- Start with the most recent complete month.Not the oldest. Recent memory is worth more than chronology.
- Do one month per sitting.Two hours, one month, then stop.
- Fix the intake, not just the backlog.If nothing changes about how records arrive, you will be here again.
Example conversation with Tax & Bookkeeping
You
My books are seven months behind and I am dreading it.
Tax & Bookkeeping
Seven months is normal and it is recoverable. Do not try to do it in one weekend.
Start with last month, not January. Recent memory is worth more than chronology, and last month is the one that affects what you owe next.
Two hours, one month, then stop. Seven sittings.
You have bank statements, so the bank is your spine. Work down it and match what you can. Anything you cannot identify goes in a list, not in a guess.
Then fix the intake. Photograph every receipt the day you get it. Otherwise you are back here in seven months.
Want me to build the list of what to gather before you start?
Start with last month, not January. Recent memory is worth more than chronology, and last month is the one that affects what you owe next.
Two hours, one month, then stop. Seven sittings.
You have bank statements, so the bank is your spine. Work down it and match what you can. Anything you cannot identify goes in a list, not in a guess.
Then fix the intake. Photograph every receipt the day you get it. Otherwise you are back here in seven months.
Want me to build the list of what to gather before you start?
Backwards, not forwards. That is the bit nobody tells you.
Paste this to MARCUS
My books are about [how long] behind. I have [what records you have, for example bank statements and a pile of receipts]. Give me the fastest honest way to catch up without doing it all at once.
Try it on your business
Every lesson ends with a question to hand to a Greymill specialist, who answers with what it knows about your business.
More in Cash, tax and getting paid
- Where the money actually goesBusy, profitable on paper, and the account never grows.Read the lesson
- When a customer will not payThere is an order to this, and skipping to the end costs you money.Read the lesson
- When a customer will not payThere is an order to this, and skipping to the end costs you money.Read the lesson
- Knowing what is due and whenFederal, state and quarterly. Nothing here is difficult, but the surprise is expensive.Read the lesson
- Knowing what is due and whenNothing about tax is difficult. It is the surprise that hurts.Read the lesson
- What you can and cannot claimMost people either claim nothing out of fear, or everything out of hope.Read the lesson