Preparing Material for Your Accountant
By CodexierPublished 5 min read
An external accountant is paid to produce correct books, VAT returns and annual accounts, and to give advice. When the material arrives as a bag of receipts and a bank statement, most of the fee goes to sorting and asking questions. When it arrives organised, the same fee buys judgement. This guide describes what your accountant needs each month, how to name and structure it, how to explain the transactions that always raise questions, and the rhythm that keeps deadlines calm.
What your accountant needs each month
The monthly package is the same for a sole trader and a small limited company. Statements from every account money moves through: bank, Swish, card acquirer, Stripe or Klarna if you sell online. The document behind every outgoing transaction: supplier invoices, receipts, subscription confirmations. Every invoice you issued, or access to the system where they live. Salary material if you have employees. And a short note about the month. If your accountant works directly in Fortnox, Visma or Bokio with a bank feed, much of this is captured automatically and your job reduces to attaching documents and writing the note.
Naming and folder structure
Consistency matters more than any particular scheme. The accountant should be able to find the document for a transaction without opening five files. A workable convention is one folder per month, files named with the date first so they sort chronologically, then the counterparty and the amount. Photographs of receipts get the same treatment. If you use the bookkeeping system's receipt inbox, the naming happens through the matching instead, and the folder is only for documents the system cannot hold, such as contracts and loan agreements.
| Item | Convention | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Folder | Year and month | 2026-09 |
| Supplier invoice | Date, supplier, amount | 2026-09-14_Telia_1240.pdf |
| Receipt photo | Date, shop, purpose | 2026-09-03_Clas-Ohlson_kontorsmaterial.jpg |
| Customer invoice | Invoice number and customer | F-2026-0142_Nordic-Bygg.pdf |
| Statement | Account and month | SEB-foretagskonto_2026-09.pdf |
| Notes | One file per month | 2026-09_noteringar.txt |
Explaining unusual transactions
A handful of transaction types generate most of the questions. Write one line for each before the accountant has to ask. Private purchases on the company card, and company purchases on a private card, need to be labelled as such so they are booked against the owner rather than as expenses. Meals and travel need the purpose and who took part, which Skatteverket requires for deductions. Purchases of equipment above a certain value are assets, not expenses, and the accountant needs to know what was bought and when it was put to use. Transfers between your own accounts, loans, cash withdrawals and anything in a foreign currency all deserve a note.
- Private items on the company card, and company items paid privately.
- Representation: purpose, date and participants.
- Equipment and other assets: what, when taken into use, expected life.
- Transfers between accounts, owner deposits and withdrawals, loans.
- Customer invoices that are disputed or will not be paid.
- New recurring costs, such as software subscriptions and leases.
Deadlines and handover rhythm
Swedish deadlines are fixed and known a year ahead: VAT returns monthly, quarterly or yearly depending on turnover, employer declarations monthly on the 12th, the income tax return and annual accounts on their own calendar. Agree with your accountant a handover date each month, typically within the first week, that leaves them time before the earliest deadline. Then keep it. An accountant with material on the fifth can plan; one who receives it on the eleventh works evenings and bills for it. Around the year end, expect a bigger package: inventory counts, accrued income and costs, and confirmations of balances; plan it with your accountant well before the closing date, and keep the VAT return deadlines in view.
Questions to save for them
Once the routine work is out of the way, the accountant's time is best spent on decisions: whether to buy or lease a vehicle, how to pay yourself as an owner, when to register for a different VAT period, whether a planned investment should be taken this year or next, how to handle ROT or RUT invoicing. Collect those questions during the month and raise them in one conversation rather than in scattered emails. If the monthly preparation itself is the bottleneck, bookkeeping and finance admin support can take over the matching, naming and notes by the hour; the rate is on our pricing page.
When you do not need this: if your accountant works inside your bookkeeping system with a bank feed and you already attach receipts as you go, the monthly package is largely automatic and only the note remains. If you do your own bookkeeping and only use an accountant for the annual accounts, prepare the year-end package instead. If you are paying for hours that feel like chasing rather than advice, book a short call and we will look at where the time goes.
Frequently asked questions
Should I send material by email or through the bookkeeping system?
Through the system wherever possible. Receipt inboxes in Fortnox, Visma and Bokio attach the document to the transaction, which is exactly what the accountant needs. Email is for the monthly note and for documents the system cannot hold.
What happens if I hand over late?
The accountant either rushes, which costs accuracy, or files the VAT return late, which costs a fee from Skatteverket. Many firms also charge extra for late material. A fixed handover date is cheaper than any of these.
How much detail does the monthly note need?
One line per unusual item is enough: what it was, why, and any decision you want the accountant to make. A note of ten lines covering the month's oddities typically saves an hour of questions.
Accountant's invoice full of hours spent asking questions?
Fifteen minutes with our operations team: describe how material reaches your accountant today, and we tell you what to change and whether delegating the monthly preparation by the hour makes sense.
Book a free 15-minute call