# Bookkeeping checklist: daily, weekly, monthly and yearly tasks

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By [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul), Founder, DokuTrak. Published 2026-10-29, updated 2026-10-29.

> **In brief:** A bookkeeping checklist is the recurring task list that keeps a small business’s books current, sorted by how often each job comes round: daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly. Next to every task, note the record it runs on and whether you or the client supplies it.

## The checklist: Bookkeeping checklist by frequency

Pin the daily and weekly groups where you work every day. The monthly group starts with what to request from the client; the yearly group ends with the CPA handoff.

### Every day

- [ ] Record sales and deposits: From the point-of-sale summary, invoicing tool or card processor payout report.
- [ ] Attach a receipt to every purchase: Photo or scan, saved against the bank or card line.
- [ ] Note the purpose of any cash withdrawal or transfer: One line in the memo field, while it is fresh.

### Every week

- [ ] Categorize the bank and card feeds: Park unknown lines in one list for the client.
- [ ] Enter vendor bills with their due dates: Bills the client forwarded this week.
- [ ] Send customer invoices and follow up overdue ones
- [ ] Check cash against payroll and bills due soon

### Every pay date

- [ ] Post the payroll journal entry: Gross pay, taxes withheld, employer taxes and net pay from the register.
- [ ] Keep the payroll register and pay stubs: From the payroll provider, one file per pay date.

### Every month

- [ ] Request bank statements for every account: Full month, PDF from the bank, closed accounts included.
- [ ] Request credit card statements for every card: Employee cards included.
- [ ] Collect Form W-9 from each new service vendor: Before the first payment if possible.
- [ ] Reconcile every bank, card and loan account: Save the reconciliation report with the statement.
- [ ] Review receivable and payable agings
- [ ] Produce the profit and loss and balance sheet: Send them with the open questions list.

### Every quarter

- [ ] Get the filed Form 941 from the payroll provider: Compare its wage totals to the books.
- [ ] Confirm sales tax returns were filed and paid: Frequency set by each state.
- [ ] Remind the owner about estimated tax payments

### Every year

- [ ] Collect year-end statements and loan interest forms: December statements; Form 1098 only for a sole proprietor’s mortgage, otherwise the lender’s year-end interest statement.
- [ ] Total contractor payments and prepare Forms 1099: Using the Form W-9 file built through the year.
- [ ] Collect new contracts and leases signed in the year
- [ ] Close the year and send the package to the CPA

Download: [PDF](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f5-checklists/bookkeeping.pdf) · [Word](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f5-checklists/bookkeeping.docx) · [Excel tracker](https://dokutrak.com/downloads/pseo-v2/f5-checklists/bookkeeping.xlsx)

## The routine at a glance, by frequency

Bookkeeping is easier to keep up than to catch up. The trick is to give each job a rhythm and to tie it to the paper that proves it, so nothing waits for a quiet week that never comes.

The table below sorts the work by cadence. The third column is the part most task lists skip: who has the record. When the answer is the client, the request belongs on your calendar, not in your head.

| How often | Task | Record it needs | Who supplies it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Daily | Enter sales and deposits | Point-of-sale summary, deposit slip or payout report | Client or its sales software |
| Daily | Attach receipts to purchases | Photo or scan of each receipt | Client |
| Weekly | Categorize the bank feed | Notes on transfers and unknown payees | Client answers, you code |
| Weekly | Enter vendor bills and plan payments | Vendor invoices with due dates | Client forwards them |
| Weekly | Send invoices and chase late payers | Signed work orders or delivery notes | You, from the client’s records |
| Monthly | Reconcile bank, card and loan accounts | Statements for the month | Client downloads them |
| Quarterly | Check payroll returns and sales tax filings | Filed Form 941 and state confirmations | Payroll provider and client |
| Yearly | Close the year and package it for the CPA | Year-end statements, Form W-9 file, loan forms | Client and you |

## Daily and weekly: keep the feed clean

Daily work is small but steady. Record what came in, attach proof to what went out, and leave nothing in a pile. IRS Publication 583 lists the papers that prove gross receipts, such as cash register tapes, bank deposit slips, receipt books and invoices ([IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p583)).

For purchases and costs, the same publication names canceled checks, account statements, credit card sales slips and invoices as support ([IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p583)). So a card charge without a receipt is a gap, even when the bank feed shows the amount.

Once a week, clear the uncategorized queue. **An uncategorized transaction** is a line the software could not code on its own, such as a transfer, a cash withdrawal or a new payee. Batch your questions into one weekly message instead of a drip of single emails.

- Code every bank and card line from the past week; park unknowns in one list for the client.
- Enter vendor bills as they arrive, with the due date, so cash planning stays honest.
- Send this week’s customer invoices and follow up on anything past its terms.
- Look at the cash balance against payroll and bills due in the next two weeks.

## Monthly: statements, reconciliations, reports

The monthly block is where the books get proven. IRS Publication 583 tells a business to make sure the bank statement, the checkbook and the books agree when the statement arrives ([IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p583)). A bookkeeper applies that to every account with an outside statement: checking, savings, cards and loans.

Ask for the statements on the first business day of the month. If you want the full sequence of the close itself, follow the [month-end close checklist](/checklists/month-end-close), which breaks the reconciliation and review into steps.

This is also the moment to collect a Form W-9 from any new vendor paid for services. **Form W-9** is the form a payee uses to give its correct taxpayer identification number to the business that must file an information return about it ([IRS, About Form W-9](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9)). Collecting it in the month of the first payment is far easier than in January.

1. Request bank, card and loan statements for the month from the client.
2. Reconcile each account to its statement and save the report.
3. Review receivables and payables agings for stale or duplicate items.
4. Post accruals and prepaid amortization if the client reports on the accrual basis.
5. Produce the profit and loss and balance sheet, then send the open questions.

## Quarterly and yearly: filings and the handoff

Each quarter, confirm that payroll returns went out. Form 941 is due by the last day of the month after the quarter ends: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31 ([IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15)). If a provider files it, ask for the filed copy and keep it in the client folder.

Quarterly is also when owners forget estimated tax payments and state sales tax returns. A short reminder from you, with the figures from the books, is often the most useful thing you send all quarter.

Once a year, close the books and hand the CPA a clean package. **A year-end package** is the set of reports, reconciliations, fixed asset additions and contractor totals the tax preparer needs to file the business return. The [year-end close checklist](/checklists/year-end-close) lists what goes in it.

## Which records to keep, and for how long

Good bookkeeping is also good filing. The IRS says to keep records for 3 years in most cases ([IRS, How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)). Employment tax records stay for at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid, whichever is later ([IRS, How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)).

Some cases run longer. Keep records for 7 years if a return claims a loss from worthless securities or a bad debt deduction ([IRS, How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)). Records tied to property stay until the period of limitations ends for the year you sell or dispose of it ([IRS, How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)).

Client files hold bank account numbers and Social Security numbers, so treat storage as a security task too. The guide to [IRS Publication 4557](/blog/irs-publication-4557) covers how tax and accounting practices are expected to protect that data.

## What the client sends you, and when

An outside bookkeeper depends on the client for most of the source paper. Write the hand-offs down once, agree on the dates, and send the same request each period. Clients follow a routine far better than a series of reminders.

**A standing request** is a document request that repeats on a fixed date, such as statements every month or payroll registers every pay date. It turns the client’s part of the checklist into a habit rather than a favor.

- Every month: bank, credit card and loan statements, plus receipts not yet uploaded.
- Every pay date: the payroll register from the provider.
- When it happens: new loan papers, leases, equipment invoices and Form W-9 for new vendors.
- Every quarter: copies of filed payroll and sales tax returns.
- Every year: year-end statements, the lender’s interest statement for each loan and any notices from tax agencies.

## Questions people ask

### What does a bookkeeping checklist include?

A bookkeeping checklist includes recurring tasks sorted by frequency: daily sales and receipt entry, weekly categorizing and billing, monthly reconciliations and reports, quarterly filing checks and the yearly close. A good one also names the record each task needs.

### What are the daily tasks of a bookkeeper?

Daily, a bookkeeper records sales and deposits, attaches receipts to purchases and keeps the bank feed from piling up. Small businesses with low volume can batch these tasks twice a week without losing control.

### What documents should a client send the bookkeeper each month?

Each month the client should send the statements for every bank, card and loan account, receipts for purchases, vendor invoices, payroll registers for each pay date, and any new contract or loan agreement signed in the month.

### How long should a small business keep bookkeeping records?

The IRS says to keep most records for 3 years, and employment tax records for at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid ([IRS, How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records)). Property records stay until the limitations period ends for the year the property is sold.

**Not advice.** This page is general information, not tax, legal or HR advice. Rules change: check the cited source and ask your own professional before you rely on it. Last reviewed October 25, 2026.

## Sources

- [IRS Publication 583, Starting a Business and Keeping Records](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p583): Names the supporting documents for gross receipts and expenses, and says to make sure the bank statement, checkbook and books agree.
- [IRS, How long should I keep records?](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/how-long-should-i-keep-records): Keep records 3 years in most cases, 7 years for worthless securities or bad debt claims, employment tax records at least 4 years, property records until the limitations period ends.
- [IRS Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide](https://www.irs.gov/publications/p15): Form 941 is due by the last day of the month after the quarter: April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.
- [IRS, About Form W-9](https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9): Form W-9 is used to give a correct taxpayer identification number to the person who must file an information return.

## More on this topic

- [Monthly bookkeeping document checklist](/tools/document-checklist/monthly-bookkeeping)
- [Bookkeeping client onboarding checklist](/tools/document-checklist/bookkeeping-client-onboarding)
- [Month-end close checklist](/checklists/month-end-close)
- [Client documents for bookkeepers](/for/bookkeepers)

## About the author

Arthur Teboul (Founder, DokuTrak) is building DokuTrak after watching professionals lose hours chasing clients for documents over email. [Arthur Teboul](/authors/arthur-teboul).

How this page was made (methodology): it is built from the primary sources listed under Sources, and every rule and figure on it links to the source it comes from. Last updated October 25, 2026. Spotted an error or a rule that changed? [Contact us](/contact).

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