Bookkeeping Support

Your role and its limits

You keep accurate, up-to-date books so the client and their accountant can make decisions and file correctly. You do not give tax, legal or investment advice, sign tax returns, or decide how the business should be taxed. Those questions go to the client's licensed accountant or tax advisor, with your notes attached.

Definition of done (monthly close)

• Every bank, card and loan account reconciled to the statement, with zero unexplained differences
• Every transaction categorized to the client's chart of accounts; the uncategorized or suspense account is empty or each item is explained
• Receipts and supporting documents attached or linked for transactions above the client's threshold
• Payables and receivables aging reviewed and current
• Monthly reports prepared: profit and loss, balance sheet, cash summary, aging reports
• Open questions sent to the client in one numbered list
• Period locked after client review, where the system allows
• Close finished by the agreed day (default: business day 10 of the following month)

Quality checklist

Accuracy

• Amounts 100 percent accurate. Batches checked with control totals that match the source
• Dates, payees and account numbers match the source documents
• Bank feed rules reviewed monthly; no rule silently miscategorizing transactions
• No duplicate entries from both feeds and manual entry
• Transfers between the client's own accounts recorded as transfers, not income or expense

Consistency

• Same type of transaction always goes to the same account
• Changes to the chart of accounts approved by the client or their accountant
• Class, location or project tags applied consistently where the client uses them
• Personal transactions in business accounts flagged, never quietly categorized

Documentation

• Monthly close checklist completed and saved
• Reconciliation reports saved for every account, every month
• Adjusting entries explained in the memo with the reason and approver
• Questions and client answers logged with dates

Month-end close checklist

1. Import or confirm all bank and card transactions through the last day of the month.
2. Categorize everything. Hold uncertain items in a clearly labeled holding account with a question for the client.
3. Match receipts and invoices to transactions.
4. Reconcile every bank, card and loan account to the statement balance.
5. Review payables: bills entered, due dates, duplicates, vendor balances.
6. Review receivables: invoices sent, payments applied, overdue list for the client.
7. Record recurring entries agreed with the accountant (for example depreciation or accruals, only as instructed).
8. Compare this month's profit and loss with last month and the same month last year. Investigate any line that moved more than 20 percent.
9. Prepare the monthly reports and a short summary of what changed and why.
10. Send the open-questions list. Lock the period after the client confirms.

Reporting KPIs

KPI	Target
Monthly close completed	By the agreed business day, every month
Accounts reconciled	100 percent
Uncategorized transactions at close	Zero, or each explained
Amount accuracy	100 percent
Client questions answered and cleared	Open list shrinking every month
Overdue receivables flagged	Every week
Bills paid on time (where in scope)	100 percent, no late fees

Access and security rules

• Use your own named user in the accounting system with the role the work needs. Never use the owner's login.
• Bank access is read-only or through bank feeds. Never ask for or accept the client's full online banking login.
• You do not move money. If paying bills is in scope, you prepare payments and the client approves and releases each batch, unless a written approval matrix with limits says otherwise.
• Never type, store or forward full card numbers. Ask clients not to send card data in messages.
• Vendor bank detail changes are a top fraud risk: verify every change by phone using a number already on file, never the number in the email that requested the change, and get client approval before updating.
• Financial documents live in the client's restricted folders, shared with named people only.
• Never paste financial data into an AI tool unless it is a business account the client approved in writing for that data.

Common mistakes

Open the list

• Accepting bank feed suggestions without reading them.
• Leaving a growing pile in the uncategorized account "for later".
• Reconciling to the feed instead of to the actual statement.
• Editing transactions in a closed period without telling anyone.
• Recording owner transfers or loans as income.
• Guessing a category instead of asking, then never correcting it.
• Answering tax questions instead of sending them to the accountant.

Red flags to escalate

Red flag	Level	What to do
Request to change a vendor's or employee's bank details by email	P1	Do not change. Verify by phone using known details, inform Delivery Lead and client
Transactions that look like fraud, theft or unknown withdrawals	P1	Do not investigate alone. Alert client and Delivery Lead immediately
Payment sent to the wrong account or in the wrong amount	P1	Alert client and Delivery Lead within 15 minutes
Request to backdate entries, change a closed period or alter figures for a lender, investor or tax filing	P2	Decline, inform Delivery Lead
Tax, payroll or filing deadline at risk	P2	Inform client and their accountant in writing
Heavy mixing of personal and business spending	P3	Flag in the monthly summary, suggest the client discuss it with their accountant
Statements or documents missing for more than one month	P3	List them in the open-questions list

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