Bookkeeping works best as a monthly rhythm. When records are updated only at VAT or Corporate Tax deadlines, missing invoices and unreconciled balances become expensive to fix.
Monthly Checklist
- Collect sales invoices, purchase bills, receipts, and bank statements
- Post sales and credit notes
- Post supplier bills and expense claims
- Reconcile all bank and card accounts
- Review missing receipts
- Post payroll, WPS, gratuity, and owner transactions
- Check VAT tax codes
- Prepare P&L, balance sheet, and receivables report
Owner Review Questions
- Is cash in bank reconciled?
- Who owes us money?
- Which suppliers are unpaid?
- Are margins moving up or down?
- Is VAT payable building up?
- Are personal expenses separated?
A month is not closed until bank balances match and open questions are listed.
Once the monthly close is reliable, VAT returns and Corporate Tax filings become much easier to prepare.
What This Looks Like in Practice
Monthly bookkeeping works when the owner sees a repeatable close, not a pile of transactions. The close should answer cash, receivables, payables, VAT, payroll, and owner-spending questions.
Records to Keep Before You Decide or File
- Bank statements, card statements, invoices, receipts, and supplier bills
- Payroll, WPS, gratuity, owner-current-account, and loan schedules
- VAT workings, Corporate Tax support, and monthly management reports
- Contracts, purchase orders, delivery notes, and software exports
Review Questions for the Owner
- Do bank balances in the accounts match the real statements?
- Can revenue, expenses, VAT, payroll, and owner payments be reviewed separately?
- Are reports useful for decisions, or only prepared because a deadline is near?
- Is the accounting file clean enough for another accountant to understand quickly?
Mistakes That Make This Expensive
- Posting bank deposits as revenue without checking invoices, VAT, or fees
- Letting owner personal spending sit inside normal business expenses
- Waiting until VAT or Corporate Tax filing to reconcile months of transactions
Practical Next Step
Use one checklist every month and do not mark the month closed until banks reconcile and open questions are assigned.
Keep a short working paper with the facts, dates, assumptions, and documents used. It makes future filing, review, or handover much easier.