A small business recordkeeping checklist bookkeepers can send at onboarding

This page is general information, not legal advice. The IRS recordkeeping page, Publication 583, the how long page, and Publication 552 are the texts to read. This page does not invent a retention period. How long is linked, not stated from memory.

The IRS recordkeeping page says good records help you monitor the progress of the business, prepare financial statements, identify sources of income, keep track of deductible expenses, keep track of basis in property, prepare tax returns, and support items reported on those returns. You may choose any recordkeeping system suited to the business that clearly shows income and expenses. Except in a few cases, the law does not require any special kind of records. The business you are in affects the type of records you need. (Recordkeeping)

Publication 583 is Starting a Business and Keeping Records. Publication 552 is Recordkeeping for Individuals. Use 583 with a business client. Use 552 when the question is a person's own supporting documents. (Publication 583, Publication 552)

Purchases, sales, payroll, and other transactions generate supporting documents. Those documents contain the information that has to be recorded in the books. The burden of proof is the client's: they must be able to prove certain elements of expenses to deduct them. (Recordkeeping)

Keep means the client holds the original or a readable electronic copy. Send to us monthly means the firm needs it to finish the close. A purchase file for a building they still own is keep, not a monthly upload. The card statement for this period is both.

• Send monthly: bank and card statements, receipts and invoices for the period, mileage log, payroll registers if you do not already run payroll, merchant statements, notices that arrived.
• Keep, and send only when something happens: asset purchase and improvement files, loan documents, prior year filed returns, depreciation worksheets after we issue them.
• Upload when it arrives, even mid month: Forms 1099, a closing statement, an IRS letter.

The CSV has those columns so you can brand the list and still tick send versus keep per client. Do not put SSNs on a spreadsheet you then email. Use the portal.

Electronic records are fine when they meet IRS recordkeeping rules. Publication 583 is the text for electronic storage, including that every requirement that applies to paper books and records also applies to that system. Read it rather than assuming a photo in a camera roll is a bookkeeping file. (Publication 583)

How long to keep a document depends on the action, expense, or event it records. You must keep records as long as needed to prove the income or deductions on a tax return. The how long page is the schedule, including the employment tax row. Link it. Do not type a year count from memory on the client checklist. (Recordkeeping, How long should I keep records?)

The firm's own preparer copies and destruction log are the record retention policy for CPA firms, not this client list.

Put this checklist in the onboarding packet. Repeat the monthly column on the close board. Chase only named items, on the chasing bookkeeping receipts sequence. Do not send a fifth nudge that says "please send your remaining items."

One paragraph you can paste at onboarding:

Download the small business recordkeeping checklist. The tax season operator can draft the monthly chase from rows still marked send and not received. Your staff approve what goes out. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.