A monthly document checklist for small business bookkeeping clients

A clear checklist is the single biggest factor in getting complete submissions. When clients know exactly what to send, they send it. When they don't, you get half the documents and a follow-up conversation. Below is a starting list you can adapt for each client.

What almost every client should send

• Statements for every business bank account
• Statements for every business credit card
• Statements for any loans or lines of credit
• Receipts or bills for purchases, at least above a set amount
• Sales invoices issued, or confirmation that your system already has them

If you have a direct bank feed into the client's accounting software, you may not need the statements every month. Many firms still ask for them at month-end so they can reconcile against an independent source.

Questions worth asking every month

Some information never shows up in documents. A few short questions catch it early:

• Did you open or close any bank accounts or cards?
• Did you take out any new loans or financing?
• Did you buy any equipment, vehicles, or other large assets?
• Did you pay yourself or any family members from the business?
• Did you use a personal card for any business expenses?
• Anything unusual this month we should know about?

Yes/no questions with an optional note get answered far more often than open-ended ones.

Extra items by type of business

Service businesses (consultants, agencies, trades):

• Subcontractor invoices and payments
• Mileage or vehicle logs, if they claim vehicle costs
• Retainer or deposit agreements signed this month

Retail and e-commerce:

• Payment processor payout reports (for example Stripe, Square, or Shopify Payments)
• Marketplace settlement reports
• Inventory purchase invoices
• Month-end stock count, if you track inventory monthly

Businesses with employees:

• Payroll register or summary for each pay run
• Payroll tax filings or payment confirmations
• New hire or termination details

Property and rentals:

• Rent roll or tenant payment summary
• Property management statements
• Repair and maintenance invoices

Keep the list as short as you can

Every item you add is one more thing a client can forget. Review each client's checklist every few months and remove anything you no longer use. Mark genuinely optional items as optional, so a client isn't stuck unable to finish because a receipt doesn't exist.

It also helps to name items the way the client thinks of them. "Amex statement" gets a faster response than "credit card statement 2".

Turning the checklist into a routine

A checklist only works if it goes out every month. Save one per client type, send it on the same date each month, and track which items are in. Reqmora lets you build these checklists once, assign them to clients, and send them automatically each month, with reminders for anything still missing.