Checklist
Monthly bookkeeping checklist for your clients.
The month-end list to send clients, your firm's side of month-end, and how to make it run every month.
Last updated · Facts checked
A monthly bookkeeping checklist is the short list your clients work through at the end of every month: statements, invoices, receipts and whatever payroll needs. Sent the same way each month, it turns month-end into a habit instead of a hunt.
This guide has three parts: the checklist to send clients, the routine your firm follows on its side of the month, and how to make the whole thing recurring so nobody has to remember to start it.
What makes a monthly list different
A year-end list is long and arrives once. A monthly list is short and arrives twelve times, so small things matter more.
- Keep it short. Six to ten items is plenty. A long monthly list gets left until next month.
- Name the month. "Statement for 1 to 30 September" leaves less room for error than "this month's statement".
- One line per account. List "Business current account" and "Business credit card" separately, so a missing one is obvious.
- Make "nothing this month" easy to say. No card spending is an answer, not a missing document.
Monthly bookkeeping checklist for clients
These are typical items to tailor to each client. Remove what doesn't apply, add a line for each extra account they hold, and keep the "why we ask" lines: clients send things faster when they know what they're for.
Bank and cards
| Document | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Statement for each business bank account, for the whole month | To match every payment in and out. |
| Statement for each business credit or charge card | Card spending rarely shows in detail on the bank statement. |
| Payment provider or card machine reports (if you use one) | Sales often land there first and reach the bank later, less fees. |
| Savings or deposit account statement (if money moved) | To record transfers and interest. |
Sales
| Document | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Sales invoices issued this month, or a sales report from your software | To record income in the right month. |
| Credit notes and refunds issued (if any) | So a refund isn't mistaken for a cost. |
| Cash takings record (if you take cash) | Cash doesn't appear on a statement until it's banked. |
Purchases and expenses
| Document | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Supplier invoices received this month | To record costs and what you owe. |
| Receipts for card and cash spending | To show what each payment was for. |
| Expense claims and mileage (if anyone paid out of their own pocket) | To repay them and record the cost. |
Payroll
| Document | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Hours, overtime and commission for the pay period (if you run payroll) | To work out this month's pay. |
| Starters, leavers and pay changes, with dates | They change who's paid, and how much. |
| Sickness, holiday and other leave taken | Some leave changes pay. |
| Payroll summary from your provider (if someone else runs payroll) | To post wages and deductions to the books. |
Loans and finance
| Document | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| Loan, overdraft or finance statement (if you have one) | To split repayments between interest and the loan itself. |
| New finance or lease agreements (if any) | Their terms decide how they're recorded. |
Anything unusual
| Document | Why we ask |
|---|---|
| A short note on anything out of the ordinary this month | It saves us asking about it later. |
Things worth a note:
- a large one-off sale or purchase
- a refund, in or out
- a personal payment from the business account
- money the owner put in
- a new bank account or card
- an item above with nothing to send this month
Payroll inputs often run on a different clock
Pay has to be worked out before payday, which may be well before the month ends. If a client pays staff on the 25th, ask for payroll inputs a few days earlier in a separate request, and leave the rest of the list until the month is over.
Copy the monthly list
MONTHLY BOOKKEEPING: [CLIENT NAME]
Month: [month and year]
Please send by: [date]
BANK AND CARDS
- Statement for each business bank account, for the whole month
Why we ask: to match every payment in and out.
- Statement for each business credit or charge card
Why we ask: card spending rarely shows in detail on the bank statement.
- Payment provider or card machine reports (if you use one)
Why we ask: sales often land there first and reach the bank later, less fees.
- Savings or deposit account statement (if money moved)
Why we ask: to record transfers and interest.
SALES
- Sales invoices issued this month, or a sales report from your software
Why we ask: to record income in the right month.
- Credit notes and refunds issued (if any)
Why we ask: so a refund isn't mistaken for a cost.
- Cash takings record (if you take cash)
Why we ask: cash doesn't appear on a statement until it's banked.
PURCHASES AND EXPENSES
- Supplier invoices received this month
Why we ask: to record costs and what you owe.
- Receipts for card and cash spending
Why we ask: to show what each payment was for.
- Expense claims and mileage (if anyone paid out of their own pocket)
Why we ask: to repay them and record the cost.
PAYROLL
- Hours, overtime and commission for the pay period (if you run payroll)
Why we ask: to work out this month's pay.
- Starters, leavers and pay changes, with dates
Why we ask: they change who's paid, and how much.
- Sickness, holiday and other leave taken
Why we ask: some leave changes pay.
- Payroll summary from your provider (if someone else runs payroll)
Why we ask: to post wages and deductions to the books.
LOANS AND FINANCE
- Loan, overdraft or finance statement (if you have one)
Why we ask: to split repayments between interest and the loan itself.
- New finance or lease agreements (if any)
Why we ask: their terms decide how they're recorded.
ANYTHING UNUSUAL
- A short note on anything out of the ordinary this month
For example: a large one-off sale or purchase, a refund, a personal
payment from the business account, money you put in, a new account or
card, or an item above with nothing to send this month.
Your firm's month-end routine
The client's list is half of month-end. The other half is what your firm does with it, in the same order every month.
| When | What you do |
|---|---|
| Last few days of the month | Check each client's list still fits: a new account, a new member of staff, a loan paid off. |
| Early in the new month | Send the month's request with a due date. A week to ten days gives statements time to arrive. |
| As files arrive | Check each one covers the whole month and the right account. If it doesn't, ask for a replacement straight away and say exactly what's wrong. |
| Around the due date | Look at who hasn't sent anything at all. Reminders work for a missing item or two. Silence usually needs a phone call. |
| When everything is in | Reconcile each account to its statement, post the month and file the documents in the client's records. |
| Before you close the month | Write down open questions for the client, and anything to add to next month's list. |
Keep a note of what came in late, and from whom. The same two or three items tend to be late every month, often the card statement or the payment provider report. Move them to the top of that client's list, or add a clearer "why we ask".
Make it recurring
Building the same request by hand twelve times a year, for every client, is where monthly collection falls apart. A recurring setup needs four things:
- One list per kind of client. A business with staff, one without, a shop that takes cash. Tailor each client from the closest one.
- A fixed send day. The 1st of the month, or the first working day, so clients know when to expect it.
- A fixed due date. The same number of days after sending, every month.
- Reminders that list only what's missing, and stop once it arrives.
If you have both monthly and quarterly clients, treat them as two lists on two schedules rather than one list sent at different times.
For how this runs end to end, see recurring document collection. For reminder timings, see how often to send reminder emails to clients.
How to do this in GarnerDocs
Set it up once with a template and a recurring workflow.
- A template per list. New workspaces start with a Monthly Bookkeeping template to edit. Groups become categories, and each "why we ask" goes in the document's description.
- A recurring workflow. Monthly, on the day you choose, for all active clients or the ones you pick. It runs at 08:00 your time and, set to the previous month, collects the month that's just ended.
- Requests named for the month. Each request is titled with the template and the period, such as "Monthly bookkeeping September 2026", and has its own due date.
- Drafts or automatic sending. New workflows save drafts for you to check. Sending automatically asks you to confirm first.
- Notes for the unusual. Clients write a note from their upload page, whether it's a refund or "no card spending this month".
- Reminders that stop. They list only what's still missing and stop once it arrives.
Questions
When should clients send their monthly documents?
Soon after the month ends, once the statements are out. Send the request early in the new month with a due date a week to ten days later, and ask for payroll inputs separately, before payday.
What if a client has nothing to send for an item this month?
Ask them to say so rather than leave it blank. "No card spending in September" is an answer. Then remove that item from this month's request, so reminders stop asking for it.
Should I ask for receipts every month?
For card and cash spending, yes, while they're easy to find. A month of receipts is a short job. A year of them, at year-end, is the one clients put off.
Do monthly and quarterly clients need different lists?
Usually the same items, on a different schedule. Keep them as two lists sent on two schedules, so each client gets one request per period and nothing more.