When you record bills you receive, be sure to note the current balance and due date so you can keep in mind how it will impact your cash flow. Before paying bills, check your account balances and outstanding Running Law Firm Bookkeeping: Consider the Industry Specifics in the Detailed Guide checks to confirm you have funds available. Once your books are reconciled, you’ll have your sales or income number. Make sure to keep records of any payments and filings just in case.

If you have yet to establish any, consider creating weekly, monthly, and annual cash flow projections. Though you set a goal, remind yourself to monitor it weekly and adjust where necessary to keep the goal tangible. As a result, you can maintain an immediate and holistic view of your cash flow goals. We know that tracking all your receipts, invoices, and other essential documents can be challenging.

Download the Template

You are looking to gather all of your bank statements, receipts, invoice, and other related financial information. After tracking your transactions, record them in your books at the end of each week or month. During your monthly close, cross-check your records to make sure you paid all bills and invoices. If you’ve been working on them weekly, then this task should be pretty quick and easy. It’s important to keep on top of this so everything is clean as you moved forward.

• By implementing a monthly checklist, you can stay organized and ensure that nothing falls through the cracks.
• Make sure your receipts and records match the balance of your petty cash fund.
• Below, you’ll find our small business bookkeeping checklist broken down into daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual tasks.
• This includes credit card revenue transactions and individual credit card purchases.

It is essential to do this every day, because it’s easier to spot discrepancies with recent transactions. Try using report builder software to create your accounting reports more efficiently and reduce human error. Plus, with a click of a button, you have a beautiful report ready to share with internal and external stakeholders.

Balance Sheet and Fund Balances

Toward the end of the year, it is imperative to assess the company’s yearly financial performance and its current financial health. This is determined by preparing statements, including the profit and loss statement, cash flow statement and the balance sheet. It’s critical to check your accounts at the end of every month. They keep track of accounts payable and receivable to ensure accurate financial statements. A monthly bookkeeping checklist will save you time because it takes the guesswork out of what financial matters need to be addressed next.

Download the free downloadable PDF to help you keep track of your monthly bookkeeping tasks. By following these tips, you can create a monthly bookkeeping checklist that will help you stay organized and on top of your finances. Let’s say your account closes on the 25th of each month, and your monthly bank statement isn’t sent/received until the 7th. By the time it arrives, days have passed since your earliest transactions in that cycle, and there’s been a slew of new business transactions. Remember to regularly review your bookkeeping practices to identify areas for improvement. Use technology tools like accounting software or cloud-based solutions to automate tasks and reduce manual errors.

Weekly accounting tasks

Besides investing in useful accounting software, you can use a monthly bookkeeping checklist to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. Your team will breeze through their assignments and quickly see what’s completed. Let’s look at some tasks you can add to your monthly bookkeeping checklist that will ensure your firm is more profitable and ready for scalable growth. One of the primary reasons why streamlining business processes is crucial is because it allows you to gain better control over your finances. When you have a clear system in place for tracking income and expenses, reconciling accounts, and generating financial reports, you can make informed decisions based on accurate data.

• By reducing mistakes in bookkeeping and procurement activities such as invoice processing or inventory management, you can avoid costly consequences down the line.
• So once you catch up on your books, continue to reconcile your bank statements each month.
• Only mail a statement or past-due notice to a customer once all your receipts have been posted.
• If your clients have employees, you may be completing payroll bi-weekly or monthly.
• Download your free Bookkeeping Best Practice template to personalize and use in your bookkeeping or accounting firm.
• As a small business owner, you may find yourself struggling to keep up with your business’s books.

Enjoy accounting support specifically tailored to your business needs. Take a look at this bookkeeping cleanup checklist to get all your financial ducks in a row. Getting ready to do bookkeeping cleanup sounds intimidating, but can be done effectively by systematically working through these steps to gather the information you need. Once you’ve cleaned your bookkeeping, your business will be better prepared for growth, tax season, and investment opportunities.

How One Accountant’s Experience Changed a Company’s Expectation, Saving them Headaches, Time, and Money.

Additionally, this report shows any client invoices that used a portion of that original deposit or retainer, helping track what the funds applied to. Review this report to confirm your invoicing generates in a timely manner and monitor the proper distribution and application of the client’s funds. Can I use this checklist template within the Financial Cents application? In fact, that’s the better way to use and maximize this template.