A
Opening shelf
Ledger Setup and Review
This is where nearly every engagement begins. A ledger that has been kept for years without a second reader almost always carries small structural faults: an account that should have been split, a bank balance that drifted a few dollars from the statement, a category that quietly swallowed three unrelated kinds of spending. We sit down with the whole book, trace each account back to its source, and write a clean opening position before anything new is posted.
The review is not a scolding. Households are busy, and small firms often keep books in whatever tool was nearest on the day they started. What matters is that the record becomes trustworthy from this point forward, and that you can explain any line in it to an accountant, a lender or a family member without hesitating.
What the review covers
- A full trace of bank and savings accounts against statements for the review period.
- A check of income sources, including wages, benefits, rent and one-off payments.
- A check of expense categories for duplication and misfiling.
- An opening balance sheet for the household or firm, written in plain language.
- A short list of documents that are missing and what to do about each one.
You receive a written report of findings and a proposed structure for the year ahead. If you decide to stop there, the report is yours to keep and to hand to another adviser.
B
Recurring shelf
Monthly Billing Desks
The billing desk exists so that invoices leave the hall on the same day each month, with consistent wording and numbers that have been added twice by two different methods. Small firms use it for client invoices and retainers; households use it when costs are shared with relatives, lodgers or a carer, and everyone needs a fair record of who paid what.
We prepare the drafts, check them against the underlying work or agreement, and send them on your instruction. Payments that drift past their due date are noted and chased politely, in writing, with a copy of the chase kept in the file. If a client disputes a line, we can reconstruct how it was built from the supporting papers rather than guessing.
What the desk holds
- A standing list of clients or contributors and the agreed rates.
- A monthly invoice run with a numbered copy of every document issued.
- A simple ageing list showing what is outstanding and for how long.
- Written records of each reminder, so a disagreement can be reviewed calmly.
Where an invoice needs a legal form or a signature, we prepare it and hand it over rather than signing on your behalf.
H
Sorting shelf
Receipt Filing Help
Receipts arrive in the worst containers: carrier bags, glove boxes, the pocket of a coat that went out of season. We take the whole pile, sort it by week and category, record each amount and build a filing sequence that a stranger could follow months later. The aim is a record that survives a gap in your own memory.
The work is done with a light hand. A receipt that is faded but readable is noted as faded; a purchase with no receipt at all is recorded as unverified rather than given an invented amount. That honesty matters if the books are ever examined by an accountant, a benefits office or a court.
What you get back
- Receipts sorted into labelled folders by month and category.
- A digital index of what was filed and where to find it.
- A short list of gaps, with a suggested way to document each one.
- Any duplicates or obvious personal purchases highlighted for a second look.
Households often choose a monthly collection and a quarterly deep sort. Firms usually prefer a weekly drop that keeps the pile from growing at all.
M
Conversation shelf
Budget Coaching Sessions
A budget drawn from averages rarely survives a real month. These sessions begin with the last three months of actual spending and ask a simple question: which costs are fixed, which are drifting, and which were one-off surprises that will probably come back. From there we agree on a small number of changes, small enough that a difficult week will not break them.
Sessions are held in the hall in Holladay or by telephone, whichever is easier for the household. Each one ends with a single page of written decisions: the target for the month, the two or three habits being changed, and the date we will look at the results together.
What the sessions cover
- A plain review of income, fixed costs and seasonal expenses.
- A set of realistic monthly figures with a small buffer for surprises.
- A plan for irregular costs such as vehicle repairs or annual insurance.
- A short written page of decisions after every session.
We are coaches here, not judges. If a plan collapses in the first month, we look at why and adjust it rather than pretending it should have worked.
S
Closing shelf
Year End Summaries
When the year closes, the posted entries are gathered into a summary that can actually be read: income by source, spending by category, balances carried forward and a clear list of documents still outstanding. The bundle is built for the person who will read it next, whether that is an accountant, a mortgage lender or a relative helping with an estate.
Every figure is traceable. If a total looks surprising, we can point to the receipts and bank lines that produced it, which turns a difficult conversation with an adviser into a short one.
What the bundle contains
- An income and expense summary for the full year.
- A closing balance for each account, reconciled to the final statement.
- A category breakdown with short notes on anything unusual.
- A list of documents to obtain before any formal filing.
Nothing is filed with an authority on your behalf unless we have discussed it and you have given written instructions.
Y
Stationery shelf
Payroll Filing Support
A household that employs a carer, a gardener or a part time assistant is running a small payroll, whether or not it feels like one. The wage records, the withholding paperwork and the filing calendar can quietly become a burden. We prepare the records, keep the calendar visible, and make sure each deadline is known well before it arrives.
The support is deliberately paperwork focused. We prepare and organise the documents, check the arithmetic, and flag anything that needs a formal filing or a signature. Those steps are returned to the person responsible, with a short note explaining what must happen and by when.
What the support includes
- Wage records for each employee, kept in a consistent format.
- A calendar of filing dates and a reminder before each one.
- Organised withholding paperwork, ready for review and signature.
- A year end wage summary prepared alongside the annual accounts.
Questions about employment law or tax positions outside our remit are referred onward rather than guessed at.