Your first day in Bokeping

Start with one company and one clear starting date. You do not need to fill every screen before you can begin keeping books.

Choose your starting point

Your situation	Start here	First useful result
A new business with no earlier records	Create a company, add contacts, then record the first real sale or purchase.	One accurate transaction with its supporting document.
An existing business moving its books	Agree the cutover date and migration plan before entering transactions.	Opening balances that agree with the old books.
Invited to help an existing company	Accept the invitation and check company access with the owner.	Access to the existing books without a duplicate company.

1. Open the right company

Create your company or accept an invitation to an existing one. Check the company switcher at the top left before entering records.

Use Settings → Company to review your business details, fiscal year, and report defaults.

2. Decide where your books begin

For an existing business, agree on a cutover date with your accountant. Gather the closing trial balance, bank statements, unpaid invoices and bills, and any inventory quantities.

Plan your opening balances before importing historical records. Importing an unpaid invoice and also entering its amount as a customer opening balance counts the same receivable twice.

3. Bring in the records you need

Prepare customers, vendors, and items before importing documents that refer to them. Use the relevant list’s Import action and review its template and field requirements.

For bank activity, choose a Plaid connection or statement-file import. Both lead to a review step; importing a row is not the same as confirming its accounting treatment.

4. Record your first sale or purchase

• Customer owes you: create an invoice, then record the payment when received.
• Customer pays before invoicing: review customer deposits and the current entry limitation before recording it.
• You owe a vendor: add the vendor, enter a bill, then record its payment.
• You pay before the bill arrives: record a vendor prepayment.
• You have already paid for a purchase: record an expense.

Check for an existing entry before adding another one. When bank activity arrives for a payment you have already recorded, match it to that record.

5. Review your books

Review bank transactions, then reconcile each account to its statement. Open Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet and check the company, dates, and accounting basis.

If someone will help, invite your accountant or a team member using their own sign-in.

Find your way around

In the app	Use it for
Dashboard	A snapshot of receivables, payables, cash flow, and activity.
Banking	Bank transactions, review, reconciliation, rules, and deposits.
Sales & Receivables	Invoices, payments received, sales receipts, estimates, and credit memos.
Purchases & Expenses	Bills, payments made, expenses, vendor credits, and purchase orders.
Contacts	Customer and vendor records.
Products & Inventory	Items and the stock you track.
Accounting	Your chart of accounts and accounting tools.
Reports	Financial statements and supporting reports.
Settings	Company details, team access, payment methods, and defaults.

Your available menus and actions depend on your permissions and the company’s enabled features. If an expected option is missing, ask the company owner to check access before creating a second company or duplicate record.

Moving existing books partway through the year? Follow start Bokeping in the middle of a year.

Related walkthrough

For filled examples, start with company setup, a service item, and bank matching. Use your own real documents once the company and starting balances are ready.