Although using Xero is our preference, we are also happy to prepare your financial statements from other sources, including QuickBooks, Sage, an Excel spreadsheet, or another form of accounting software.
All of our financial statements are generated in Xero, so we need to input relevant data. That's where you enter the party.
Information from your accounting software
If you're not using Xero then there are some reports we need to retrieve from your accounting software so we can prepare your financial statements. At a high level, we need:
- A report that shows the closing balance at the end of the financial year, for each item in your chart of accounts (called a trial balance or general ledger summary)
- A report that shows all the transactions for that financial year, and how they have been coded to your chart of accounts (often called a detailed ledger report)
- A report showing the balance of all your business bank accounts at the end of the year in your accounting software (known as a bank reconciliation report)
We use these reports to answer the following questions;
- What were the total income and expenses for the year? (summary report)
- What transactions made up those totals? (detailed report)
- Did you include all your transactions? (bank reconciliation)
Information from bank transactions
If you don't use any accounting software at all, that's not a problem. We just need to get your financial information straight from your bank records.
Step one
One way to get your transaction list is by exporting a *.csv file directly from your bank. This will look very similar to an Excel spreadsheet, but it's in a format we can easily use.
To do this, go into your bank's website and click on your bank account(s). You'll see a search function - please select the date range for the full financial year (for example, 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022). Once you have the listing, there should be a button which allows you to export to *.csv or .xls.
Once exported, you can save as an Excel file or as a *.csv file, and it will be ready for you to edit.
Step two
Next, you'll need to tell us the nature of each transaction.
When you open the *.csv or Excel file, there's room to the right to write a short description for each line item. Examples are sales, purchases, rent, interest, accounting and consulting fees, subscriptions, motor vehicle expenses, travel, insurance, repairs and maintenance, telephone, entertainment, personal drawings, printing, stationery, postage, purchase or sale of an asset.
If you're not sure, just give a description about what the money was used for or where it came from - we'll sort it out from there.
Each line should now have a description. Please save as a *.csv file or if you're not sure about that, just save as a normal Excel spreadsheet.