Shoebox bookkeeping for UK accountants
Clients still turn up with nothing but bank statements?
No software, no ledger, just a bank account. That’s enough to do the full year’s prep in Entrio: categorised, reconciled and ending in a reviewed trial balance, or cash-basis accounts for a sole trader, without retyping a year of someone else’s spending.
| Account | Opening | Movement | Closing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 Current Account | 10,000.00 | 11,536.31 | 21,536.31 |
| 1010 Savings Account | 5,000.00 | 4.11 | 5,004.11 |
| 4000 Sales Revenue | 0.00 | (12,750.00) | (12,750.00) |
| 4200 Interest Received | 0.00 | (4.11) | (4.11) |
| 7200 Rent & Rates | 0.00 | 950.00 | 950.00 |
| 6300 Computer & IT | 0.00 | 263.69 | 263.69 |
| 9999 Opening Balance Equity | (15,000.00) | 0.00 | (15,000.00) |
| Totals | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
The bank statements are the whole file.
They meant to keep books. They bought the software, used it for six weeks and then got busy. What’s left is a current account, maybe a savings account, and a box of receipts nobody is going to type in. So you work out from the bank what the business did, and turn it into something you can put your name to.
The bank is a complete record of what moved. Entrio files it on your firm’s rules and shows you the few lines that need your judgement rather than your typing.
Which job is it?
A shoebox client is one of three jobs.
The workflow is the same for each. What you need to get right changes.
The year has closed and accounts are due
That’s a year-end. Get the opening balances in, post any adjusting journals, review the trial balance and lock the year.
They’re months behind and still trading
That’s catch-up. It’s about volume: rules that file the whole history at once, and spotting the months they’ve sent twice.
They’ve just joined you from somewhere else
That’s onboarding. You need an opening position you can defend, with your existing rules doing most of the coding.
Often it’s all three at once, and that’s fine. It’s the same workflow.
FAQ
Shoebox questions.
The client has nothing but bank statements. Is that enough?
For the bookkeeping, usually. The bank is a complete record of what moved. What it can’t tell you is intent: whether a payment was a cost or drawings, or a receipt was sales or a loan. Entrio puts those in front of you to decide instead of guessing.
Can I do a full year-end from a shoebox in Entrio?
You can do the bookkeeping year: import, categorise, reconcile, post adjustments and lock a reviewed trial balance, or cash-basis accounts prep for a sole trader. Statutory accounts, tax and filing still happen in TaxCalc, IRIS, CCH or your HMRC software.
What about cash the client never banked?
Entrio only sees what went through an account. Cash takings and cash expenses have to come from you, posted as journals. It won’t invent them.
Does it replace Xero or FreeAgent for these clients?
For a lot of shoebox clients, especially cash-basis sole traders, you won’t need a cloud bookkeeping seat at all. Clients already on Xero or FreeAgent stay there, and Entrio hands you the reviewed trial balance.
Founding firms · 22 of 25 places left
Spend less time reconstructing bookkeeping.
Fourteen days free and no card. A sample client is set up when you sign up, so you can see the whole thing before any real data goes in.
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Solo
£49£33 /month Up to 50 clients -
Practice
£129£86 /month Up to 250 clients -
Firm
£299£199 /month Up to 1,500 clients