Create an inventory of the missing evidence
Start with the last reliable month, bank and card statements, sales reports, payroll records and supplier documents. We distinguish documents available now from those that need to be requested. A business’s busiest period may require more reconstruction than its quieter months.
Opening customer balances, supplier debts and owner funding are reviewed before later transactions are entered. Without that starting point, a payment in the catch-up period can be mistaken for a new sale or expense.
A supplier payment example
A hypothetical Halifax marine supplier pays $7,400 during the first missing month. The statement shows $5,600 settling bills from the previous period and $1,800 for new purchases. The reconstruction connects each portion to its source rather than placing all $7,400 into the first month’s costs.
Work forward to a usable closing position
We reconcile each completed period and maintain a question list for missing receipts, unusual transfers or tax classifications. Historical HST treatment is assessed using the transaction facts; current 14% settings do not automatically apply to every old record.
The agreed handoff includes reconciled balances and the remaining issues needed for tax or year-end preparation. Catch-up work does not itself prove that outstanding tax returns were filed. Once the backlog is organized, we establish a record routine that fits the owner’s actual workload and reporting needs.
Questions about this work
Can we begin with only bank statements?
They are a useful starting point, but sales, supplier and other supporting documents are often needed to identify what the payments represent.
How is catch-up different from cleanup?
Catch-up records missing activity. Cleanup corrects activity already recorded. A file can need both, and the scope should identify each.
Put this into practice
Sources and current guidance
A practical next step
Bring the records you have.
We can identify missing information, agree on the scope and organize the next bookkeeping step.
Request a bookkeeping review