Let’s Play Catch-up: What is Catch-up Bookkeeping?

Has it been a while since you cracked open your accounting software? Oops. When your business grows exponentially, or your bookkeeper hits the road, it doesn’t take long for your books to fall behind. And that can lead to catastrophic results. Catch-up bookkeeping helps you right the ship and make sure you can still keep the lights on. In short, it’s the process of getting your books current and catching any mistakes that you may have missed. 

Not only can catch-up bookkeeping give you a clearer picture of your revenue and overall financial health, but it gets your accounts receivable and accounts payable back on track. In addition, managed books make it easier to grow and help you stay compliant when tax time rolls around. Learn more about catch-up bookkeeping and when you might need it. It might be more often than you think.

What is catch-up bookkeeping?

Catch-up bookkeeping is the process of getting your financial records up to date. This necessary part of bookkeeping includes everything from analysing bank statements to reconciling your accounts receivable.

You don’t just require catch-up bookkeeping after a sustained period of neglected books. Rather, anytime you need to reconcile your accounts or migrate your data, you can use a catch-up bookkeeping service to confirm that you’re working with current information. If you have even a short period between a new bookkeeper, you’ll also want to do some catch-up bookkeeping to start your new staff member off on the right foot. 

When does your business need catch-up bookkeeping?

There are lots of times when you might need to catch up on your books. Some are for your own convenience, while others relate to serious government penalties. Under Australian and New Zealand laws, you have a responsibility to maintain accurate business records. You’re also required to track any transactions related to taxes and superannuation. Your organisation should be prepared to substantiate any of the information submitted on your tax return. 

Tax ready strategy aside, here are some of the most common times we recommend catch-up bookkeeping:   

• When you need to add accounts. Are your records incomplete? If you’ve been using a new business credit card for a while and haven’t added it into your accounting software then you may be missing months of transactions. You can’t have accurate financial reporting if you don’t actually know what’s coming in and what’s going out. 
• When you have unreconciled transactions. Whether it’s for a month or just a few days, your general ledger should contain all receipts, payments, and invoices listed by transaction. Missing transaction data could throw off your entire financial picture. Bringing the data up to date means your ledger is back in business. 
• When you’re migrating to a new software system. Moving over to Xero or similar accounting software? You want your data labelled properly, and that means a little catch-up bookkeeping to make sure you’re entering the most recent and accurate figures. It’s much easier to get everything up to date in your existing software than fix it in your new software than to determine what went wrong in six months. 
• When you need to prepare reports. If you’re seeking additional funding or want to show stakeholders the financial state of your company, playing catch-up on missing data is crucial. You can’t generate an accurate report without up-to-date figures. You could miss out on an investor if you’re using incomplete reports. 
• When you aren’t being paid correctly. When your business is not being paid correctly, you may not be able to operate. If you suspect your customers owe you money, you need to catch up fast! Not only could your reporting and tax obligations be incorrect, but you could be leaving money on the table which could be put towards extra staff or growing your business. 

After my books are caught up, what is next?

Once you’re confident your books are caught up, you’re ready to sail, right? Not so fast. Bookkeeping is never a “set and forget” process. In fact, it never ends. Therefore, having a good bookkeeping service at your side is essential to ongoing success. 

At Visory, we partner your organisation with a team of bookkeepers who know your industry inside and out. They can complete catch-up bookkeeping on your struggling records and help to keep everything accurate moving forward.  

Catch-up bookkeeping is essential if you know if your books are unreconciled, payroll hasn’t been processed or your tax office is knocking. Catch-up bookkeeping also comes in handy when you’ve simply been short-staffed, and you know some receipts might have slipped through the cracks. Contact Visory to complete your catch-up bookkeeping, get your books ready for new software or to enable accurate reporting and insights. We’re always here for you.