BREAKWATERS CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Monthly bookkeeping checklist for Canadian businesses

Business: ____________________   Period: ____________________
Prepared by: _________________   Reviewed on: _______________

Use these 20 checks to organize records and prepare a month-end handover.
Mark a check when reviewed; record unresolved items and who will follow up.
Use "not applicable" where a check does not fit your business.

ACCOUNTS AND SOURCE DOCUMENTS

[ ] 01. Collect statements for every business bank and credit-card account
        covering the period, including accounts with little or no activity.
[ ] 02. Gather payment-processor reports and reconcile gross sales, fees,
        refunds and net deposits for services such as Stripe or PayPal.
[ ] 03. Match bank transactions to the accounting records and investigate
        missing entries, duplicates and unexplained differences.
[ ] 04. Reconcile each credit-card account and record interest, fees and
        payments without duplicating expenses.
[ ] 05. Collect receipts and supplier invoices. Match each document to its
        transaction and note missing evidence for follow-up.
[ ] 06. Record cash transactions with supporting receipts and reconcile any
        petty-cash balance or cash-on-hand record.

SALES, BILLS AND CLASSIFICATION

[ ] 07. Check that customer invoices, refunds and credit notes are recorded
        in the correct period and match supporting sales records.
[ ] 08. Review receivables aging. Identify overdue invoices, unmatched
        payments and balances that need follow-up with customers.
[ ] 09. Review supplier bills and payables aging. Check for missing bills,
        duplicate entries, credits and payments not yet matched.
[ ] 10. Review expense categories and flag unclear transactions. Document
        the business purpose rather than guessing a tax treatment.
[ ] 11. Identify owner contributions, withdrawals and reimbursements, and
        flag personal transactions for separate review.
[ ] 12. Gather records for equipment purchases and disposals, leases, loans
        and interest. Update schedules with your bookkeeper as needed.
[ ] 13. If applicable, reconcile transfers between accounts or entities and
        document foreign-currency transactions and conversion records.

PAYROLL, TAX RECORDS AND REPORTING

[ ] 14. Match payroll summaries to posted payroll costs and payments. Review
        unresolved differences with the person responsible for payroll.
[ ] 15. Gather approved hours, employee changes and relevant payroll records.
        Share sensitive employee information only through agreed channels.
[ ] 16. Reconcile recorded GST/HST amounts and collect supporting documents.
        Flag registration, classification or adjustment questions for review.
[ ] 17. Keep copies of submitted returns, remittance records, payment
        confirmations and CRA correspondence with the period's records.
[ ] 18. Review the profit and loss, balance sheet and aged balances. Compare
        with the prior period and investigate unexpected movements.

HANDOVER AND NEXT STEPS

[ ] 19. Confirm filing and payment due dates with current CRA guidance and
        your adviser. Record the responsible person for each upcoming task.
[ ] 20. Back up or securely retain the organized records, list open questions
        and agree the month-end handover and report review with your contact.

OPEN ITEMS

Item / record needed: _______________________________________________
Responsible person: ___________________ Next step: ___________________

Item / record needed: _______________________________________________
Responsible person: ___________________ Next step: ___________________

OFFICIAL DUE-DATE GUIDANCE
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/payments/payments-cra/due-dates.html

This checklist is a record-organizing aid, not legal or tax advice and not
a confirmation of compliance. Retention requirements and deadlines depend
on your circumstances; confirm them with current official guidance and
your qualified adviser before discarding records or making filing decisions.

Keep SINs, bank details, payroll files, tax returns and passwords out of
public enquiry forms. Use the secure document-sharing method agreed for
your engagement.

Need help? Visit /contact?service=bookkeeping on the Breakwaters website
to request a free consultation or bookkeeping clean-up assessment.
Any catch-up or clean-up bookkeeping work is quoted separately.