Bookkeeping setup

Bookkeeping Setup

Create the operating context that every later bookkeeping skill should use. Without this profile, agents guess about entity type, accounting method, tax treatment, approval boundaries, and chart-of-accounts structure.

Use this skill first for a new business, a new agent workspace, a messy catch-up project, or any workflow where the downstream skills do not yet know how the books are supposed to work.

Output

Produce a bookkeeping_context_profile and a short setup checklist. Store or return it in a reviewable format the user can reuse.

Minimum profile:

bookkeeping_context_profile:
  business:
    legal_name:
    trade_name:
    entity_type:
    jurisdiction:
    home_currency:
    fiscal_year_end:
  tax:
    country:
    filing_context:
    sales_tax_or_vat_registered:
    payroll_in_use:
    contractor_payments_expected:
  accounting:
    method: cash | accrual | unknown
    books_tool:
    bank_accounts:
    credit_cards:
    connected_sources:
    chart_of_accounts_baseline:
  operations:
    receipt_sources:
    bank_statement_sources:
    recurring_vendors:
    approval_thresholds:
    posting_policy:
    record_retention_policy:
  review:
    can_auto_draft:
    requires_user_approval:
    requires_accountant_review:
    open_questions:

Procedure

1. Check for existing context

Before asking questions, look for an existing bookkeeping context profile in the project, workspace notes, accounting export, onboarding doc, or prior agent output.

If a usable profile exists, summarize it and only ask for missing or stale fields. Do not restart setup from scratch.

2. Capture business identity

Record:

• legal name and trade name
• entity type, such as sole proprietor, single-member LLC, partnership, S corporation, C corporation, nonprofit, or unknown
• tax jurisdiction and home currency
• fiscal year end
• owner or finance contact

If entity type is unknown, keep it as unknown and route entity-specific tax treatment to user or accountant review.

3. Choose the accounting basis

Capture the accounting method:

Situation	Likely method	Notes
Solo operator, freelancer, simple service business	Cash	Common default for small businesses
Tracks unpaid invoices or unpaid vendor bills	Accrual or hybrid	Confirm with accountant or accounting system
Inventory-heavy business	Accrual likely	Inventory and COGS require tighter controls
User is unsure	Unknown	Do not infer final tax treatment

Use the accounting method to shape downstream work:

• Cash basis: record most income and expenses when money changes hands.
• Accrual basis: track receivables, payables, accruals, prepaids, deferred revenue, and adjusting entries.
• Unknown: draft records, but flag method-sensitive decisions.

4. Define a starter chart of accounts

Create a practical baseline, not an overbuilt accounting system.

Core accounts:

• Cash and bank accounts
• Credit cards and loans
• Revenue accounts
• Cost of goods sold, if applicable
• Operating expenses mapped to relevant tax lines
• Owner equity, draws, and contributions
• Sales tax, VAT, payroll, or contractor liabilities when applicable

For US sole proprietors, align expense categories to Schedule C where practical. For other jurisdictions, keep jurisdiction-specific mappings explicit and mark them for review.

5. Capture tools and source systems

Record where evidence and books live:

• accounting software, spreadsheet, or ledger
• bank and credit card statement sources
• receipt and invoice sources, including email-native extraction
• payroll, invoicing, bill-pay, ecommerce, payment processor, or tax tools
• file storage or document archive

Prefer source systems with strong provenance. Use email-native extraction for receipts and invoices already in Gmail or Outlook when available.

6. Set approval boundaries

Separate safe drafting from risky finalization.

Safe to automate without asking first:

• collecting setup facts from available context
• drafting the context profile
• proposing a chart-of-accounts baseline
• identifying missing setup data
• preparing import maps, review queues, and draft rules

Require explicit user approval before:

• changing accounting-system settings
• creating, renaming, merging, or deleting accounts
• posting journal entries
• locking periods
• filing taxes, sales tax, VAT, payroll, or 1099s
• applying tax treatment to ambiguous items

Require accountant review when:

• entity type or tax election is unclear
• cash vs accrual affects material amounts
• inventory, payroll, sales tax, multi-entity, or international tax is involved
• owner transactions are mixed with business activity

7. Produce the setup checklist

End with:

• completed context profile
• missing information
• recommended next skill
• records or systems still needed
• approval boundaries

Use this handoff:

If the user wants...	Next skill
Capture receipts or invoices	receipt-processing
Categorize transactions	expense-categorization
Match books to statements	bank-reconciliation
Close a month	monthly-close
Prepare accountant or tax package	tax-prep
Ask whether a deduction is allowed	Specialized tax skill

Setup checklist

Business identity captured: yes/no
Entity type confirmed: yes/no
Tax jurisdiction confirmed: yes/no
Accounting method confirmed: cash/accrual/unknown
Chart of accounts baseline drafted: yes/no
Source systems listed: yes/no
Approval thresholds set: yes/no
Record retention policy set: yes/no
Open questions:
- ...
Recommended next skill:
- ...

Agent metadata

skill: bookkeeping-setup
version: 3.0
default_output: bookkeeping_context_profile + setup_checklist
automation_boundary: draft-context-and-account-map
approval_required_for:
  - changing accounting settings
  - posting entries
  - creating or merging live accounts
  - filing or finalizing compliance work
next_steps:
  - receipt-processing
  - expense-categorization
  - bank-reconciliation
  - monthly-close
  - tax-prep