Bank statements are the foundation of any catch-up project. If you have nothing else, start there. Every transaction that moved money in or out of your business accounts shows up on bank statements, which means a bookkeeper can reconstruct most of your activity from them alone.

Credit card statements come next. Any business credit card needs all statements for the period being reconciled. These show expenses that didn’t run through your checking account and help complete the picture of where money went.

Payment processor statements matter if you use Square, PayPal, Stripe, or similar services. The deposits in your bank account often show as lump sums. The processor statements break those down into individual transactions and show the fees that were taken out.

Invoices you sent to customers help if you’re tracking accounts receivable. Even if customers paid immediately, having the invoices lets your bookkeeper categorize revenue correctly and match it to deposits.

Bills and invoices from vendors help with categorization, especially for large purchases. A $3,000 charge is easier to classify correctly when you have the invoice showing exactly what it was for. For everyday expenses, bank statements are usually enough context.

Receipts are helpful but not always essential. Bank and credit card statements show who you paid. Receipts confirm what you bought. For equipment purchases, inventory, or anything that might get questioned on a tax return, receipts matter more.

Payroll records are critical if you have employees. Pay stubs, quarterly payroll tax filings, and any W-2s or 1099s you issued need to be part of the package. Payroll affects multiple accounts and has tax implications that need to be recorded correctly.

Previous tax returns show what was reported to the IRS and where things left off. This is especially important if you’re catching up multiple years. Loan documents matter too if you took on debt during the catch-up period, since the amortization schedule shows how to split payments between principal and interest.

Prior bookkeeper records can save time if you had one. Even incomplete or messy QuickBooks files give a starting point. A backup of the old file is better than starting from scratch.

Don’t let missing documents stop you from getting started. A catch-up bookkeeping project can work with whatever you have. Bank statements and credit card statements are usually enough to reconstruct accurate books. Everything else fills in details and makes the job go faster.

Gather what you can access online first. Most banks let you download statements going back several years. Pull everything from the period you need and organize it by month. That gives your QuickBooks bookkeeper in Santa Fe a solid foundation to work from, and you can fill in additional documents as they turn up.