How to Catch Up 6 Months of Bookkeeping Fast

Step 1: Get All Your Money Papers Together

First, find all the papers about your business money. Look in your email, your office, and even old shoeboxes! We need everything that shows money going in or out of your business.

Step 2: Collect Your Bank and Credit Card Statements

This is a big one. You need all your bank and credit card statements for the last six months. You can usually get these from your bank's website. We need these to see all the money you spent and all the money you got.

• Go to your bank's website.
• Log in to your account.
• Look for 'Statements' or 'Documents'.
• Download statements for the past six months (January to June, for example).

Step 3: Organize Your Receipts

Now, let's find all those little slips of paper from when you bought things. These are called receipts. Even if you have a lot, don't worry. Just put them in piles for each month. If you have the LedgerDude app, you can take pictures of them now!

• Empty your wallet and purse.
• Check your glove compartment.
• Look in your desk drawers.
• Sort them by month.

Step 4: Connect LedgerDude to Your Bank (or Input by Hand)

This part makes things much easier! LedgerDude can connect to your bank and credit card accounts. This helps us see all your money go in and out without you typing it all. If you can't connect, don't worry, you can type in everything by hand.

• Log in to your LedgerDude account.
• Go to the 'Banks' or 'Connections' section.
• Follow the steps to link your bank and credit cards.
• If you're typing by hand, open your bank statements and start adding each money movement.

Step 5: Tell LedgerDude What Each Transaction Is

This is like giving a name to every money movement. Is it money you earned? Is it money you spent on office supplies or gas? This helps you understand where your money is going. If you're not sure what something is, just guess a category. We can always fix it later. This is called 'categorizing'.

• In LedgerDude, look at each money entry.
• Choose the best 'category' for it (like 'Sales' for money you earned, or 'Office Supplies' for pens and paper).
• Do this for every single item.

Step 6: Review and Get Ready for Your Monthly Close

After you've categorized everything for each month, take a quick look. Does it make sense? Did you miss anything? Your LedgerDude bookkeeper will also look at everything very carefully to make sure it's perfect. This is called 'monthly close'. It means your books for that month are done and tidy!

• Look at each month's money report.
• Ask yourself if anything looks wrong.
• Your LedgerDude bookkeeper will then do the final check and 'close' the month.

Real Talk: How Long Will This Take?

To catch up 6 months of bookkeeping, it might take you a few hours each week for a few weeks, or even a couple of full days. It depends on how many transactions you have. If you have 50-100 things to categorize each month, it might take 1-2 hours per month. So for 6 months, that's 6-12 hours of work. Don't try to do it all at once! Break it into smaller parts. Do one month at a time.

• Small business (20-50 transactions/month): 1-2 hours per month you're catching up.
• Medium business (50-100 transactions/month): 2-4 hours per month you're catching up.
• Large business (100+ transactions/month): 4+ hours per month you're catching up.

Questions people ask