Bookkeeping

Close every client’s month without the chasing.

For bookkeeping practice owners and bookkeepers serving many small-business clients, whose weeks go to requesting statements, matching receipts and asking clients what a charge was for. Chronosero designs workflows that collect and match the routine work and bring the exceptions to a bookkeeper.

Workflow demonstration · fictional data
  1. Receipt arrives$86.40 · Oct 3
  2. Details extractedVendor, date, total
  3. Matched to bank transaction2 possible matches
  4. Human review: Bookkeeper resolves exception
  5. Client question list updated1 item added

Where the time goes

Twenty clients, twenty ways of sending things.

Each client sends things their own way, on their own schedule. Most of the month goes to collecting what’s missing and keeping track of where each client stands.

  • Statements that arrive late

    Each month starts with asking clients for bank, card and loan statements, then asking again.

  • Receipts in every inbox

    Receipts come by email, text and photo, and each one is matched to a transaction by hand.

  • Questions spread across emails

    Uncategorized transactions turn into a string of separate messages that clients answer in pieces, or not at all.

  • Differences found at the end

    A deposit that doesn’t match or a missing bank fee often surfaces on the last day of the close.

  • A close that lives in someone’s head

    Which clients are reconciled, which are waiting on documents and which are ready for review is hard to see across the practice.

  • Reports rebuilt each month

    The monthly package and the update email are put together from scratch for every client.

Example workflows

What these workflows can look like.

A few examples of the kind of work Chronosero designs for bookkeeping practices. Each one is shaped around your process and your clients during discovery.

Monthly document requests

Today
A bookkeeper emails each client for statements and missing invoices, then keeps a mental list of who has replied.
With a workflow
Each client gets one monthly request list. Documents that come in by email are filed to the right client, and anyone who hasn’t responded after a few days gets a follow-up task.

A person decidesWhen to escalate a client who still hasn’t sent what’s needed.

Receipt capture and matching

Today
Receipts are forwarded, downloaded, renamed and attached to card charges one at a time.
With a workflow
Receipts are collected from email, upload or a shared folder, read for vendor, date and total, and matched to bank or card transactions. Charges still missing a receipt trigger a reminder.

A person decidesThe bookkeeper resolves any receipt with more than one possible match.

One client question list

Today
Unclear transactions become six separate emails, and the answers come back scattered over two weeks.
With a workflow
Uncategorized transactions, new merchants and possible personal charges are collected into one list per client, with suggested categories where the pattern is familiar.

A person decidesThe bookkeeper reviews the list before it goes to the client, and confirms every category.

Reconciliation exceptions

Today
Statements are ticked off line by line, and a leftover difference means starting the search over.
With a workflow
Statement activity is compared with the books. Unmatched items, missing entries and remaining differences are summarized in one short exception list per account.

A person decidesHow each exception is resolved, and any adjustment before it is posted.

Month-end close checklist

Today
Each client’s close is tracked in a spreadsheet, or in the memory of the bookkeeper who handles them.
With a workflow
Every client gets its close steps from its service plan, with an owner and due date. Unfinished steps send reminders, and uncategorized items can keep the close in an exception state until they’re reviewed.

A person decidesA senior bookkeeper signs off before the period is closed.

Monthly client package

Today
Reports are exported, formatted and attached, and the update email is written fresh for every client.
With a workflow
The approved reports are assembled in a consistent format, and a draft update is prepared listing completed work and open questions.

A person decidesThe bookkeeper reviews and sends the package.

One receipt, checked against the bank

The workflow reads the receipt and lines it up against the bank transaction it most likely belongs to. Where the details don’t agree, a bookkeeper decides.

Workflow demonstration · fictional data

Receipt $86.40 · Oct 3 · match check

FieldClient receiptBank transaction
Amount$86.40$86.40
DateOct 3Oct 3
VendorHarbor Office SupplyHARBOR OFC SUPPLY
Paid from (sources disagree)Card ending 2291Card ending 7710

A second $86.40 charge on Oct 3 could also fit. The bookkeeper decides which one the receipt belongs to, or adds it to the client’s question list.

Human control

Automation does the matching. The bookkeeper reviews the exceptions.

Workflows handle the collecting, filing, matching and reminding. What goes into a client’s books, and what goes out to a client, stays with the bookkeeper.

  • Categories and anything posted to a client’s books
  • Which transaction a receipt belongs to when more than one fits
  • Reconciliation adjustments and month-end sign-off
  • How owner payments and possible personal charges are treated
  • Reports and messages released to clients
  • Anything that feeds a tax filing, which goes to the responsible professional

Connection

Your systems, connected.

Bookkeeping workflows usually connect these kinds of systems.

  • Email
  • Accounting
  • Documents
  • Cloud storage
  • Forms
  • Spreadsheets
  • Project management
  • Notifications
  • AI
  • Your other software

Categories shown are examples. Which systems can be connected depends on the software, its access options and your requirements.

Start a discovery

What are you chasing clients for every month?

Tell us about one process your team repeats every month. Michael personally reviews every discovery request.