Bank statements

For most business accounts, you will receive a bank statement at the end of the month showing the activity for that month. This paper will be one of your critical control documents for your business. You will need to reconcile your accounting system to your bank statements to make sure that you have accounted for every transaction.

Deposit slips

When a customer pays you, you will have to deposit the money into your business bank account. To do this, you will prepare a deposit slip. Although some banks do not require you to use deposit slips, you should prepare them anyway, as they are an accurate record of who has paid you. Think of what would happen if you received checks from four customers on the same day. If the amount is just shown as a lump sum on your bank statement, how will you remember two months from now where the money came from? By preparing a deposit slip.

Supplier invoices

Every time you purchase anything for your business, you must make certain you get an invoice or a cash register receipt. If your taxation authority ever audits you, it will require you to produce the original receipt to prove that, say, the $5,000 you are claiming really was a business expense and not your personal trip to Maui Also, your accounting system may require you to account for the faxes you pay on the expense; the supplier invoice provides that breakdown.

 Check stubs or copies

When you write a business check to a supplier, you should keep a copy of that check for your records. Many check styles include a check stub: the piece that stays in your checkbook after you tear off the check. The stub has spaces to record all the information that would have appeared on the check you just wrote, including to whom the check was written, the date, the total payment, and the tax portion. If you choose to use a manual accounting system, you will use these check stubs to enter your supplier payments.

Some check systems print three copies of each check: the actual check, an attached copy for the recipient, and a third copy for the sender. In this case, you would save the third copy to keep in check order.