A monthly bookkeeping checklist lets you stay organized, and, more importantly, keep your clients’ finances in complete order.
To help you create a thorough and effective checklist, here are 13 essential tasks that will keep everything running smoothly.
Let’s get to it!
Table of Contents
- 13 Tasks To Include In Your Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist
- 1. Record and Categorize Transactions
- 2. Reconcile Financial Accounts
- 3. Manage Accounts Payable
- 4. Review Accounts Receivable
- 5. Reconcile Payroll
- 6. Perform Month-End Close
- 7. Generate Key Financial Reports
- 8. Check Compliance and Deadlines
- 9. Update Inventory (if applicable)
- 10. Handle Tax Obligations
- 11. Review Financial Performance
- 12. Backup Financial Data
- 13. Clearly and Regularly Report to Clients
- An Important Note About This Bookkeeping Checklist
13 Tasks To Include In Your Monthly Bookkeeping Checklist
1) Record and Categorize Transactions
Why It’s Important
Recording and categorizing transactions isn’t just about keeping numbers in order.
When you accurately capture your clients’ income and expenses, you help them understand where their money is coming from and where it’s going.
Keep in mind as well that organized records can be a game changer come tax season.
Why?
Proper categorization means fewer headaches for you and your clients, making tax prep smoother and helping them avoid any surprises.
Pro Tip
Automation tools are your ally here—use them to cut down on repetitive data entry and reduce errors.
Keep in mind that this isn’t just about “getting it done” but about setting up clean data for insights.
I like using Dext for this part.
The Dext mobile app automatically captures data from uploaded receipts and invoices.
It also organizes your data by date, item category, currency, tax, invoice number, payment status, and more.
Dext also integrates with popular accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero, allowing you to cut down on the manual work further.
2) Reconcile Financial Accounts
Why It’s Important
Reconciling financial accounts is crucial to maintaining the integrity of your firm’s financial data.
This process helps you spot discrepancies early, preventing small issues from becoming bigger problems down the line.
Plus, it makes year-end reporting a lot smoother, saving you time and effort when it matters most.
Pro Tip
QuickBooks Online and Xero are excellent choices for this task, as they offer real-time bank feeds and built-in reconciliation tools to streamline the process.
Set up automatic bank feeds to pull transactions in daily, so you can quickly spot any inconsistencies as they happen.
By reconciling on a set schedule—weekly or even daily for high-volume accounts—you can catch errors early, keep the books accurate, and make month-end reconciliation far faster and less stressful.
3) Review Accounts Receivable
Why It’s Important
At a minimum, you should be reviewing any old A/R and notifying clients about it. On the other end of the spectrum, some include A/R services where you are following up on overdue payments to help reduce bad debt and spot cash flow issues before they become a problem.
Pro Tip
QuickBooks and Xero allow you to set up automatic payment reminders, usually triggered based on the due date of the invoices.
While these reminders are helpful, clients may occasionally miss them, so you have to stay proactive.
You can leverage these apps’ built-in automated reminders to handle most follow-ups.
With the ability to personalize reminder messages, you can communicate in a way that matches your business’ voice/brand.
Reminders can also be configured to be sent before or after the due date, depending on your preference.
4) Manage Accounts Payable
Why It’s Important
Efficiently managing accounts payable keeps your clients in good standing with vendors and suppliers.
By processing bills correctly and paying on time, you avoid late fees and missed payments that could interfere with cash flow.
Pro Tip
Apps like Bill.com, Plooto, and Routable offer efficient solutions that can automate accounts payable, including “if this, then that” approval rules for seamless processing.
If you’re curious about how automated accounts payable works, check out this short clip:
5) Reconcile Payroll
Why It’s Important
Regular payroll reconciliation helps clients track payroll costs accurately, simplifying budgeting and planning while also ensuring that your payroll totals are accurate.
Pro Tip
I have some recommendations if you’re looking for accounting payroll and HR apps.
If your clients are in the US, I suggest Gusto because it can integrate with both QBO and Xero.
You may want to consider Wagepoint if you’re for a Canadian-based payroll and HR system.
For more payroll and HR app choices, check out my ultimate list of the best cloud accounting software apps.
6) Perform Month-End Close
Why It’s Important
It helps catch mistakes early and is an excellent way to verify that financial statements reflect the true state of the business.
Pro Tip
You may need to implement some regular schedules in place for monthly adjusting journal entries and some of these can be automated.
For example, Chargebee can automatically track and record your monthly deferred revenues.
7) Generate Key Financial Reports
Why It’s Important
Generating key financial reports is vital to assessing a company’s financial health and making informed decisions.
These reports offer valuable insights into performance, help meet regulatory requirements, and improve communication with stakeholders, all of which are important for planning and growth.
Pro Tip
Leverage the built-in reporting tools in your accounting software to automate data extraction and report generation.
This minimizes manual effort, reduces errors, and ensures timely delivery of accurate financial reports.
8) Check Compliance and Deadlines
Why It’s Important
Staying on top of tax payments and filing requirements helps build trust with clients and regulators.
This diligence also supports the overall financial health of the clients by preventing disruptions due to compliance issues.
Pro Tip
Develop a comprehensive compliance calendar that outlines all key tax payment and filing deadlines relevant to the clients.
Set reminders well in advance of each deadline with project management software like:
Canopy: It offers a robust compliance management system that helps you keep track of important deadlines, manage client documents, and automate reminders for tax filings and payments.
Read more about this tool in our Canopy accounting software review.
TaxDome: This all-in-one practice management software allows you to manage deadlines, client communications, and document requests in one place.
Here’s my list of the top practice management software options if you’re interested in learning more.
9) Update Inventory (if applicable)
Why It’s Important
Regularly tracking stock levels helps your client avoid overstocking or running out of items, equipping them to meet customer demand.
Furthermore, it gives insights into purchasing trends that can guide future business decisions.
Pro Tip
Xero and QBO come with built-in inventory features.
However, for heavier requirements, you might want to consider a dedicated inventory management system that integrates well with your accounting software.
10) Handle Tax Obligations
Why It’s Important
Managing tax obligations is crucial for avoiding penalties and ensuring compliance with tax laws.
By staying ahead of tax deadlines, you can help your clients avoid costly mistakes.
This helps them remain in good standing with tax authorities and avoid unnecessary fines.
Pro Tip
If you’re looking for a way to enhance your tax processes and improve team collaboration, Karbon is a great choice.
Karbon offers integrated tax management tools that make communication easier and streamline accounting workflows.
You’ll have a clear view of everything happening—who’s responsible for tasks, when they’re due, and why they’re important.
11) Review Financial Performance
Why It’s Important
Reviewing financial performance helps you catch any errors in your records and helps keep everything aligned with the budget.
By comparing actual results to the budget, you can identify any discrepancies early. In turn, this lets you adjust accordingly and maintain reliable financial reports.
Pro Tip
Xero provides a built-in tool for budget vs. actual variance analysis.
For a more comprehensive option, you might look into Fathom, which offers advanced reporting and forecasting capabilities.
12) Backup Financial Data
Why It’s Important
Backing up financial data helps protect against system crashes, accidental deletions, or even data breaches.
These incidents are time-consuming to resolve and can have a drastic financial impact.
With secure copies in place, you can quickly recover important records and keep things running smoothly without risking major disruptions or data loss.
Pro Tip
Regularly back up all critical files, including financial reports, ledgers, P&L statements, and other key documents in clearly labeled folders within your cloud system or on external hard drives.
This way, if the software goes down or files are accidentally deleted, all critical data is securely backed up and easy to retrieve.
13) Clearly and Regularly Report to Clients
Why It’s Important
Clear communication and regular reporting are essential for building good relationships with clients.
Plus, it’s the best way to keep them informed about their financials.
By sharing updates and addressing any questions, you help clients make better decisions.
This kind of transparency builds trust and can lead to stronger, long-lasting partnerships.
Pro Tip
Create an open line of communication by inviting clients to ask questions about their financial reports.
This can be easier if you’re using a client portal.If you’re considering using one for your business, read this article about the best client portals for accountants.
An Important Note About This Bookkeeping Checklist
When using this bookkeeping checklist, keep in mind that not everything on the list needs to be completed for every client — it depends on the specific services outlined in your engagement letter.
While we’ve provided a comprehensive list, we recommend revisiting your scope of work for each client, as it will dictate what needs to be done.
For example, payroll processing should only be included if it’s part of your agreed services, and paying bills isn’t typically part of standard bookkeeping unless specified.
Having clearly defined service terms for each task will help you tailor the checklist to your client’s needs.
You can find examples of service terms for bookkeeping in my Future Firm Accelerate Playbook, which will guide you in discussing scope and aligning your services with client expectations.
Over To You
And that’s a wrap on the 13 essential tasks for your monthly bookkeeping checklist!
I hope you find this guide useful in keeping your workflow efficient. Bookmark this article so you can come back to it later.
I’d love to hear how your checklist stacks up against ours.
Did we miss any key tasks?
What challenges do you face when managing your bookkeeping?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
