Documents to have ready (and why we need them)
The statements, returns, and agreements we collect during onboarding — and what each one unblocks.
Documents to have ready (and why we need them)
Gathering your documents early is one of the fastest ways to get your books finished. Each item below unblocks something specific — set opening balances, confirm your entity type, split a loan correctly — so the more you can pull together up front, the less back-and-forth later.
Your books can't be finalized and handed to your bookkeeper until the essentials are in. Missing documents are the most common reason onboarding stalls, so it's worth getting them to us quickly.
Your document checklist
Here's what to gather, and why each one matters:
- Most recent business tax return (and personal, if relevant) — sets your opening balances and confirms your entity type and accounting method.
- EIN letter — your IRS confirmation that your business has its tax ID on file.
- Articles of organization / incorporation — the formation paperwork that confirms how your business is legally set up.
- Operating agreement (especially partnerships and multi-member LLCs) — shows ownership percentages and how distributions work.
- Monthly bank & credit card statements covering your catch-up period — we need every month, not just the most recent one.
- Loan documents — the loan agreement plus an amortization/payment schedule (or statements showing the remaining balance), so we can correctly split principal vs. interest.
- Business purchase agreement, bill of sale, or note payable — if you bought a business or a major asset.
- Payroll reports + W-3 — if you run payroll.
- Payment processor reports — if you accept card or online payments (for example, Stripe, Square, or PayPal).
For bank and credit card statements, we genuinely need each month across your catch-up period — gaps mean we can't fully reconcile that period. Downloading them in one sitting per account is usually quickest.
If a document doesn't apply to you
Not every business has every document — a sole proprietor may have no operating agreement, and not everyone runs payroll. That's completely fine. Just mark it N/A so we know it genuinely doesn't exist for your business, rather than wondering whether it's simply missing. That small step keeps us from chasing something you don't have.
How to send your documents
Upload everything through File Requests in the app. We'll request the specific items we need from you there, and you can upload your files directly to each request — no email attachments required.
If you're unsure how to download a statement from your bank or a report from your payment processor, we have step-by-step help below.