Missing receipts at month end: a routine that closes the gaps

Written by the team behind Slipnudge, an unbuilt product idea. We are not accountants. This is general process guidance, not accounting, tax or legal advice. Check anything important with the official source or a professional adviser.

A missing receipt is rarely one problem. It is usually one of a few different situations, and each has a different fastest fix. Sorting the gaps first stops you sending the same vague request for everything.

Step 1: sort each unmatched bank line into a type

Type	What it looks like	Fastest fix
Document exists in an online account	Subscriptions, software, utilities, marketplaces, delivery apps	Ask the client for access to the supplier portal, or for the monthly invoice email. Many suppliers let you download past invoices.
Document exists on the client's phone or inbox	Photo of a till receipt, emailed order confirmation	Ask for a forward or a photo, naming the date and amount.
Paper receipt was never kept	Parking, small cash purchases, train tickets	Ask the supplier for a duplicate if it is worth the effort, otherwise use your internal missing item note (below).
Not a business cost	Personal spending on a business card or account	Ask the client to confirm, then post it according to your usual approach for personal spending.
Not a purchase	Transfers between own accounts, loan payments, refunds, tax payments	These often need a different document, such as a statement or letter, not a receipt.
Unknown	The client does not recognise the payee	Check the full payee text, date and amount against the card or bank detail. Ask the client a specific question.

Step 2: fix what you can without the client

Search your mailbox and the client's shared folder for the amount and the payee name.
Check whether the supplier sends invoices to an email address you can see.
Look for the same payee in earlier months: recurring items often have a pattern you can match by amount.
Check for one document covering several bank lines, or several documents covered by one bank line.

Step 3: ask the client once, with a list

One message with every open item beats five messages with one item each. Give the date, the amount and the payee text exactly as it appears on the statement, and say what you need back. A layout that works in an email:

Subject: [Client name]: [Month] items we need from you

Hi [Name],

To finish [Month] we need a receipt or a one line explanation for
the items below. A photo of the receipt is fine.

Date | Amount | Shown on statement as
[dd Mon] | [amount] | [payee text]
[dd Mon] | [amount] | [payee text]

If you cannot find one, reply "no receipt" next to the item and add
what it was for.

Please reply by [date].

Thanks,
[Your name]

Step 4: a note for items that cannot be found

Some items will never have a document. Keep a consistent internal note for them so that the reason is recorded rather than remembered. A possible layout:

Missing item note
Client:            [name]
Bank line:         [date] [amount] [payee text]
What it was for:   [client's explanation]
Confirmed by:      [client name], [date], [how: email / call]
Document sought:  [where you looked / who you asked]
Treated as:        [how you posted it]
Reviewed by:       [initials, date]

Whether a note is enough for a given item is a judgement for you and your firm, based on the official guidance. It is not something this page can decide.

Step 5: set a cut off

Pick a day after which unresolved items move to a query list and the month is finished with those items marked as open. Agree the day with the client at the start of the engagement, not when the first gap appears. A simple timetable you can adjust:

Day 0: statement imported, matching done, gaps sorted.
Day 1: single request sent.
Day 4: one reminder, listing only what is still open.
Day 8: final reminder, stating the cut off date.
Day 10: unresolved items go to the query list and the month is closed.

What the official sources say about records

HMRC's page on what records to keep for self-employed people lists "all business expenses", "all receipts for goods and stock", "sales invoices, till rolls and bank slips" and "bank statements, chequebook stubs" as types of proof: gov.uk, what records to keep.

Revenue (Ireland) says: "You must keep anything that is used to calculate your Income Tax, Corporation Tax (CT) or Capital Gains Tax (CGT)." and lists receipts for expenses, receipts for purchases, sales invoices, nominal ledgers and accounting books: revenue.ie, keeping records.

Read the pages themselves for the conditions that apply to your clients.

We are considering a tool for this problem and keep an interest list for firms that would want one: see the Slipnudge home page.