Checklist · Startup finances
Business startup checklist: the financial foundations.
Starting a business means a short list of financial-setup tasks that have to be right from the first dollar — an EIN, a dedicated business bank account and card, accounting software, a chart of accounts, a bookkeeping cadence, and a basic compliance calendar. This is that tick-list, free and with no email wall. It deliberately stops at the bookkeeping line: choosing your legal structure and how you’re taxed are decisions for your attorney and CPA, not us. Independent firm, not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
A business startup checklist (financial) is the short list of money-setup tasks a new U.S. business completes so the books are possible from day one: get an EIN from the IRS, open a dedicated business bank account and card, set up accounting software, build a right-sized chart of accounts, set a bookkeeping cadence, and put recurring deadlines on a compliance calendar — with simple recordkeeping and insurance basics alongside. It is the bookkeeping and financial-operations layer only. Choosing your legal entity and your tax elections are separate legal and tax decisions that belong with a licensed attorney and a CPA — we don’t advise on those. This checklist is free and requires no email.
Reference maintained by the Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor team at TechBrot Inc., an independent firm — not Intuit, and not Intuit’s official software support. Not affiliated with Intuit Inc.
The startup financial checklist, in five questions.
What is a business startup checklist (financial)?
It’s the short list of financial-operations tasks a new U.S. business sets up before money starts moving: an EIN, a dedicated business bank account and card, accounting software, a chart of accounts, a bookkeeping cadence, a basic compliance calendar, and simple recordkeeping and insurance basics. It’s the bookkeeping foundation — not legal entity formation or tax elections, which belong with an attorney or CPA.
What does the financial startup checklist cover?
The money plumbing of a new business: getting an EIN from the IRS, opening a separate business bank account and card so business and personal money never mix, choosing and setting up accounting software, building a chart of accounts, deciding who does the books and how often, putting filing and payment deadlines on a calendar, and keeping receipts and records in order. It deliberately stops at the bookkeeping line.
What order should I do the startup financial setup in?
Roughly: form the entity with your attorney first (outside this checklist), then get the EIN, then open the business bank account and card, then stand up accounting software and the chart of accounts, then set a bookkeeping cadence, then build the compliance calendar, and finally lock in recordkeeping and insurance basics. Each step depends on the one before it — the EIN opens the bank account; the bank account feeds the software.
What is NOT on this checklist?
Choosing your legal structure (LLC, S-corp, C-corp, partnership), filing formation documents, and electing how you’re taxed are legal and tax decisions — they belong with a licensed attorney and a CPA, and we don’t advise on them. This checklist is the bookkeeping and financial-operations layer that sits on top of those decisions once they’re made.
Do I need a bookkeeper to start a business?
Not on day one — many founders run the early books themselves with this checklist and clean software. A ProAdvisor firm earns its place when transactions grow past what’s comfortable to track, when you bring on payroll or investors, or when the books need to be right for taxes and lending. Start with the free file review when you want a second set of eyes.
The financial startup checklist, plainly.
When people search for a “business startup checklist,” a lot of what they find is really two different lists tangled together. One is the legal and tax list — picking an LLC or an S-corp, filing formation papers, deciding how the business is taxed. That list belongs with an attorney and a CPA, and we don’t advise on it. The other is the financial-operations list: the handful of things that make it possible to actually run and track the money. That second list is what this page is.
The good news is that the financial side is short and it follows a natural order: get the EIN, open a business bank account and card, stand up accounting software, build a chart of accounts, set a bookkeeping cadence, and put your deadlines on a calendar. Each step makes the next one possible — the EIN opens the bank account, the bank account feeds the software. Done in the first weeks, it’s an afternoon of setup. Skipped, it becomes a year-end reconstruction of bank statements at the worst possible time. This checklist is free, needs no email, and stops cleanly at the bookkeeping line.
The financial foundations a new business needs.
The numbered checklist below puts these in order — so working through it in sequence builds the foundation the right way the first time.
Foundation 01 · A separation between business and personal money
The single foundation everything else rests on. Once business income and expenses run through their own account — not your personal checking — the books become possible, taxes become defensible, and the legal separation of your entity holds. Mixing the two (“commingling”) is the most common early mistake and the hardest to untangle later.
Foundation 02 · A federal tax ID (EIN)
An Employer Identification Number is the business’s federal tax ID. It’s issued free by the IRS, and you generally need it to open a business bank account, run payroll, and file business returns. Getting it early unblocks almost every other step on the list.
Foundation 03 · A place to record every dollar
Accounting software is where income, expenses, and balances live so you can see what the business actually did. The point isn’t the tool — it’s having one system of record from the first transaction, rather than reconstructing a year of bank statements at tax time.
Foundation 04 · A chart of accounts that fits the business
The chart of accounts is the list of categories every transaction is sorted into — the spine of the books. A clean, right-sized chart from the start makes reports meaningful and tax prep simple; an overgrown or generic one quietly makes every later month harder to read.
Foundation 05 · A rhythm for keeping the books current
Bookkeeping is a cadence, not an event. Deciding up front who reconciles the accounts and how often — weekly, monthly — is what keeps the numbers trustworthy. Books kept current all year are the difference between a calm tax season and a panicked reconstruction.
Foundation 06 · A calendar of deadlines and a habit of keeping records
A new business has recurring obligations — tax filings, payments, renewals — that are cheap to meet on time and expensive to miss. A simple compliance calendar plus a steady habit of saving receipts, invoices, and statements turns those from surprises into routine, and gives the books something to verify against.
The business startup checklist.
Seven steps, in order — each one depends on the one before it. The first sits with your attorney and CPA; the rest are the bookkeeping foundation you can build yourself.
Settle entity and tax decisions first (with your attorney and CPA)
Before this checklist begins, choose your legal structure and how you’ll be taxed with a licensed attorney and CPA — that’s a legal and tax decision we don’t advise on. Everything below assumes those are already settled, because they determine the EIN, the bank account, and how the books are kept.
Get your EIN from the IRS
Apply for an Employer Identification Number directly with the IRS — it’s free, and you’ll need it to open a business bank account and run payroll. Apply only through the official IRS channel; third-party sites that charge a fee for it are unnecessary. Keep the EIN confirmation letter with your permanent records.
Open a dedicated business bank account and card
Open a business checking account and a business debit or credit card in the business’s name, using the EIN. From the first dollar, run all business income and expenses through these and nothing personal — this is what makes clean books possible and protects the separation of your entity. Don’t share the account with personal spending.
Choose and set up accounting software
Pick accounting software and connect the business bank account and card so transactions flow in automatically. Set it up before the business is busy, not after — a system of record from day one beats reconstructing months of statements later. As Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisors, we work in QuickBooks Online and Desktop, but the principle holds for any tool.
Build a right-sized chart of accounts
Set up the chart of accounts — the categories every transaction is sorted into — to match how this business actually earns and spends. Keep it lean and specific; resist the urge to add an account for everything. A clean chart now makes reports readable and tax prep simple for years.
Set a bookkeeping cadence and reconcile regularly
Decide who keeps the books and how often — a weekly touch and a monthly reconciliation against the bank statement is a sound default for a new business. The goal is books that stay current all year, so the numbers are trustworthy when you need them for taxes, lending, or a decision.
Build a basic compliance calendar and keep your records
Put recurring deadlines — tax filings, payments, renewals — on a calendar with reminders, and confirm which ones apply with your CPA. Alongside it, keep receipts, invoices, and statements organized (digital is fine), and carry the right business insurance for your work. Records and a calendar turn obligations into routine instead of surprises.
When to get a pro involved early.
The books need to be right for taxes or lending
When a tax return, a loan application, or an investor needs to rely on your numbers, this is the point to bring in a ProAdvisor — clean, reconciled books are the difference between a smooth filing and a scramble, and a fixable mess now is far cheaper than a year-end reconstruction.
Transactions have outgrown a do-it-yourself rhythm
Once volume, payroll, or multiple accounts make the weekly bookkeeping cadence hard to keep up, the books start slipping behind. Getting a Certified ProAdvisor on a regular cadence early keeps the foundation you just built from quietly eroding.
The setup itself needs a second set of eyes
If you’re unsure the chart of accounts, the software setup, or the opening balances are right, have it reviewed before a year of transactions builds on top of it. Fixing the foundation in month one is straightforward; fixing it in month twelve is a cleanup.
Want the foundation set up right the first time?
A Certified ProAdvisor reviews your setup free, then helps build the books — new-business setup and ongoing bookkeeping scoped in writing to the work involved. Entity and tax questions go to your attorney and CPA. Independent firm.
A Certified ProAdvisor builds the financial foundation with you.
The checklist is everything a new business can do on its own — and many founders do, with clean software and a steady cadence. Where a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor earns a place is in getting the foundation right so a year of transactions doesn’t build on a crooked base: a chart of accounts sized to how the business actually works, the software connected correctly, opening balances that tie, and a reconciliation rhythm that holds. That work is done against a written scope, and the discovery call is free. We stay in our lane — the bookkeeping and financial operations — and send entity and tax decisions to your attorney and CPA, where they belong. Independent firm; not Intuit, and not Intuit’s software support.
Free
checklist and file review — no email wall, no charge
Independent
Certified ProAdvisor firm — not Intuit, not Intuit’s software support
Bookkeeping only
entity formation & tax elections stay with your attorney and CPA
What founders ask about startup finances.
Is this Intuit’s official QuickBooks setup checklist?
Does this checklist cover choosing my entity (LLC, S-corp) or how I’m taxed?
Is the checklist really free, with no email required?
How do I get an EIN, and does it cost anything?
Why does a separate business bank account matter so much?
Do I need an accountant or bookkeeper from day one?
What does it cost to have you set up or review the books?
What happens on the discovery call?
Want a professional to check your setup?
Get the foundation reviewed before a year builds on it.
Fixing the chart of accounts, the software setup, or the opening balances in month one is straightforward; fixing it in month twelve is a cleanup. Start with a free discovery call — we’ll tell you honestly what to handle yourself and what we’d recommend, with a written scope before any work begins. Entity and tax questions, we’ll point you to the right attorney or CPA. Independent ProAdvisor firm.