What to Send Your Bookkeeper Each Month

Most late closes are not caused by slow bookkeeping. They are caused by missing information. A bookkeeper cannot categorize a charge they do not recognize, or reconcile an account they cannot see. A little regularity on your side removes most of the delay.

Here is what we ask our clients for each month. Anything connected to QuickBooks through a bank feed is already visible, so this list is about what the feeds cannot see.

The monthly list

1. Statements for any account that is not connected. Bank, credit card or loan accounts that do not feed into QuickBooks. The statement for the full month, as a PDF from the bank.
2. Receipts or a short note for anything over $75 or unfamiliar. A photo is fine. If you do not remember what a charge was, say so; that is a useful answer.
3. Invoices you issued outside QuickBooks. If you bill from a spreadsheet, another app or by hand, send those invoices so income is not missed.
4. New bills and any vendor changes. New suppliers, changed terms, subscriptions you added or cancelled.
5. Answers to your bookkeeper's questions. Good bookkeepers send questions in one batch rather than one at a time. A quick reply keeps the close on schedule.
6. Anything unusual this month. A large purchase, a new loan, a new account, an owner draw, a new hire, a customer who stopped paying. These change how things should be recorded.

When to send it

Aim to have everything to your bookkeeper in the first few days of the month, ideally by the third. The close cannot finish before the information is in, and each day of delay pushes the finished books later. Setting a recurring reminder on your calendar for the first of the month is the single easiest fix.

Ways to make it easy

• Connect your accounts. Bank and card feeds remove most of the statement chasing.
• Use one shared folder. A single folder per month for statements, receipts and invoices, so nothing is lost in email.
• Snap receipts as you go. Photograph them at the time rather than reconstructing the month later.
• Pay business costs from business accounts. It removes the "was this business or personal?" question that generates the most back-and-forth.
• Keep a running note of oddities. A line in your phone when something unusual happens is easier than remembering it a month later.

What not to send

Do not send full card numbers or online banking passwords, and do not share your own QuickBooks login. A proper bookkeeper is invited to your QuickBooks file as an accountant user, with their own login. That keeps a record of who did what and lets you remove access at any time.

What happens if something is missing

A good process does not stop and wait. The month is closed on time, the missing items are held in a clearly labeled account and listed in the summary, and they are cleared when the information arrives. Being late once is normal. Being late month after month is a sign the routine needs changing, and worth raising early.