplies, meals, fuel, and other business expenses.
Mileage or Travel Logs
Travel and mileage records for business use.
1099 Contractor Information
W-9s and payment records for independent contractors.
Loan and Financing Statements
Statements for business loans, lines of credit, or equipment financing.
How to Handle Unknown Transactions
If you are unsure about a transaction, please include as much detail as possible, such as:
If documentation is not available, we can help research the transaction, but this may require additional time and could result in additional fees.
Create a Consistent Monthly Handoff Process
Agree on a recurring monthly date to submit statements, receipts, payment processor reports, and answers to outstanding questions. A consistent schedule helps keep the monthly bookkeeping process on track.
Confirm who is responsible for entering invoices and bills and who will resolve unclear transactions.
Upload financial documents through the secure shared folder or portal agreed upon with your bookkeeper, such as a properly permissioned SharePoint folder. Avoid ordinary email attachments for sensitive financial or employee information, and limit access to authorized people.
Helpful Tip
Use a monthly document-submission checklist to confirm that statements, transaction details, payroll changes, and unresolved questions have all been provided.
Download Our Monthly Document Handoff Checklist
Use our free printable checklist to make sure you have everything ready for your monthly bookkeeping handoff.
This easy-to-follow guide helps you organize bank statements, credit card statements, receipts, payroll records, and other important financial documents before submitting them to your bookkeeper.
Get Help With Your Bookkeeping
If you need help managing your monthly document handoff or improving your bookkeeping process, we're here to help. Our customized bookkeeping services give you the clarity and support you need to keep your business running smoothly.
Schedule a Free Consultation ➜