A Small Business Owner’s Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist

Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist

Creating budgets for various expenses, activities and projects isn’t hard, but sticking to these budgets can be difficult. The best way to reduce variances in budgets is to check for such things each month and then work toward corrective action. Reconciling cash and receipts at the end of each day helps you discover cash shortages or overages quickly, so you can figure out where the money went and identify errors or theft. It is essential to do this every day, because it’s easier to spot discrepancies with recent transactions. Keeping track of inventory systematically reduces theft and loss of your merchandise. Creating a routine for your accounting will improve accuracy and effectiveness in your bookkeeping.

  • Because of this, I reconcile my client’s savings account every other month or quarterly.
  • I want to be respectful of their time, and it’s more efficient just to do a whole bunch of them at once.
  • I specialize in working with entrepreneurs in the service-based creative industry (branding and web designers, virtual assistants, social media + digital services, photographers, etc).
  • This gives you a quick view of outstanding customer payments.
  • It would almost waste more of my time to log in, download and upload necessary statements, and reconcile the few transactions.
  • Therefore, through call, email, or other communication modes, a bookkeeper should frequently communicate with colleagues and clients.

Bookkeeping gives you important visibility over the health of your business’ finances. This allows you to make informed decisions over the future of your operation. Evaluate your website traffic – Google Analytics is a free tool that provides a wealth of information about how visitors interact with your website.

Annual Bookkeeping

Let’s clean up your financials so you can understand exactly what needs improvement. Many businesses have busy seasons where some months are more profitable than other months! I can set up a consultation to review your books and decide what will best suit your business. At the end of the day, bookkeepers have to go through all the journal entries, and if any entry needs modification, that should be made. For example, if you have recorded printer ink under stationary expenses, but you want to move it to consumable items, do that immediately because later on, you might forget. Distributions – Depending on how your business is structured, you may wish to take distributions as a supplement to your regular paycheck. We choose to take quarterly distributions, in line with how C-Corporations elect to pay out quarterly dividends.

One of the extra reports my client wants is a running total of all income so he can see on an overarching scale how the business is doing. This task hasn’t been done in the past few months for this client because we don’t discuss them every month that we meet. I want to be respectful of their time, and it’s more efficient just to do a whole bunch of them at once. A journal entry in the general journal should accompany any financial transaction made by a business. This provides a chronological record of a business’s transactions.

In all of this hassle, keeping a track record of finances often gets ignored. One of the benefits of using a payroll provider is that they will handle any 1099-MISC forms or W-2s, so you’re covered on that front. Regardless of how often your employees are paid, you should review and update your payroll file on a weekly basis so you can account for fluctuations, like bonuses or overtime pay. Chances are, you probably don’t have time to record transactions every day.

Client Requests & Auto Reminders

Use this guide to understand how professional bookkeeping services work and can help you. Review your revenue and expenses with this report, also known as the Income Statement. Compare to the previous month and previous year to identify if you’re on track with https://www.bookstime.com/ a projected budget. The good news is that as a fixed-rate client, if I get these tasks done in a shorter amount of time, I’m making a higher hourly rate. One of the questions I get a lot from other bookkeepers starting out is how much to charge clients.

Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist

Performing a weekly inventory review is useful for identifying when more products need to be ordered. Having updated information on stock is also useful for identifying theft and letting employees know when an item is back in stock to avoid missing out on potential sales.

Bookkeeping Best Practice Checklist

Rita’s full-service bookkeeping services allow you to grow your business while resting assured that your finances are organized year-round and ready for tax season. Bookkeepers need to frequently report back to management, get their feedback, and work as per their instructions. They should immediately inform management or business owners when there’s something wrong with the company’s financial health. File Business Income Taxes – Depending on how your business is structured, you may be required to file a business income tax return. If your business year runs on a calendar year, you’ll need to file by March 15.

Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist

Many accounting applications simplify reconciliation by suggesting matches, so all you have to do is review and approve them. Spending a little time on this task each day is easy and eliminates a grueling month-end chore. It’s also a good time to review pending transactions for any errors or abnormalities, so you can investigate potential issues promptly. So, the next and most crucial point of the monthly bookkeeping checklist is to manage the financial reports of the organization. Be sure to avoid any mistake in it as it can negatively impact your business operations.

Annual Bookkeeping To

Pay State Unemployment Taxes – Like FUTA taxes, you may be required to pay state unemployment taxes on a monthly or quarterly basis. Check with your state to determine when and how to pay those taxes. Now that you know the costs and tools for bookkeeping services, you will be better prepared to adopt the right professional services for Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist your business. Once they have your information, your new service should perform a one-time bookkeeping set-up for your services. Depending on how up-to-date your books are, this shouldn’t take more than 2-4 weeks. Organizing financial records and receipts, keeping your financial file system up-to-date, and pulling reports when asked.

  • I’ll meet or video chat to discuss your business needs and you’ll receive a personalized proposal.
  • The good news is that there is a pretty easy workaround to the task if your client’s bank account doesn’t hook up to QuickBooks either.
  • You may miss important details while trying to accomplish the task in hassle, which will complicate the situation even more.
  • Periodic bookkeeping is a common practice in all businesses.
  • Accounts payable typically include short-term debts or payments owed to suppliers and vendors who offer services to businesses on credit.
  • Accounts receivables are monies owed to the business from sales or services rendered to customers.

I’ve been ordering Quickbooks computer checks, laser tax forms and other bookkeeping supplies from these people since 1998. Their online ordering system is clear and easy to use and their customer service has been great. So now you know how your bookkeeping tasks will be managed, but how much will these services cost?

Not only is this an important financial document, it’s also a great way to keep an eye on the health of your business. Even if you aren’t required to keep this document, you should review it each month. First, decide which bookkeeping tasks you want to outsource and if you want a more cost-effective virtual bookkeeper or more personal local bookkeeper. Then search for the type of bookkeeper you want through industry associations, bookkeeping organizations, or referrals from other small business owners. Accurate and punctual financial tracking, including reconciling accounts, running reports, paying bills, debt collection, and data entry. According to IRS Publication 15, small businesses that reported less than $50,000 or less in taxes for the last lookback period make monthly deposits.

At some point, you might want to pass your bookkeeping responsibilities onto someone else . Having a bookkeeping checklist makes it easy to train and onboard someone to take over your business bookkeeping—and gives them a concrete list of all the new tasks they’ll be responsible for.

However, you should make sure to speak to an accountant about the size of your distributions and how often you should them. In addition to the tasks you’ll have to complete each month, there are also some tasks you’ll need to complete each quarter. Retirement Plan Contributions – As a self-employed business owner, there is nobody who is going to help supplement my retirement.

Streamline Your Client Document Collection Process

Monthly adjustments reduce these errors by ensuring accounting items are listed accurately and mistakes are corrected prior to month’s end. Certain aspects of inventory management are beneficial to do more frequently than on a weekly basis to keep updated information on stock. For instance, recording receipt and sale of inventory should be daily bookkeeping tasks for businesses working with higher sales volume or perishable goods.

Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist

Reviewing timesheets proactively – at least once each week – can help you spot any discrepancies and activities that may be counterproductive to your organization. We always welcome any suggestions of login for Bookkeeping Task Checklist​ from all visitors. If you have any good suggestions send us by email, we will show if it is suitable. Tell us why you want to remove the Bookkeeping Task Checklist​ search data on our site? If there is a good reason we will consider removing them and promptly notify you.

Reconcile Accounts

Rita is a highly motivated and organized bookkeeping professional with a 4-year accounting degree and a Masters in Business. She is also Bookkeeping Business Launch certified and QuickBooks Pro-Advisor certified. Rita is known for her dependability, commitment, and honesty. To multiple clients because we ensure all files and folders are archived regularly using electronic methods. File W-2s and 1099s with State – You’ll also need to file the W-2s and 1099s with the state. The due date may be before or after the federal date, so be sure to check with your state so that you’re on time. Send W-2s and 1099s – If you have paid employees or paid contractors in excess of $600 for the year, you need to send them either a 1099-MISC form or a W-2.

This will give you peace of mind that you won’t lose your data if you have a hardware failure or file corruption. Bookkeeping is a task that many business owners handle on their own during the initial months of operation. Some small businesses may operate in a very humble manner for years before adopting software for bookkeeping or hiring a dedicated employee for such tasks.. However, it’s important to consider adopting bookkeeping as a daily task even if the small business only has one or two employees. And the checklist is then used in keeping the transactions and the other items to be recorded for further use in accounting etc. Download the templates of the bookkeeping document checklist for …

File Personal Income Taxes – Just like all taxpayers, you’re required to file a personal income tax return. Pay Federal Unemployment Taxes – If you have employees, you may be required to pay unemployment taxes on a quarterly basis. Employers are required to deposit these taxes on a quarterly basis, but only if the tax due is more than $500. If you’re a small employer and never reach the $500 limit, you will make your payment when you file IRS Form 940 at the end of the year. Due dates for FUTA payments are January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31.

Ecommerce Bookkeeping Is Challenging

Schedule time to review the monthly financial statements with your clients. And don’t assume they know everything in the financial statements as they are a small business owner, not an accountant. Work with them to add value to their business’s financial information by explaining everything to them over time, allowing them to make profitable business decisions moving forward. Review and reconcile your business bank accounts and credit card accounts. This detailed template outlines complete monthly bookkeeping steps including weekly bookkeeping, bi-weekly payroll, gathering documents, adjustments, reports, and review.

You can use this list each month to quickly check-in on the areas of your business that can be easy to overlook. If you’re struggling to find the time to manage your finances, BookKeeping Express can help. Prepare quarterly payroll formsand make quarterly tax payments. Some businesses also choose to manage theiraccounts receivable andaccounts payable on a daily basis. No more feeling lost on where to begin or overwhelmed by all there is to do. The monthly task checklists keep you on track with exactly what you need to do to complete your bookkeeping each month. In digitising her own business, she was able to digitise the businesses of all the clients who list on her platform …

It can all get complicated quickly, so inventory management software that integrates with your bookkeeping software can be a lifesaver. It may seem daunting to keep up with so many of your business’s financial activities throughout the year. It can be a lot to handle, but you can make it easier on yourself. Join forces with a professional outsourced accounting team to manage your bookkeeping services and keep your day-to-day accounting tasks on track. Download our e-book to learn if outsourced accounting is the right fit, and get in touch to discuss your needs.