Cleaning Your Books Checklist

Keeping your books clean is extremely beneficial for your business. Not only does it help during tax season, but it can also help you see where financial issues are happening throughout your company.

Continuing to have accurate records of money going in and out of your business can get messy though, especially if you have numerous transactions happening every month.

Use the checklist below to review your books:

• Check all entries:

• Are there any duplicates?

• Do all transactions have the correct date, dollar amount, and necessary information such as the business or client name the transaction occurred with?

• Are all entries recorded correctly when it comes to what was paid to you and what you paid for?

• Reconcile by checking your bank transactions with the transactions recorded in your books:

• Are any transactions missing?

• Is there a transaction that was recorded incorrectly?

• Account for all of your payments and income:

• Have you received all the money your business should have received for your products and services?

• Have you made all of your necessary payments?

• Determine if you need an upgrade in the way you manage your books:

• Is it too difficult to record transactions using your current method?

• Do you need to search for a new or better bookkeeping software?

• Is it time to outsource bookkeeping to another company like MS Bookkeeping Services?

• Make sure all of the contract labor people you have paid are in your books correctly:

• Are their name and address correct?

• Do you have an EIN number or a Social Security number for them in your books?

The checklist above can be edited to fit your company better, but all items mentioned above are standard items for almost every business.

Additional tips that can help you in the future when it comes to recording in your books are to keep your personal and business accounts separate, track every transaction as they occur, and compare previous books.

It’s always best to ask for help whenever you need assistance with your books. Businesses like MS Bookkeeping Services can keep your books clean, consistent, and accurate.