Bank statements are your most reliable starting point when records are missing or incomplete. They provide a transaction-by-transaction record of what moved through your accounts, which is often enough to rebuild usable books.

Start by gathering every statement for the period you need to reconstruct. This includes all business bank accounts and credit cards. Most banks let you download 7 years of history through online banking. If an account was closed, you can usually request archived statements from the bank for a small fee.

Download statements in CSV or QBO format when possible. PDFs work but require manual entry, which adds hours to the project. QuickBooks and most accounting software can import CSV files directly, letting you categorize transactions in batches instead of typing each one.

Set up your chart of accounts before you start categorizing. Think through the expense categories that matter for your business. Rent, utilities, supplies, vehicle expenses, and contractor payments are common ones. Having the right categories ready makes the work go faster and produces more useful reports when you’re done.

Go through transactions one by one and assign each to a category. This is the tedious part. Bank descriptions like “POS PURCHASE 4829” don’t tell you much. You’ll need to recognize vendor names, look up unfamiliar ones, and sometimes make educated guesses based on the amount and timing. If the project feels overwhelming, catch-up bookkeeping services exist specifically for this situation.

Recurring transactions help establish patterns. That $89.99 charge to the same company every month is probably software. The large transfer on the first of each month is likely rent. Once you identify patterns, you can categorize similar transactions quickly.

Reconcile each month after categorizing. Your records should match the bank’s ending balance exactly. Discrepancies mean something was missed or miscategorized. Don’t move on until each month balances.

There are limits to what bank statements can tell you. They show that money left your account but not what you bought or why. A $400 charge at a hardware store could be job materials, office supplies, or something personal. Without the receipt, you’re guessing. The same applies to deposits. You know money came in but not always which customer or project it relates to.

Cash transactions don’t appear at all. If your business handles cash sales or pays vendors in cash, those transactions won’t show up in bank records. You’ll need other documentation like POS reports or written records to capture cash activity.

Even imperfect reconstruction is better than no records. Tax returns need numbers. Banks need financial statements for loans. Your own decision-making needs some sense of profitability. Books rebuilt from bank statements may have gaps, but they give you something to work with.

For one year of records with straightforward transactions, most business owners can do this themselves over a weekend or two. For multiple years, complex transactions, or businesses that need job-level detail, the project grows significantly. A Findlay bookkeeper who has done this work before can often complete in hours what takes a business owner days.

Once the reconstruction is complete, set up a system so you’re not back in this position next year. Monthly bookkeeping takes a fraction of the time that annual reconstruction does, and the records are far more accurate when transactions are categorized while you still remember what they were for.