What information does a new bookkeeper need from me?
Your new bookkeeper will need access to your financial accounts, basic business documents, and some context about how your business operates.
Start with bank and credit card access. Most bookkeepers need read-only access to all business accounts so they can download transactions. If you’re using QuickBooks Online or similar software, this usually means connecting accounts through bank feeds. If you’re not on accounting software yet, your bookkeeper will set that up and connect accounts during onboarding.
Give them login credentials for any existing accounting software. If you’ve been doing your own books in QuickBooks, Xero, or even a spreadsheet, share that access. They need to see what you’ve done so far, even if it’s messy. The current state of your records determines how much cleanup is needed before monthly bookkeeping can begin.
Provide your business formation documents. This includes your EIN letter from the IRS, your articles of incorporation or organization, and your operating agreement if you have one. These tell your bookkeeper how your business is structured for tax purposes, which affects how certain transactions get recorded.
Share your most recent tax returns. Prior year returns show how income and expenses were categorized, what depreciation schedules exist, and how owner draws were handled. This helps maintain consistency between your books and your tax filings.
If you have employees, your bookkeeper needs access to your payroll system. That might be Gusto, ADP, QuickBooks Payroll, or another provider. Payroll transactions need to be recorded correctly in your books, and the totals need to reconcile with payroll reports.
Beyond the documents, share context about your business. How do you charge customers? What are your major recurring expenses? Do you have any unusual transactions coming up? A San Diego bookkeeper working with you for the first time can’t read your mind. The more context you provide upfront, the faster the onboarding process goes.
If your records are behind or disorganized, be upfront about it. Your bookkeeper needs to know the real situation to plan the work correctly. Hiding a mess only creates problems later when discrepancies surface.
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More Questions
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Start with fund accounting as your foundation. Set up your chart of accounts to track restricted and unrestricted funds separately, configure expense categories to match Form 990 requirements, and establish donor and grant tracking from day one.
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Track all comp meals in your POS and record them as expenses in your books. Staff meals go to employee benefits or labor costs. Manager comps for customer satisfaction go to promotions or marketing. Record everything at food cost, not menu price.
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File Form 941 with the IRS and Forms DE 9 and DE 9C with California EDD by the end of the month following each quarter. Deposits happen more frequently than filing, so don't confuse making tax payments with submitting the quarterly returns.
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Outsourced bookkeeping means hiring an external firm or individual to handle your financial record-keeping instead of doing it yourself or employing someone in-house. The bookkeeper works remotely through cloud accounting software.
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Yes, QuickBooks Online handles job costing through its Projects feature. The software tracks costs and revenue by job, but proper setup determines whether your reports actually show project profitability.
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It depends on the state and how the charge appears on invoices. In California, shipping is generally not taxable if separately stated and reflecting actual carrier costs, but handling fees are taxable.
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