Bookkeeping: process, approvals and handover explained

Choose bookkeeping scope around transaction complexity and the reports needed to run the business.

Tell the adviser whether this is a new engagement, a transfer from another provider or a correction of earlier work. Identify open questions and the decision-maker who can approve assumptions and provide missing evidence.

Agree the chart of accounts, reconcile opening balances and run a documented monthly close.

The steps below describe the existing service workflow. Confirm their applicability and current portal requirements before acting; the order and supporting evidence can change with the entity or case.

Approve key facts and calculations before a filing or report is finalised. Ask for a readable explanation of assumptions, unresolved differences and any choices with continuing consequences. For assurance work, management preparation and independent professional judgement remain distinct.

Will you provide bank reconciliations and a list of outstanding documents every month?

Unreconciled balances carried forward can make every later management or tax report unreliable.

A useful status update names the outstanding item, its owner and the next action. Missing records, portal queries and third-party review can affect completion. Avoid treating an indicative service timeline as a guaranteed regulator decision.

Retain the ledger export, balance reconciliation, source documents and a month-end query log.

Confirm future responsibilities and record-retention arrangements in writing. Keep a copy of the final deliverables and know who controls access. If work continues monthly, agree the next reporting or compliance cycle before closing the current one.