QuickBooks Online MASTER Botkeeper Standard Operating Procedures

Partner Points of Contact:

• The primary point of contact to be tagged in the Portal with all tasks and documentation requests is specified by the Partner for each client during scoping. 

• An additional point of contact for each client to upload bank statements may also be specified by the Partner for each client during scoping, if applicable.

The Future of Bookkeeping Points of Contact:

• Deployment Inquiries: @deployment in the Portal

• Accounting Related Inquiries: @accountant in the Portal

Scope of Services

Monthly Close Timing and Required Information

There are 3 levels of bookkeeping frequency (cadences) available for both the Basic and Advanced Service that correspond with a monthly closing date and carry a different monthly cost, as follows. The cadence is to be indicated for each client during scoping:

*There are special requirements to qualify for daily or weekly cadence, which are as follows:

• No need for manually uploaded transactions

• Connected bank and credit card feeds to GL (closely being monitored for disconnection)

First Monthly Close Timing

In order to ensure a timely first close, all required information* should be provided no later than 2 business days prior to the 15th day of the same start month**. To support tight timelines, a "Mutual Plan” is an available tool to ensure the smooth integration of services.

• A client is considered “deployed” within 2 business days of receipt of all required information pertinent to the services scoped for each client.

• The Partner will be tasked in the Partner Portal for any required information needed for deployment that was not provided upfront.

• The Partner will mark tasks as completed and leave a comment for @customersuccess if help is needed.

* All required information listed in the next section “Ongoing Month End - Botkeeper Service Close” must be provided to Botkeeper based on the above timetable to support a first month close
** To support tight timelines, a "Mutual Plan” is available to ensure a smooth onboarding experience
***Dependent on clean-up/ catch-up policy

Ongoing Month End Close - Botkeeper Service Close

* To ensure a timely ongoing close, all required information listed in the "Required Information" section must be provided to Botkeeper based on this cutoff date
** Botkeeper may increase the frequency the books are being serviced, but this is not a guarantee

Required Information - First & Ongoing Month End

• General Ledger (GL) access granted

  • QBO - Added as a team member to your Firm’s existing QBOA*

  • Xero - Added as an Advisor with manage user rights in each client’s GL

• Bank & Credit Card account setup

  • Smart Connect (Autopush) or general ledger bank feed (Non-Autopush);or

  • Transactions provided in an uploadable format**

• Access to Bank & Credit Card statements via one of the following:

  • Smart Connect tool within Client Portal

  • Manual upload to Partner or Client Portal

  • Access to statement fetching service (Hubdoc, QBO) granted

  • Provide Botkeeper with their own (non-shared), read-only credentials***

• All 3rd party application access required for Botkeeper to complete services outlined in the scope of services is added and shared via Password Manager (such as Bill.com if AP is scoped)

• All tasks in BOS are completed and nothing is outstanding

• Partner responsible for completing all work impacting the month-end financial reports

* Other options available
** Monthly entities only - Weekly & Daily entities do not qualify for this item
*** Provided above options have been exhausted

Catch-up / Clean-up

Clean-up: If the bank and credit card accounts are not reconciled through the month prior to the services start date, Partner has the option to sign up for “clean up” services while scoping the client.

Catch-up: If deployment is delayed past the last day of the start month, the months between the start date and the deployment date are “catch-up” and add to the turnaround time of first months' close.

* Multiplied by the number of months clean-up services are required for
** Multiplied by the number of months catch-up services are required for

Transaction Categorization

Bank and credit card feeds for the accounts within scope will be processed at the designated bookkeeping cadence for each client, beginning within 7-10 business days (monthly), 5 business days (weekly) or 2 business days (daily) of being accepted to ongoing services.

• Transactions will be coded using a combination of historical data and rules that exist at the Client level, artificial intelligence and machine learning applied to the transaction data and human oversight, including quality control and exceptions management.

• Remaining transactions where there is significant doubt on categorization, including any manual checks with no backup available, will be pushed to Transaction Manager in the Client Portal and will be coded to “Uncategorized Income/Expenses” while they await categorization.

• A monthly or weekly (weekly/daily bookkeeping cadence) task will be assigned to the main Point of Contact (POC) listed for each client in the Partner Platform to request the POC to review and update transactions pushed to TM that were booked to “Uncategorized Income/Expenses” if any.

Partner Responsibilities

• Provide required information by the close cutoff date, including:

  • Categorize transactions within Transaction Manager and/or assign to the client for coding.

  • Upload check register/images to the Client Portal files tool and tag @bookkeepingteam.

• Up to 1 business day will be added to the close due date for each business day overdue.

• If the Partner or Client has not categorized in Transaction Manager nor communicated the coding for any uncategorized transaction(s) as of the close due date, the Monthly Closing task with any linked reports, if applicable will be posted to the Partner Portal on the close due date and the Partner will be responsible for any regeneration of reports for the same period thereafter.

Payroll Journal Entries

Payroll journal entries will be recorded from referencing information from payroll reports uploaded by the Partner or Client via the Portal files tool, or through read-only access provided to pull payroll reports.

• If sync between payroll provider and QBO is established, the payroll transactions from the bank feed will be matched with the synced data. If read-only access has been provided, troubleshooting of sync issues will be attempted before escalating to the Partner via Portal task.

Partner Responsibilities

• All payroll processing functions

• Establish and maintain a sync between QBO and payroll provider.

• If sync is not possible, upload payroll reports at least monthly, or provide read-only access.

Bank & Credit Card Reconciliation

Standard Monthly Report Package

• Amounts will be rounded to the nearest dollar.

• Reports will be run based on the Accounting method set in the GL.

• If the Partner provides all required information on or before the close cutoff date, or if the Partner has not communicated any required information as of the close due date:

Partner Communication &
Task Management

Supported Software

• Bill.com, QBO, Xero, HubDoc* with Bill.com, QBO or Xero

  *HubDoc must be set up to sync with either Bill.com, QBO or Xero to be supported for AP.

• All bills should be uploaded to a single location for The Future of Bookkeeping to access, based on the selected AP processing software.

  • Bill.com = all bills should be uploaded to the Bill.com inbox

  • HubDoc w/ Bill.com, QBO or Xero = all bills should be uploaded/pulled into HubDoc

  • QBO or Xero as standalone = all bills should be uploaded to the Client Portal Files folder

Processable Documents

• Approved types of documents are “processable” and will be included in Weekly AP processing.

• “Other” and “archived” folders will be created in the single location bills are being uploaded to.

• Any “unprocessable” documents will be filed in the other folder for Partner or Client to action.

• Any bills that are processable but are not entered as a bill, will be filed in the archived folder.

Scope of Services

• The first weekly processing cycle for each Client will begin 5 business days after the client is accepted into ongoing, then proceed on the selected processing deadline day thereafter.

• Weekly processing will include all bills submitted to the single location agreed upon for each Client at least two business days prior to the deadline day.

  • Bills submitted after the two business day cutoff will be processed the following week.

• Any bills that carry a bill date of the prior month that are provided after the monthly close cutoff date of the following month will be posted in accordance with the closing cutoff guidelines at the Client level regarding the posting period (hard close vs. soft close).

• At month-end, the AP clearing account will be reconciled, if applicable.

Processable Responsibilities:

• Select a weekly AP deadline day (M-F) for each Client and understand that the cutoff for bills to be included in weekly processing is two business days prior to the deadline day.

• Submit or upload bills individually and avoid submitting bills together in one PDF file.

• Provide details pertaining to existing or desired approval workflow during scoping, in absence of which will default to approval workflow based on vendor history.

• Approve and pay the bills.

• Monitor the other folder for unprocessable documents that may need action.

Autonomous AP Processing
(Advanced Service)

Historical Training & Deployment Timing

Historical AI model training is required if there are documents attached in the connected system (Bill.com or QBO).

• There are two training cycles per month that start on the 15th or the last day of the month (or following business day).

• The cutoff to provide all required AP deployment information* is 5 business days prior to the next historical training start date.

*All Required AP deployment information includes but is not limited to:

• General Ledger (GL) access granted

  • QBO - Added as a team member to your Firm’s existing QBOA

  • Bill.com - 2 Console-evel users with custom role.

• Chart of Account numbers turned [on] with numbers populated.

• Tasks assigned in the Portal (requesting action, information or clarification) marked as completed.

Standardized processes

• Prepaid expenses: Standard is that the majority rules. If the majority of the bill is for a future period, then the entire bill would be categorized to a prepaid account. Alternatively, if the majority of the bill is for a current period, then it would be categorized to the appropriate expense account(s).

• Capitalization: Standard capitalization threshold of $2,500 per unit will be used for account categorization purposes unless otherwise indicated.

• Bill-level descriptions: Standard is to include the account, policy or customer name or number; if present. If there is no account, policy or customer name or number, the bill-level description may be left blank.

• Soft vs. hard close: Any bills that carry a bill date of the prior month that are provided after the monthly close cutoff date of the following month will be posted in accordance with the closing cutoff guidelines at the Client level regarding the posting period (hard close vs. soft close).

  • Standard for “soft close” clients: All unpaid bills, payments, or dimension tracking details received for the processing month on or before the close cutoff date will carry the actual posting date, even if it applies to the prior period (except as pertains to the prior year).

  • Standard for “hard close” clients: All unpaid bills, payments, or dimension tracking details received for the processing month on or before the close cutoff date will be applied for the actual date of the transaction. If these details are received after the close cutoff date, they will be processed on the 1st day of the next open month.

Applying Payments to AR Invoices (Advanced Service)

Partner Responsibilities

• Partner or Client will upload payment and deposit details to the respective AR Payment Details folder using standard file naming convention including deposit date and amount.

• Partner or Client will not need to upload payment and deposit details if one of the following scenarios exists:

  • Information is available within QBO merchant center for payments received via Intuit

  • There will almost always be a 1:1 match between a deposit and an invoice

• Partner or Client will review tasks posted to the Portal (throughout the month, immediately after transaction processing) or transactions pushed to Transaction Manager (after the month ends) regarding any unknown payments/deposits and provide additional information prior to the close cutoff date.

Class & Department Tracking (Advanced Service)

Classes or departments will be assigned to transactions per the agreed upon bookkeeping cadence for that Client, based on the below criteria (listed in order of prioritization):

• • Written instructions on invoice or bill

  • List provided by Partner

  • Historical data

• If a transaction can not be allocated to a class or department based on any of the above criteria, the transaction will fall to the "unassigned" class, department, project or job for the Partners attention in the GL and push to Transaction Manager (TM).

• A monthly or weekly (weekly/daily bookkeeping cadence) task will be assigned to the Partner within the Portal to review and update unassigned transactions pushed to TM (combined with the regular task generated for all TM transactions that month/week).

Partner Responsibilities

• Provide rules for each class or department during scoping and assign a task to @bookkeepingteam in the portal to communicate rules for any new classes or departments.

  • All rules provided should support a 1:1 relationship. With the exception of Payroll, a single transaction will not be split between multiple classes or departments.

  • If a third party system is used and information without classes/department are being synced, the Partner is responsible for reclassing those transactions.

• Review and update unassigned transactions in Transaction Manager by the close cutoff date each month, to ensure the most complete monthly reports by class or department.

• Transactions classified after the close cutoff date may lead to a delay in the close due date. If the monthly reports were already posted or in process of being prepared, Partner may need to re-run reports for updated information. See reporting section for more info on timing of reports.

Scope Changes, After a Client has Been Accepted into Ongoing Services

Add-On Services Available After First 2 Monthly Closes

Administration

Journals & Schedules

• Bundle of 5 Simple Journals

• Basic Schedule Maintenance

Vendor Management

• QBO W-9 Requests

Reporting

• One-Time Addition to Management Report

• Enhanced Ongoing Report Support

Expense

• Job/Project tracking

Revenue

Invoicing

• Std. Preparation & Sending

3rd Party Applications

• Point of Sales Entries / Reconciliation

• Credit Card Merchant Entries Reconciliation

• Inventory Adjustments / Reconciliation

One-Time Services

• Migration QBD to QBO, [other system] to QBO (conversion balances and lists only)

• Clean-up / Catch-up

• Custom Dashboards