How to Use Accounting Software to Prepare for Your Accountant
The annual conversation with your accountant does not have to be stressful. If you have used your accounting software properly throughout the year, preparing for your accountant becomes a straightforward process rather than a last-minute scramble through shoeboxes of receipts and bank statements.
Your accountant's time is valuable — and you are paying for it. Every hour they spend chasing missing information, reconciling messy records, or deciphering your filing system is an hour you are paying for that could have been avoided. The better prepared you are, the lower your accounting bill and the more useful advice your accountant can provide.
Why preparation matters
Lower professional fees
Accountants charge by the hour or by the complexity of the engagement. When you hand over clean, organised records, the work takes less time. When you hand over a mess, expect a higher bill. Some accountants openly state that poorly prepared records result in premium charges.
Fewer errors and missed deductions
When your records are well maintained, your accountant can focus on tax planning and identifying legitimate deductions rather than spending their time reconstructing your financial history. Missing records often mean missed deductions.
Faster turnaround
Well-prepared records mean your accounts and tax returns are completed faster. This gives you more time to plan, more time to pay any tax due, and less time spent worrying about deadlines.
Better advice
When your accountant is not buried in data entry and reconciliation, they have time to actually advise you. They can spot trends, suggest tax-efficient strategies, and help you plan for the year ahead.
What your accountant needs from you
While requirements vary by jurisdiction and business structure, most accountants need:
- Profit and loss statement for the financial year
- Balance sheet at the year-end date
- Bank reconciliation showing all accounts are reconciled to the year-end date
- Aged receivables report showing outstanding customer invoices
- Aged payables report showing outstanding supplier bills
- Fixed asset register listing all business assets, their purchase dates, and costs
- Payroll summaries if you employ staff
- VAT or sales tax returns filed during the year
- Loan statements for any business borrowing
- Details of any unusual transactions — asset sales, large write-offs, related party transactions
The good news is that modern accounting software generates most of these automatically.
How to use your accounting software throughout the year
Record transactions promptly
The single most important habit is recording transactions as they happen. When you let weeks or months pass, you forget the details. What was that 47.50 payment for? Which client did that deposit relate to? Recording promptly means you capture the context while it is fresh.
Set aside time each week — even 30 minutes — to enter any transactions that have not been captured automatically through bank feeds or recurring entries.
Reconcile your bank accounts monthly
Bank reconciliation is the process of matching your accounting records to your bank statements. It catches errors, identifies missing transactions, and ensures your records are accurate.
Most accounting software connects directly to your bank and imports transactions automatically. Your job is to review these imports, categorise them correctly, and confirm they match. Doing this monthly takes minutes. Doing it annually takes hours and is far more likely to contain errors.
Categorise transactions correctly
Every transaction should be assigned to the correct account category. Revenue should be separated by type if relevant. Expenses should be categorised consistently — office supplies, travel, utilities, professional fees, and so on.
If you are unsure about a category, ask your accountant at the start of the year rather than guessing all year and having them reclassify everything later.
Keep receipts and documentation
Many jurisdictions require you to retain receipts and supporting documentation for business expenses. Your accounting software likely allows you to attach receipts to transactions digitally. Use this feature. Photographing receipts as you receive them and attaching them in the software means everything is in one place when your accountant needs it.
Manage accounts receivable
Issue invoices promptly and follow up on overdue payments. Your accounting software tracks what is owed to you and can send automatic payment reminders. At year-end, your accountant will want to see the aged receivables report. Clean, accurate invoicing throughout the year makes this effortless.
Track accounts payable
Record supplier bills when you receive them, not when you pay them. This gives you an accurate picture of what you owe at any point and ensures your expenses are recorded in the correct period. At year-end, your aged payables report should accurately reflect outstanding obligations.
Record fixed assets
When you purchase equipment, vehicles, or other business assets, record them in your fixed asset register. Include the purchase date, cost, and expected useful life. Your accounting software can then calculate depreciation automatically, saving your accountant the trouble.
Review reports monthly
Get into the habit of reviewing your profit and loss statement and balance sheet each month. You do not need to be an accounting expert — just look for anything that seems unusual. A spike in a particular expense category might indicate a miscategorised transaction. Revenue that seems too high or too low might signal a recording error.
Catching these issues monthly is far easier than discovering them at year-end.
Preparing for the year-end meeting
Complete all reconciliations
Before you meet with your accountant, ensure every bank account, credit card, and loan account is reconciled up to the year-end date. This is the single most important preparation step.
Run and review key reports
Generate the following reports from your accounting software and review them for obvious issues:
- Profit and loss statement — Does the revenue figure seem reasonable? Are expenses categorised correctly?
- Balance sheet — Do the bank balances match your statements? Are there any unexpected balances?
- Aged receivables — Are there any very old invoices that should be written off?
- Aged payables — Are all bills recorded? Any that should have been paid?
- Trial balance — Does it balance? Are there any accounts with unexpected balances?
Identify unusual items
Make a list of anything unusual that happened during the year:
- Large one-off purchases or sales
- Changes to your business structure
- New loans or refinancing
- Related party transactions
- Write-offs or bad debts
- Changes in how you operate or what you sell
Your accountant needs to know about these to handle them correctly.
Gather supporting documents
Collect any documents that sit outside your accounting software:
- Loan statements and agreements
- Lease agreements
- Insurance policies
- Investment statements
- Correspondence with tax authorities
- Legal documents related to business changes
Grant accountant access
Most modern accounting software allows you to invite your accountant as a user with appropriate permissions. This lets them access your records directly, run their own reports, and make adjustments without you having to export and email files back and forth.
If your software supports this, set it up before your meeting. It saves enormous amounts of time compared to exporting PDFs and spreadsheets.
Common mistakes that frustrate accountants
Mixing personal and business transactions
If you use your business bank account for personal purchases, or vice versa, it creates unnecessary complexity. Keep business and personal finances separate. If a personal transaction does end up in your business account, record it clearly as a drawing or personal expense.
Ignoring bank feeds
If your accounting software imports bank transactions automatically, review and categorise them regularly. Leaving hundreds of uncategorised transactions for your accountant to deal with defeats the purpose of having the software.
Making journal entries without understanding them
If you are not sure what a journal entry does, do not make one. Incorrect journal entries can cause significant problems that take time to unravel. Leave complex adjustments to your accountant.
Deleting transactions instead of voiding them
If an invoice or bill is incorrect, void it rather than deleting it. Voiding maintains the audit trail. Deleting creates gaps that are difficult to explain and may raise questions during an audit.
Waiting until the last minute
Starting your year-end preparation the week before the deadline guarantees stress, errors, and a higher accountant bill. Begin at least a month before your year-end date, and give your accountant the records with plenty of time before the filing deadline.
Choosing software that makes this easier
Not all accounting software is created equal when it comes to year-end preparation. Look for features that streamline the process:
- Accountant access — The ability to invite your accountant with their own login and appropriate permissions
- Bank feeds — Automatic import of bank transactions to reduce manual data entry
- Receipt capture — The ability to photograph and attach receipts to transactions
- Report generation — Easy access to profit and loss, balance sheet, trial balance, and aged reports
- Export capabilities — The ability to export data in formats your accountant can work with
Relentify's accounting software includes all of these features, with dedicated accountant access that lets your professional advisor work directly within your records. This makes the year-end process faster and more collaborative.
The payoff
Investing a small amount of time each week in maintaining your accounting records pays off significantly at year-end. Your accountant bills are lower, your returns are filed faster, and you get better advice because your accountant has time to focus on strategy rather than data entry.
Good preparation is not about doing your accountant's job. It is about giving them the best possible foundation to do theirs.