Good Bookkeeping Checklist
A monthly health check for your books: what to verify in QBO, what to review with the CRA, and what clean books actually look like.
Use this checklist once a month to verify your books are actually in good shape — whether you are reviewing your bookkeeper's work or managing the books yourself. Each item describes what "good" looks like and how to check it in QBO.
This is a health check, not a task list.
Bank Feeds and Transactions
Banks are connected and syncing.
All bank accounts and credit cards should have an active feed pulling transactions in. A disconnected feed means transactions have stopped flowing — your books are falling behind without you realizing it.
In QBO: Transactions > Bank transactions. Check that the "Last updated" date on each account tile is recent (within the last 1–2 days). Reconnect any that have dropped.
No transactions sitting unreviewed in the feed.
The "For review" tab should be empty or close to it. Unreviewed transactions have not been categorized — they are not in your books yet.
In QBO: Transactions > Bank transactions > For review tab. A large backlog means categorization is behind.
No transactions missing supporting documentation.
Every expense should have a receipt or invoice attached. Undocumented transactions are a CRA audit risk and may not be deductible.
In QBO: Run a Transaction Detail by Account report and scan for expense transactions with no attachment.
Reconciliation
All accounts are reconciled to last month's statement.
Bank accounts, credit cards, and lines of credit should all be reconciled monthly. Unreconciled accounts mean errors may exist and have not been caught.
In QBO: Reports > Reconciliation Reports. Confirms the last reconciled date and ending balance for each account.
No forced reconciliation adjustments.
If a reconciliation was completed with an unexplained difference, something is wrong in the books. These show up as "Reconciliation Discrepancy" entries.
In QBO: Check the Reconciliation Reports for any Reconciliation Discrepancy entries — these are forced adjustments that should not exist.
Balance Sheet Health
Nothing sitting in Opening Balance Equity.
Opening Balance Equity is a QBO holding account used when accounts are first set up. Any balance here means transactions were entered improperly during setup and have not been correctly allocated. It should be zero.
In QBO: Balance Sheet report > Equity section. Any balance in "Opening Balance Equity" needs to be investigated and reclassified.
No unexpected negative balances.
Most asset accounts should not be negative. A negative bank balance means more payments were recorded than deposits — usually a data entry error. Negative accounts receivable or inventory balances signal a recording problem.
In QBO: Balance Sheet report. Scan asset accounts for any negative numbers. Some negative liability balances can also indicate an issue.
No inflated accounts from miscategorization.
If expenses are being dumped into catch-all accounts ("Other Expenses," "Miscellaneous," "Ask My Accountant") rather than proper categories, your P&L is not useful and deductions may be wrong. Personal expenses coded as business inflate your deductions and create audit risk.
In QBO: Profit and Loss report. Click through any account with a large or unexpected balance to see the underlying transactions.
Undeposited Funds balance is zero or near-zero.
Undeposited Funds is a temporary holding account for payments not yet deposited at the bank. A large or growing balance usually means payments were recorded twice — once manually and once via the bank feed.
In QBO: Balance Sheet > Current Assets > Undeposited Funds. Should be zero unless you have cheques physically in hand waiting to be deposited.
Accounts Receivable and Payable
No stale open invoices in AR.
Invoices sitting open for 60+ days may have been paid but not matched — or are genuinely uncollected and need follow-up. Either way they need attention.
In QBO: Reports > Accounts Receivable Aging Summary. Investigate anything 60+ days old.
GST/HST on zero-rated expenses is actually zero.
If standard GST/HST is being applied to zero-rated expenses (e.g., basic groceries, exports), you are claiming ITCs you are not entitled to. Conversely, if taxable expenses are incorrectly zero-rated, you are leaving ITCs unclaimed.
In QBO: Run a Transaction Detail by Account filtered by expense accounts. Look for transactions where the tax code does not match the type of expense.
Payroll liabilities balance is clearing after each remittance.
This account should drop close to zero after each CRA remittance. A growing balance means remittances may not be going out on time.
In QBO: Balance Sheet > Current Liabilities > Payroll Liabilities.
CRA and Revenu Quebec
No outstanding letters or notices.
The CRA and Revenu Quebec send letters for assessments, reassessments, audit requests, missing filings, and unpaid balances. These have strict response deadlines — ignoring them can result in the CRA proceeding without your input.
Check: CRA My Business Account > Mail. Revenu Quebec: My Account at revenuquebec.ca > Messages. Review monthly.
No outstanding or overdue filings.
GST/HST returns, T4s, T4As, T5s, and the T2 corporate return all have fixed deadlines. A missed filing triggers penalties even if no tax is owing.
Check: CRA My Business Account > Filing obligations. Confirm every return is marked as filed for each period it covers.
No outstanding balance owing.
Unpaid balances accrue daily interest. Balances can also trigger collection action.
Check: CRA My Business Account > Account balance. Revenu Quebec: My Account > Account balance. Any balance should either be a current-year amount not yet due, or something your Mesa CPA team is aware of.
Instalment payments are going out on schedule.
If your corporation is required to pay monthly tax instalments, the CRA does not send a reminder for each one. Missing one starts accruing interest immediately.
Check: CRA My Business Account > Payments. Confirm instalments are showing as received for each month they were due.
GST/HST account balance reconciles to your books.
The GST/HST balance on your CRA account should match what QBO shows as owing. A mismatch means a remittance was not applied correctly or a return has an error.
Check: CRA My Business Account > GST/HST account balance. Compare to QBO Balance Sheet > GST/HST Payable.
FAQ
How long does this take?
For well-maintained books, 20–30 minutes. If issues surface — stale AR, Opening Balance Equity, unreviewed transactions — it takes longer, but catching them monthly is far less painful than finding them at year-end.
What if I find something wrong?
Note it and send it to your Mesa CPA bookkeeper with as much context as you have. Do not try to fix entries yourself unless you are confident — most bookkeeping errors are easier to fix correctly when your bookkeeper has the full picture.
Do I need to run every check every month?
The bank feed, reconciliation, and CRA checks should be monthly. The balance sheet checks (Opening Balance Equity, negatives, inflated accounts) can be monthly or quarterly depending on how active your books are.