Month-End close checklist for bookkeepers

Some can fulfil payroll and other HR functions for small businesses. This can include assisting businesses with the processing of paychecks and tax payments to employees. One way to think about it is that bookkeepers lay the groundwork for accountants to analyze and prepare financial statements. Many businesses outsource payroll processes because of the complexity of managing payroll taxes. Payroll processing includes payroll tax withholding, reporting and depositing income tax, and other tax-related payments. There are two deposit schedules for taxes, monthly and semi-weekly, and business must figure out which schedule they are required to use each year.

This is a regular task, and the companies should do the daily bookkeeping tasks to record all the things in the bookkeeping. Our ideal candidate holds a Finance degree and is familiar with accounting software packages, like FreshBooks, Kashoo and KashFlow. There’s so much for a small business owner to think about, so having a bookkeeper to help you is a good idea.

This downloadable version of the checklist includes key steps in the accounting process, broken down by day, week, month, quarter and year. The IRS has detailed information on how and when to file taxes and what types of taxes are required depending on the structure of the business. Most small businesses use a tax accountant during tax season to make sure all their documents are accurate and filed properly.

Once a year, bookkeepers have to complete more time-intensive tasks related to taxes and year-end close. With that bookkeeping work completed, it’s time to think about more involved tasks around month-end. But there are still common steps every business should follow to ensure sound bookkeeping practices. An outsourced bookkeeper can easily handle all weekly tasks so that you can focus on smooth business operations. Payroll might be prepared once a month, but payroll accounts need to be tallied throughout the month so that your employees can receive their salaries on time. QuickBooks Online is our top pick for accounting software!

If accounts receivable are completed manually, the IRS recommends setting up an “aging” column in the books to organize open invoices based on the number of days a bill is past due. Accounting software can create these reports and update them in real time. Deposit all cash and check payments received from customers in the business’s checking account. Enter all credit card transactions to initiate the transfer of funds from the customer. Doing this daily gives the company an up-to-date picture of its available cash.

The essential bookkeeping checklist for small businesses

Creating financial reports should be on a small business’s bookkeeping tasks list. Some reports are advantageous to run on a weekly basis, while others can be done monthly. Categorizing transactions consistently each week will help maintain accurate records and highlight any errors or red flags. This weekly bookkeeping task also saves time and dress if you choose to claim small business expenses when filing taxes. Though many bills are due on a monthly cycle, others may be due upon receipt. Therefore, it’s important to review bills weekly to check for errors, note the deadline, and schedule payment accordingly.

At the end of each month, it’s useful to review your accounts receivable and track how much your customers owe you. Keeping on top of payroll helps ensure all your staff are paid on time. The frequency of this task depends on how often you pay your employees.

Task 5: Keeping Track of Credit Card Statements

Whenever a business spends or gain an amount, it should immediately update in the bookkeeping. This helps to analyze the areas where the payment is coming in and the areas where the amount is going out. For small businesses, bookkeepers also produce inventory reports by counting stock items. If there are any discrepancies, they report back to the business to make sure you can address problems quickly. Being consistent, accurate, and minimizing errors are key characteristics that employers are seeking for this position.

The best option will ultimately depend on budget, desired features, and ability to integrate with other business software, such as payroll or HR programs. To help narrow your search, here’s our comprehensive review of the best easy accounting software for small businesses. If you’re looking for something basic, these free accounting apps may be up your alley.

Record all income & expenses

Even if you don’t make quarterly tax payments, you’ll still need to know your estimated tax returns for tax withheld. Make bank deposits to reconcile your company’s bank statement. This helps to ensure that all funds are accounted for and that businesses comply with federal banking regulations. Day-to-day financial transactions of your business. Therefore, many responsibilities have to be met at the end of every workday – or if you don’t have time, at least complete these by the end of every week. Many accounting software programs have apps that you can use to report expenses and upload receipts, so it’s easy to take care of them immediately.

• Similarly, make sure that you record all bills due the moment you get them to ensure that you maintain correct records of the due balance.
• Feel free to revise this job description to meet your specific job duties and job requirements, and find more ideas for crafting your description by browsing Monster’s bookkeeper job listings.
• The first thing I do each month for my client is enter any checks.
• Bookkeepers may also assist in running payroll and generating invoices for your company.

By comparing the how to calculate overtime pay-end balance sheet to one from a prior period, you can note how your asset and liability management is going and if any adjustments are needed. You may pay your employees at the end of the month or twice a month. An efficient system for handling business finances is at the heart of every successful business, whether it is an accounting firm or any other small company. Finance planning problems make up 66% of the most common reasons for start-up failure. At least once a week, the bookkeeper needs to make sure all the numbers add up and there is enough cash to cover expenses. Only mail a statement or past-due notice to a customer once all your receipts have been posted.

To start, here are nine bookkeeping duties you should do every week. The two foundational tasks in small business bookkeeping are data entry and bank reconciliation. Without these, all other bookkeeping tasks fall over. Let’s walk through the core duties, common additional duties, and advanced bookkeeping.

Overall, making daily deposits goes a long way toward keeping your clients’ finances in order. Review all financial reports before year-end taxes are processed. Check to see if you owe a gross receipts tax or a business and occupation tax.

Their balance sheet is different from yours, so ensure yours is balanced…Paying the bills once per week eliminates this risk. When recording a transaction, always mark the date that the payment was received; Don’t go by the date of the postmark, the date you’re recording it, or the date it was deposited. If your business deals with foreign currency, your bookkeeper has to maintain an accurate foreign currency account based on the current exchange rate. Let us know how well the content on this page solved your problem today. All feedback, positive or negative, helps us to improve the way we help small businesses.

The size and complexity of a business, as well as the tradeoff between time and financial resources are important considerations to deciding if a bookkeeper is right for you. Growing businesses in particular may find hiring a bookkeeper valuable so they can focus on other aspects of operations. 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. This Bookkeeper job description template is optimized for posting on online job boards or careers pages.

Understanding your cash flow helps your business more effectively manage its budget. Monitoring and revising your cash flow budgets ensure your small business can use its retained earnings to grow sustainably. Leaving this to the end of the week or the end of the month makes it harder to keep track of what you owe, and risks late payments to your vendors. Free bookkeeping task list template for you to use. Ideally, vendors should offer 30 days to settle payments, you can often negotiate longer terms if your company is low on cash.

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. It is essential to do this every day, because it’s easier to spot discrepancies with recent transactions. This article is for small business owners who want to practice better accounting methods. Creating a routine for your accounting will improve accuracy and effectiveness in your bookkeeping.

• An accounting system also makes it easier to access the information needed for financial reporting of all shapes and sizes.
• However, even with all that remembering and automation, it still requires me as a bookkeeper to go through and fine-tune everything.
• If payment is significantly late and a reminder has already been sent, following up more frequently may be merited.
• Anything that I don’t know what it is goes into a category called, “Ask My Accountant.” I would email these transactions to my client or bring them when I meet with them.
• This is another chance to sell potential applicants on things like telecommuting, work-from-home options, or additional availability during tax season.

From offline to Online bookkeeping services, you have to prepare a complete bookkeeper’s to-do list to keep your business on the right track. The duration of bookkeeping tasks depends on the nature of business operations and size. For instance, a business with numerous daily transactions (e.g., retail) may have more bookkeeping to do than a company with a smaller list of clients (e.g. consulting firm). Depending on your payroll schedule, running payroll could be either a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly bookkeeping task.

These organized files will make it much easier when it’s time to do taxes. Every week, the business should set aside time for miscellaneous bookkeeping tasks such as emailing clients account statements. At minimum, small businesses should make deposits weekly.