Small business owners in Quincy, Braintree, and Weymouth run very different businesses. But the ones whose books stay in good shape all have the same thing in common: a routine. Not a heroic catch-up session every April. A few minutes a week, and an hour or two a month.
Here is a checklist you can use, whether you keep your own books in QuickBooks Online or work with a bookkeeper.
Every week
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Every month
1. Reconcile every account
Reconcile each bank account, credit card, loan, and line of credit to its statement. Not just the main checking account. Every one, including the card you rarely use. Reconciliation is how you know your books match reality.
2. Review accounts receivable
Who owes you money, and for how long? Follow up on anything past due. A short, polite reminder at 30 days works far better than a hard conversation at 90.
3. Review accounts payable
What do you owe, and when? Check for anything paid twice. Duplicate payments are surprisingly common, especially when bills arrive by both mail and email.
4. Record loan payments correctly
Split each loan payment into interest, which is an expense, and principal, which reduces the loan balance. Then compare the loan balance in QuickBooks to the lender’s statement.
5. Post payroll from your provider
If you use a payroll service, record payroll so wages, employer taxes, and withholdings land in the right accounts. Check that the totals match the provider’s reports.
6. Separate personal from business
Personal charges on a business card should be recorded as owner draws, not expenses. It keeps your profit accurate and makes your CPA’s job easier.
7. Run and read three reports
- Profit and loss: what you earned, what you spent, what was left.
- Balance sheet: what you have, what you owe, and what you have taken out.
- Cash analysis: where the cash actually went.
Compare each one to last month and the same month last year. Anything surprising is worth a question.
8. Write down your questions
Anything you could not categorize or explain goes on a short list for your bookkeeper or CPA.
This month's close
Tick off each step as you finish it.
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Every quarter
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The step most people skip
Reconciling the accounts nobody looks at. A savings account, an old credit card, an equipment loan. When those go unreconciled, errors hide there for years. Liliane Larsen goes through every account, “even the ones that you forgot you had.”
When the checklist becomes too much
If this list is the thing you never get to, that is normal. You run a business. Our monthly bookkeeping clients hand off nearly all of it: we reconcile every account, prepare the reports on an agreed schedule, and walk through them with you. What stays with you is a short list of questions each month, and the decisions.
Frequently asked questions
Both. Categorize weekly so nothing piles up, and reconcile and review reports monthly.
Software records transactions; it does not check whether they are right. Many owners use QuickBooks themselves and bring in a bookkeeper for monthly reconciliation and review. Others hand it all off.
Yes. QuickBooks training is available online, in your own file.
Start with a conversation
If you are in Quincy, Braintree, Weymouth, or nearby, request a free consultation. Prefer the phone? Call 781-924-1489.