Small Business Bookkeeping Checklist

Monthly

• Reconcile every bank and credit card account against your bookkeeping records
• Categorize all transactions — nothing left sitting in "uncategorized"
• Review your profit & loss statement for anything that looks off
• Follow up on any outstanding invoices (accounts receivable)
• Confirm bills you owe are recorded and scheduled for payment (accounts payable)
• Save and file receipts for anything over your own recordkeeping threshold

Quarterly

• Review income and expenses to estimate whether a quarterly estimated tax payment is due
• Reconcile payroll reports against your books, if you run payroll
• Review and file sales tax returns, if your business collects sales tax
• Take a step back and compare this quarter to the last one — is the trend what you expected?

Year-End

• Reconcile all accounts through December 31
• Gather 1099s for contractors and W-2s for employees
• Pull final profit & loss and balance sheet reports for the year
• Collect mortgage interest, property tax, and other deduction documents for your tax preparer
• Back up or export your bookkeeping file for your records

Signs You Need Help

If "uncategorized" transactions are piling up, if you can't say what your business made last month without opening three different apps, or if tax season always feels like a scramble to reconstruct a year of records, that's usually the sign to hand monthly bookkeeping to someone else rather than squeezing it in yourself.

This article is for general informational purposes and is not personalized tax or legal advice. Contact us directly to discuss your specific situation.