What Monthly Bookkeeping Includes, Step by Step
Short answer: monthly bookkeeping means every transaction from the month is recorded, matched to the bank and checked, so your VAT, payroll and tax are done from correct numbers and you get a profit and loss and balance sheet you can trust. It is the same cycle every month: bank feeds, coding and reconciliation, sales invoices and supplier bills, payroll, VAT when it is due, then management accounts.
Many business owners pay for bookkeeping without knowing what happens each month. Here is the monthly bookkeeping cycle step by step, what you need to send your bookkeeper and what you should get back.
The monthly bookkeeping cycle, step by step
Bank and card feeds come in. Your bank and credit card transactions flow into your accounting system every day through bank feeds, so nothing has to be typed in from a statement.
Every transaction is coded and reconciled. Each line is matched to an invoice or bill, or coded to the right account with the right VAT rate. Anything unclear goes onto one list of queries for you.
Sales invoices and debtors are checked. Every sale should be invoiced and every payment allocated to the right invoice, so the list of who owes you is accurate.
Supplier bills and expenses are captured. Each bill and receipt is recorded against its payment. Input VAT is claimed only where there is a valid tax invoice.
Payroll runs. Payslips are processed before payday, and PAYE, UIF and SDL are declared to SARS on the EMP201 by the 7th of the following month.
VAT is calculated and submitted when it is due. Most VAT vendors submit a VAT201 every second month; on eFiling the return and payment are due by the last business day of the month after the VAT period.
Month-end checks. Loan accounts, fixed assets, depreciation and anything unusual are reviewed before the month is closed.
Management accounts. A profit and loss, a balance sheet and debtors and creditors reports show how the business did, with a short note on what changed.
A month at a glance
When | What happens |
|---|---|
Every day | Bank and card feeds bring transactions in |
Each week | Transactions coded and reconciled, receipts captured |
Before payday | Payroll and payslips |
By the 7th | EMP201 to SARS for PAYE, UIF and SDL |
Every second month | VAT201 on eFiling, by the last business day of the month after the VAT period |
After month-end | Management accounts and the query list |
What you send your bookkeeper each month
Supplier invoices and receipts: snap them on the Xero app or forward them by email
Sales not invoiced in your accounting system, such as cash sales or online platform payouts
Payroll changes: new staff, leave, overtime and anyone leaving
New loans, asset purchases, and any personal spending through the business account
Answers to the month's query list
The quicker the queries come back, the sooner the month can be closed and the numbers relied on.
What monthly bookkeeping gives you
Profit you can see every month, not only at year end.
VAT, payroll and tax done from the same clean numbers, so returns match your books.
Figures ready when you need them, for a bank, a lender, a tender or a buyer.
A quicker year end, because the annual financial statements start from twelve closed months.
Monthly bookkeeping with One Percent Accounting
Your bank and card feeds are reconciled in Xero every month, with queries sent to you in one list. Sales invoices, supplier bills and expenses are captured and coded for VAT and income tax, and your management accounts, with debtors and creditors reports, arrive with a short note from your Accountant. VAT, payroll for up to 10 employees, provisional and annual tax returns and annual financial statements are part of the same fee: 1% of your business turnover, from R79 a month excluding VAT.
Frequently asked questions
What do monthly bookkeeping services include?
Recording and reconciling every bank and card transaction, capturing sales invoices, supplier bills and expenses with the right VAT treatment, running payroll, preparing VAT returns when they are due and producing monthly management accounts.
What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?
Bookkeeping records and reconciles the transactions. Accounting uses those records for VAT and tax returns, annual financial statements and advice on the numbers. A small business needs both, ideally from the same team.
What does a business need to send its bookkeeper each month?
Supplier invoices and receipts, details of sales not invoiced in the system, payroll changes, new loans or asset purchases, and answers to the month's queries.
My books are months behind. Can monthly bookkeeping still start now?
Yes. The missing months are caught up first, then the monthly cycle runs from the current month.
How much do monthly bookkeeping services cost?
At One Percent Accounting, bookkeeping is part of one monthly fee of 1% of business turnover, from R79 a month excluding VAT, which also covers VAT, payroll for up to 10 employees, tax returns and annual financial statements.
Related guides
Books closed every month
Our team reconciles your books in Xero every month and sends you management accounts with a short note on what changed, with your VAT, payroll and tax run from the same numbers. One fee: 1% of business turnover, from R79 a month excluding VAT. See Accounting & Bookkeeping or book a free meeting.
Sources: SARS: Obligations of a VAT vendor; One Percent Accounting: Accounting and bookkeeping.
This article is general information, current at October 2026. It is not advice for your specific situation.
