What your bookkeeper needs from you each month

Once, at the start

• Accountant or bookkeeper access to your bookkeeping software. You invite them; you never share your password.
• Bank and card feeds connected inside the software. You connect these yourself; your bookkeeper never needs your bank login.
• A list of your business bank, card and loan accounts, so nothing is missed.

Every month

• Answer the question list. A handful of transactions each month can't be identified from the bank description. A one-line answer for each is enough.
• Receipts for anything unusual. Large purchases, equipment and anything partly personal. A photo is fine.
• Statements for accounts without a feed. Some loans and small accounts don't connect. Download the PDF statement.

Whenever it happens

• A new bank account, card or loan.
• A new contractor. Get a W-9 from them before you pay them, so the 1099 is easy in January.
• A big purchase, like a vehicle or equipment.
• Starting to sell something taxable, such as retail products.

What you can stop doing

Saving every small receipt in a shoebox, typing transactions in by hand, and opening the books in January to find out how the year went. That's what a monthly routine replaces. See how our monthly bookkeeping works.