What documents for bookkeeper do I need to provide? — Checklist & Worksheet

Bank & credit-card statements, invoices (sales & vendor), receipts, payroll reports, merchant/processor summaries, loan & lease documents, prior-year tax returns, and any contracts or licenses — delivered as clean PDFs/CSV exports or uploaded to your secure client portal. Provide 12 months (or since business start) and label files by month and vendor. Faster delivery = faster results + lower cost.

On the go? Listen on The Deep Dive — where we dig deeper into this topic: ‘The Expensive False Economy The Red Flags of “The Organized Handoff: How to Save $6,400 and Unlock Tax Credits with Perfect Bookkeeping…’. Listen or download.

Why this matters

Missing or messy documents cost time, money, and accuracy. A quick, organized handoff saves hours of cleanup and reduces the chance of missed deductions, misposted transactions, or audit headaches. Give your bookkeeper clean inputs and they’ll give you clean, actionable books.

A Quick Story

A small bakery we worked with saved $6,400 in one quarter after a cleanup. The owner had been handing paper receipts shoved into shoeboxes. We asked for three months of bank feeds, merchant processor reports, and organized receipts. Once we matched deposits to sales reports and categorized ingredients vs labor correctly, we found missing COGS entries and a misclassified loan payment — and the corrected books unlocked a valid tax credit the owner hadn’t claimed. The moral: organized docs = recoverable money.

Complete document checklist (what to provide and why)

Provide these as PDFs, CSVs, or clear photos (only if OCR is enabled). If in doubt, export from the system (bank/processor/PayPal/Stripe) as CSV or PDF.

Essentials (must-have)

• Bank statements (check, savings, merchant accounts) — Full monthly statements for the period you want us to cover. Primary source for reconciliation.
• Credit card statements (business cards) — Monthly statements and merchant receipts. Card charges must match expenses; helps catch personal charges.
• Merchant processor reports (Stripe, Square, PayPal, Shopify payouts) — Daily/weekly summaries and payout reports. Deposits to bank often combine multiple sales — we need the breakdown.
• Sales invoices & sales receipts — All invoices issued and confirmed payments. To verify revenue and A/R.
• Vendor bills & receipts — PDF invoices, bills, and paid receipts from suppliers. For COGS and expense tracking.
• Payroll reports & pay stubs — Payroll register, tax withholdings, 941/940/filing receipts. Payroll needs proper liability tracking.
• Prior year tax returns (business & personal, if applicable) — Shows historical classifications, carryforwards, and tax positions.

Important supporting docs

• Loan & lease agreements — Terms and payment schedules.
• Contracts & vendor agreements — Recurring obligations or retainer agreements.
• Sales tax filings & exemption certificates — Tax returns and resale certificates.
• Fixed-asset list & purchase invoices — Equipment and capital purchases.
• Insurance certificates & premium invoices — For expense and liability records.
• Articles of organization / EIN paperwork — Legal entity & tax ID.
• Employee records (W-4s, I-9s, benefits docs) — Only as necessary for payroll setup.

Nice-to-have (accelerators)

• Chart of Accounts export (CSV) from QuickBooks/Xero — Helps avoid restructuring.
• POS reports by day (for retail/food businesses) — Shows gross sales, discounts, taxes.
• Inventory counts & cost sheets — Beginning and end of period counts.
• Deposit slips & petty cash logs — Reconcile small cash transactions.

How to deliver documents (best practices)

• Preferred: Secure client portal (Dropbox/Google Drive shared folder with restricted access) or your bookkeeping app attachments (QuickBooks Online, Xero).
• Alternate: Encrypted email attachment or an upload link (WeTransfer with password).
• If you must send photos: Take them on a plain background, steady, fully legible—one document per photo. Label filename as YYYY-MM_VENDOR_NAME.pdf or .jpg.
• Naming convention (simple and powerful): 2025-07_Bank_BankOfAmerica_Statement.pdf, 2025-07_Square_Payouts.csv, 2025-07_Vendor_Amazon_Invoice_1234.pdf
• Organize by month → folder per year → subfolder per account/vendor.

How much history to send

Minimum: Last 12 months for a clean monthly close and trend analysis. For cleanups: ideally since formation or at least 24 months to correct recurring misclassifications. For tax season: Prior-year tax return + full current year to date.

Quick timeline expectations (what happens after you send docs)

• Day 0–2: We confirm access and request missing items.
• Day 3–10: Reconciliations & matching — bank vs merchant vs invoices.
• Week 2+: Cleanup items, classification, and notes handed back for review.

Red flags that slow things down (avoid these)

• Missing merchant payout details (deposits don’t match sales).
• Paper receipts stacked without dates or totals.
• Multiple business accounts mixed with personal accounts.
• No payroll records or incomplete payroll tax filings.

Worksheet — printable checklist

Use this to prepare files before the handoff. Print it or paste into a spreadsheet.

Document	Where it is (path/link)	Date range included	Ready (✓)	Notes
Bank statements (Primary checking)	Drive/2025/Bank	Jan 2025 – Dec 2025
Credit card statements (Business)	Drive/2025/CC	Jan 2025 – Dec 2025
Merchant processor reports (Stripe/Square)	Drive/2025/Merchant	Jan 2025 – Dec 2025		Include payout CSV
Sales invoices / receipts	Drive/2025/Sales	Jan 2025 – Dec 2025		Include invoice numbers
Vendor bills & receipts	Drive/2025/Bills	Jan 2025 – Dec 2025
Payroll register & tax filings	Drive/Payroll/2025	Jan 2025 – Dec 2025		Include 941s
Prior year tax return(s)	Drive/Taxes	2024		Fed & State
Loan / lease agreements	Drive/Contracts
Sales tax returns	Drive/SalesTax	2025		Include exemption certs
Fixed asset invoices	Drive/FixedAssets

 

CSV copy (paste into a sheet)

Document,Where it is (path/link),Date range included,Ready (Y/N),Notes
Bank statements (Primary checking),Drive/2025/Bank,Jan 2025-Dec 2025,N,
Credit card statements (Business),Drive/2025/CC,Jan 2025-Dec 2025,N,
Merchant processor reports (Stripe/Square),Drive/2025/Merchant,Jan 2025-Dec 2025,N,

Sales invoices / receipts,Drive/2025/Sales,Jan 2025-Dec 2025,N,
Vendor bills & receipts,Drive/2025/Bills,Jan 2025-Dec 2025,N,
Payroll register & tax filings,Drive/Payroll/2025,Jan 2025-Dec 2025,N,
Prior year tax return(s),Drive/Taxes,2024,N,
Loan / lease agreements,Drive/Contracts,,N,
Sales tax returns,Drive/SalesTax,2025,N,
Fixed asset invoices,Drive/FixedAssets,,N,

What it is

• CSV = plain text where each line is a row and commas separate columns.

• The header row (Document,Where it is (path/link),...) names the columns.

• Each following row is an item (bank statements, payroll, etc.) with where it’s stored and whether it’s ready.

What each column means

• Document — what you need to collect (e.g., Bank statements).

• Where it is (path/link) — where you stored the file (Drive path or full shareable link).

• Date range included — months/years covered by that file.

• Ready (Y/N) — quick status: Y = uploaded/ready, N = not done.

• Notes — anything extra (password, invoice number to find, special instructions).

How to use it (step-by-step)

Google Sheets — fastest

1. Open Google Sheets → Blank spreadsheet.

2. Paste the CSV block directly into cell A1 (Ctrl+V). Google Sheets will auto-split into columns.
   – OR: File → Import → Upload → Select the CSV file → Choose Replace current sheet → Import.

3. Turn Ready (Y/N) into checkboxes: select column → Insert → Checkbox. (Optional; easier than Y/N.)

4. Add filters: Data → Create a filter. Now sort/filter by Ready or Document.

5. Share the sheet with your bookkeeper (use the link with correct permissions — Viewer or Editor as needed).

Microsoft Excel

1. Open Excel → Blank workbook.

2. Paste into A1, then use Data → Text to Columns → Delimited → Comma → Finish.
   – OR save the text as .csv and open it directly.

3. Use Data → Filter to add filters. For checkboxes, you can use Data Validation with a drop-down (Y/N) or insert Form Controls.

4. Save and share via OneDrive or send the CSV file.

Practical tips to make it useful

• Use full shareable links (https://drive.google.com/…) instead of local paths like Drive/2025/Bank — the bookkeeper needs a clickable URL and correct permissions.

• Make Ready a checkbox (Google Sheets) for faster updating.

• Add columns if helpful: Uploaded by, Date uploaded, Assigned to, Priority.

• Conditional formatting: highlight rows where Ready = N in red so missing items are obvious.

• Version control: don’t keep multiple copies floating — use one master sheet and share it.

• Permissions: confirm shared links are set to the correct access level (Viewer vs Editor) — preferably a single folder you share rather than many individual links.

• Protect sensitive data: do NOT paste SSNs or other sensitive numbers into the sheet; instead point to a secure document link or use your client portal.

Demonstrating our experience (why trust us)

Giesler-Tran Bookkeeping’s Gold Star Network brings years of bookkeeping, cleanup, and tax-ready reporting experience. We specialize in QuickBooks Online setups, merchant processor reconciliations, and real-world fixes that recover missed deductions and unclog cash flow. Our cleanup-first approach focuses on the highest-impact mismatches (merchant deposits, payroll, and COGS), and we prioritize audit-readiness so your CPA has exactly what they need at tax time.

Next steps / call-to-action

1. Use the worksheet above to gather documents.
2. Upload to your secure folder or share access with us.
3. Schedule a free 30-minute evaluation and onboarding call so we can review what you’ve gathered and provide an exact quote:
   Schedule → https://calendly.com/mrbrian-gieslertranbookkeeping/30min

FAQs

Q: How should I send sensitive documents (W-2, SSNs)?

A: Use encrypted uploads or a secure client portal. Avoid sending unencrypted sensitive documents via regular email.

Q: What if I only have paper receipts?

A: Photograph them clearly by month, name the files, and upload. For high volumes, we recommend scanning or using a receipt-capture app.

Q: How long do you keep client documents?

A: We maintain client records per our retention policy and recommend keeping originals per IRS/state guidance — typically 3–7 years depending on document type.

Ready to get your books in order? Use the worksheet above to collect files, then schedule a free 30-minute evaluation and we’ll map out a cleanup or onboarding plan tailored to your business. Schedule now.

Giesler-Tran Bookkeeping • gieslertranbookkeeping.com • 971-200-5158