What records should I gather before hiring a bookkeeper?
Bank and credit card statements are the foundation. Your bookkeeper needs to see every transaction flowing through your business accounts. Gather at least the last 12 months of statements for all accounts. If you’re behind on your books, pull statements going back to wherever your records stopped being accurate.
If you use QuickBooks or other accounting software, have your login credentials ready. Your bookkeeper needs to access your existing chart of accounts, prior transactions, and current setup. If you don’t have accounting software yet, that’s fine. Many businesses start fresh when they hire a bookkeeper.
Prior tax returns matter more than people realize. Your last one or two business tax returns show your bookkeeper how income and expenses were categorized previously. This helps maintain consistency and avoids creating problems when your accountant prepares next year’s return.
Gather your income documentation. This includes customer invoices you’ve sent, POS reports if you have a point of sale system, and any records of cash sales. For retail businesses, daily or weekly sales summaries from your register or payment processor work well.
Expense documentation helps verify what shows up on your statements. Bills from vendors, receipts for larger purchases, and any contracts or recurring payment agreements give context to the transactions your bookkeeper will categorize. You don’t need every receipt, but having key ones available saves time.
If you have employees, pull your payroll reports. These show wages paid, taxes withheld, and employer tax obligations. Your bookkeeper needs this to record payroll transactions correctly. Also gather any loan statements for business loans or equipment financing so interest and principal payments get recorded properly.
Sales tax filings matter if you collect sales tax. Your bookkeeper needs to see what’s been filed and paid to reconcile your sales tax liability. Missing or inaccurate sales tax records create problems that compound over time.
Don’t worry if you’re missing some of these items. A good bookkeeper can work with what you have and help you fill gaps. If your records are messy or incomplete, bookkeeping cleanup and catch-up services exist specifically for this situation. The goal is to get organized going forward, not to have perfect documentation of the past.
Coming prepared with these records means your bookkeeper spends time on actual bookkeeping instead of chasing down documents. That keeps your costs lower and gets your books in order faster.
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