Important steps in bookkeeping cleanup checklist for 2024

What Are the Key Steps in a Bookkeeping Cleanup Checklist for 2024?

1. Obtain client information
2. Arrange and categorize the client’s information
3. Add client data
4. Perform account reconciliation
5. Rectify mistakes
6. Evaluate classifications
7. Evaluate the preliminary tasks
8. Generate reports
9. Dispatch reports to clients

Obtain client information

The initial stage involves acquiring client information, which is frequently the most demanding aspect of the procedure. Client information can be provided to you in either a physical or electronic format.

Before commencing the process, ensure you possess all the requisite information from the business owner when dealing with a tangible file. These documents encompass bank statements, invoices, and receipts.

If you are dealing with an electronic file, you must either retrieve the data from the client’s financial institutions or wait for the client to send you monthly PDFs. Before commencing the process, it is imperative to possess the most up-to-date information and reliable data.

Suppose you are reliant on clients sending you files each month instead of being able to download them directly. In that case, it may be beneficial to establish an automated reminder email system at the start of each month to eliminate any potential delays. Read More: Bookkeeping Services for Cleanup

Arrange and categorize the client’s information

Subsequently, the subsequent course of action entails arranging the pertinent data of the client. Organize invoices, credit card statements, receipts, bank statements, and other essential financial data. At this juncture, it is imperative that you ascertain any pertinent information that may be lacking and proactively communicate with your clients to seek clarification or obtain any supplementary documentation.

It is preferable to request information promptly. Delaying the clarification of points until the end of the year will pose greater challenges and require more time for both you and your client.

Add client data

After confirming that you have gathered all the necessary information for your accounting process, input (or import) your clients’ data into your accounting software.

Regularly evaluate the process to identify software solutions that can enhance efficiency and reduce inconvenience. Contemporary software can scan invoices and directly import accounts payable information into different software platforms. Financial institutions provide the option to access bank feeds, which enable the direct importation of the majority of transactions.

This is also a chance to contact your professional network and inquire if anyone else has discovered tools to enhance the efficiency of processes.

Perform account reconciliation

The core objective of the bookkeeping process is to guarantee the completeness and accuracy of your client’s financial records. Regularly reconciling your clients’ accounts guarantees the accuracy of this statement.

QuickBooks Online can automatically reconcile accounts when it is granted access to automatic feeds. Nevertheless, it is imperative to scrutinize the reconciliation for precision and cross-reference it with bank statements.

Rectify mistakes

While the majority of errors in bank transactions are identified during the reconciliation process, it is advisable to confirm the final balance in each account after completing your monthly bookkeeping process.

This function will capture any transaction that has been posted to an account after it has been reconciled, thereby preventing any complications for all parties involved.

Evaluate classifications

Due to the presence of automated transaction importing and categorization, it is possible to unintentionally neglect this particular task. Make sure to thoroughly examine the expense accounts after each month to confirm that the transactions have been correctly allocated to the appropriate expense accounts.

By generating monthly profit and loss statements, you can easily pinpoint expense categories that exhibit abnormally high or low expenses for the month. This could suggest that transactions have been incorrectly classified.

Evaluate the preliminary tasks

It is imperative to ensure that the documentation is comprehensive. This entails ensuring that you possess substantiating documentation for all transactions.

A crucial aspect of the procedure is to ensure that your documentation is appropriately stored (either physically or electronically) to facilitate easy retrieval in case any inquiries arise in the future.

Generate reports

After confirming the accuracy and completeness of all your documentation, you can compile financial statements for your clients. It is advisable to frequently verify that the reports you are generating are valuable to the recipients, to avoid expending effort on producing reports that are not being utilized.

Dispatch reports to clients

The ultimate stage entails transmitting the monthly report to your clientele. When you observe any atypical items or patterns, it is advisable to incorporate remarks or inquiries when submitting the report.

Additional Step

Create a checklist for the upcoming month. This can encompass the allocation of deadlines and team members. If you are utilizing an automated workflow system, this particular step may occur automatically. If you are utilizing a paper-based system or spreadsheet, it will be necessary for you to manually generate the checklist for the upcoming month.

By adhering to these nine steps, you can effectively organize and rectify your clients’ financial records, ensuring that you have diligently completed each stage of the procedure. If you collaborate with multiple team members, it is beneficial for each member to record every step taken.