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check list to start bookkeeping service for clients
Does any one know where to get check list sheet to start new bookkeeping clients?
appreciated in advance. please reply.
QB Community Bookkeeping Checklist (so far...)
Daily Accounting Tasks
- Check Cash Position
Weekly Accounting Tasks
- Record Transactions
- Document and File Receipts
- Review Unpaid Bills From Vendors
- Pay Vendors, Sign Checks
- Prepare and Send Invoices
- Review Projected Cash Flow
Monthly Accounting Tasks
- Balance Your Business Checkbook
- Review Past-Due (“Aged”) Receivables
- Analyze Inventory Status
- Process or Review Payroll and Approve Tax Payments
- Review Actual Profit and Loss vs. Budget and vs. Prior Years
- Review Month-End Balance Sheet vs. Prior Period
- Double-check for duplicate transactions after account reconciliation (@JenPM)
- Check if there are any uncashed checks older than 6 months (@JenPM)
Quarterly Accounting Tasks
- Prepare/Review Revised Annual P&L Estimate
- Review Quarterly Payroll Reports and Make Payments
- Review Sales Tax and Make Quarterly Payments
- Compute Estimated Income Tax and Make Payment
Annual Accounting Tasks
- Review Past-Due Receivables
- Review Your Inventory
- Fill Out IRS Forms W-2 and 1099-MISC
- Review and Approve Full-Year Financial Reports and Tax Returns
- Review vendor and customer list for duplicates, update information as needed (@JenPM)
- Run transaction detail by-account reports to review income and expense accounts to ensure accounts are properly classified (@JenPM)
- Update and consolidate the Chart of Accounts as needed (@JenPM)

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Hey Matt (@ismattaxservice),
Welcome to the community. QuickBooks wrote an article called Small Business Accounting Checklist and Infographic: 21 Things to Do and When to Do Them. I can summarize the main points below:
Daily Accounting Tasks
1. Check Cash Position
Weekly Accounting Tasks
2. Record Transactions
3. Document and File Receipts
4. Review Unpaid Bills From Vendors
5. Pay Vendors, Sign Checks
6. Prepare and Send Invoices
7. Review Projected Cash Flow
Monthly Accounting Tasks
8. Balance Your Business Checkbook
9. Review Past-Due (“Aged”) Receivables
10. Analyze Inventory Status
11. Process or Review Payroll and Approve Tax Payments
12. Review Actual Profit and Loss vs. Budget and vs. Prior Years
13. Review Month-End Balance Sheet vs. Prior Period
Quarterly Accounting Tasks
14. Prepare/Review Revised Annual P&L Estimate
15. Review Quarterly Payroll Reports and Make Payments
16. Review Sales Tax and Make Quarterly Payments
17. Compute Estimated Income Tax and Make Payment
Annual Accounting Tasks
18. Review Past-Due Receivables
19. Review Your Inventory
20. Fill Out IRS Forms W-2 and 1099-MISC
21. Review and Approve Full-Year Financial Reports and Tax Returns
But I think we as a community can do better! The list is pretty generic, it doesn't account for industry specifics or unique scenarios! No two businesses are the same, which means no two bookkeeping processes are alike.
Let's start our own, starting with you @ismattaxservice, what essential tasks do you think should go in these categories, let's start a list in the comments below.
Daily Tasks:
Weekly Tasks:
Monthly Tasks:
Quarterly Tasks:
Yearly Tasks:
@Sangeethmathew, @ParkwayInc, @EmilyMockett, @JenPM, @Anonymous, @AmberR, can you add a few tasks? :)
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Hmm. @ismattaxservice you mentioned to set up a new bookkeeping client. Do you mean a checklist that has everything you should ask the new client for? Just want to clarify before I answer.
As far as bookkeeping tasks go, that is a pretty comprehensive list without going into customer/vendor names.
However, montly I also go through the transactions after I reconcile to determine if there are any duplicate transactions or any uncashed checks that are older than 6 months.
Yearly I also go through the vendors to check for duplicate vendors. In addition I do a transaction detail by account which shows all your expense and income accounts and all the transactions in the period. I do this so I can glance over it and ensure that everything looks properly classified and nothing strange is out of place.
Also yearly I go through and clean up the chart of accounts. I see if there are any accounts that we never use or maybe accounts/sub accounts we need to add.
Hope that helped :)

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Fantastic. That is exactly the kind of personal tasks/methods I was hoping for. I will add you to the list!
Daily Accounting Tasks
- Check Cash Position
Weekly Accounting Tasks
- Record Transactions
- Document and File Receipts
- Review Unpaid Bills From Vendors
- Pay Vendors, Sign Checks
- Prepare and Send Invoices
- Review Projected Cash Flow
Monthly Accounting Tasks
- Balance Your Business Checkbook
- Review Past-Due (“Aged”) Receivables
- Analyze Inventory Status
- Process or Review Payroll and Approve Tax Payments
- Review Actual Profit and Loss vs. Budget and vs. Prior Years
- Review Month-End Balance Sheet vs. Prior Period
- Double-check for duplicate transactions after account reconciliation (@JenPM)
- Check if there are any uncashed checks older than 6 months (@JenPM)
Quarterly Accounting Tasks
- Prepare/Review Revised Annual P&L Estimate
- Review Quarterly Payroll Reports and Make Payments
- Review Sales Tax and Make Quarterly Payments
- Compute Estimated Income Tax and Make Payment
Annual Accounting Tasks
- Review Past-Due Receivables
- Review Your Inventory
- Fill Out IRS Forms W-2 and 1099-MISC
- Review and Approve Full-Year Financial Reports and Tax Returns
- Review vendor and customer list for duplicates, update information as needed (@JenPM)
- Run transaction detail by-account reports to review income and expense accounts to ensure accounts are properly classified (@JenPM)
- Update and consolidate the Chart of Accounts as needed (@JenPM)
@mcwagner, do you have any recommendations for this list?
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Monthly Close Tasks:
Transaction Level Review:
Review Uncategorized Expenses:
Review Revenue Query Account (Fancy word for Uncategorized Income so we can use Bank Rules)
Reconcile Statements
Clear old transactions from the bank feed center:
Review Pending Transactions:
Reporting Review:
Pull a Profit and Loss By Month and Review for abnormal monthly totals
Review Negative Amounts in Profit and Loss for the period:
Expenses:
Review COGS Expense Detail:
Review Ordinary Expense Detail:
Assets:
Review the current month current asset detail:
Review the current month other current asset detail:
Review the current month fixed asset detail:
Reconcile Specified Current Asset/and Other Current Asset accounts
Account Reviews & Reconciliations:
Review Accounts Receivable:
Review Accounts Payable:
Review Cash On Hand
Review and close out all clearing accounts
Payroll & Contracted Labor:
Verify gross employee wages:
Verify employer paid payroll tax:
Reconcile payroll liability account:
Review Contract Labor:
Generate Workers Comp Reporting
Loans and Notes Payable
Ensure notes and loans payable are tracked correctly
Closing & Reporting:
Complete month end closing entry
Complete month end reporting
Create month end closing date

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Matt! This is amazing. What are the top 3 "musts" to add to the list?
We can turn the monthly check into its own article and link it back to the list.

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quarterly i try to do a preliminary review on potential 1099 needs.
fill in any gaps on w9s for vendors... especially for clients that write a significant number of manual checks!

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We missed you @Anonymous, this is great add! Thank you.
We're actually putting together a monthly checklist... do you think you could add 5-10 more essential items and we can craft a quarterly checklist companion piece?
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Hello,
I am looking for two kinds of check list to get everything set up in QB Desktop and QBOnline for payroll. Making sure you are all set up for direct deposit for employees, e-filing payroll taxes deposits and quarterly IRS reporting and annual reporting. Seems like we get set up then the PIN number comes from the IRS and we miss a step, like going to EFTPS and setting up their own password. Then you try to edible Reports and you get a rejection notice, because you missed a step and used the wrong password. Both are different set ups.
Have any suggestions or lists?
TJ
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Was there a final document for tasks to be performed and/or gathering new client information for set up?
Thanks!
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Was there ever a final checklist created for QBO tasks and/or gathering information for new clients?
Thanks