What if a previous bookkeeper started my books?

We can pick up books a previous bookkeeper started. What we need first is a set of opening balances we both agree on.

Opening balances: Before your first close, we agree on your opening balances with you. That means the closing figures from your last prepared period, your bank and loan balances, anything owed either way, and your fixed assets.

From your chartered accountant: If a chartered accountant prepared your last annual accounts, we'll ask you for them and work from those figures.

If nothing's been prepared: We'll tell you what catch-up work your books need before we can produce a reliable balance sheet, and quote it separately. "What if my books are behind when I join" covers how that's priced.

Why it matters: Your profit and loss account can be built from a single period alone. A balance sheet can't, because it carries every earlier period forward. If your opening balances are wrong, every month after them is wrong too.

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