Breakwaters insights · Updated October 4, 2026
Growth is easier to plan when you can see what your business earns, spends, owes, and is owed. If finding those answers means searching several spreadsheets or waiting for year-end, start by reviewing the records behind your reports.
Gather the records you already have
List your accounting system, business bank accounts, credit cards, and payment platforms. Note where you keep invoices, receipts, sales contracts, and cash records. Identify the last month completed in the books and any periods still outstanding.
You do not need perfect records before asking for help. An honest list of missing information makes a catch-up assessment more useful.
Check whether the numbers connect
Ask when each bank and credit-card account was last reconciled. Review outstanding customer invoices and supplier balances. Flag transactions you cannot explain, personal spending mixed with business expenses, and transfers that may have been recorded twice.
These are questions for review, rather than instructions to change entries without supporting documents. Keep a short issues list for your bookkeeper.
Choose reports that help you decide
Start with a current profit and loss report and balance sheet. Depending on your business, receivables and payables aging reports can help you understand outstanding balances. Decide who will review the reports, how often, and which questions matter most: profitability, upcoming payments, or customers who have not paid.
Agree the next step
A bookkeeping handover should identify catch-up work, ongoing responsibilities, the reporting cadence, and how documents will be shared. Delivery timing depends on the records available and the agreed scope.
Breakwaters Consultancy Services is a Canadian firm founded in 2023 in Waterloo, Ontario, serving Canadian businesses. Request a free consultation or bookkeeping clean-up assessment. Share a brief overview first; arrange a secure portal before sending financial files or passwords.
This is a preparation guide, not advice on your specific accounting or tax position. Find more practical guides in Resources.
General preparation guidance, not individual accounting or tax advice. Your circumstances and agreed engagement scope matter.
