What US bookkeeping covers
Bookkeeping is the monthly record of what came into and went out of your company, sorted into categories and checked against your bank and payment accounts. It is the base layer for everything else: tax returns, investor updates, loan applications and your own decisions. For a foreign-owned US company, it has one more job. It must capture every transaction between you and the company, because those transactions are what Form 5472 reports to the IRS.
The IRS requires businesses to keep books and records sufficient to show that their tax returns are correct. For foreign-owned disregarded entities, the Form 5472 instructions also require records of related-party transactions. Good monthly books are the simplest way to meet both.
Who this is for
- Non-US founders with a US LLC who receive payments through Stripe, PayPal, Amazon, Shopify or clients by wire.
- Agencies and freelancers invoicing US and international clients through a US entity.
- E-commerce sellers with multiple sales channels, fees, refunds and chargebacks.
- Startups that need clean monthly numbers for investors or a future due diligence review.
- Owners who have fallen behind and need several months or years cleaned up before tax season.
What BookMyLLC handles
- Setup of a chart of accounts suited to your business model in a standard cloud accounting tool.
- Connection of bank, card and payment platform feeds, or import of statements where feeds are not available.
- Monthly categorization of income and expenses, with questions sent to you only for unclear items.
- Reconciliation of each bank and platform account to its statement balance.
- A separate record of owner contributions, distributions and payments between you and the company.
- Tracking of payments to contractors so you know who may need a Form 1099-NEC, and collection reminders for Form W-9 or W-8BEN.
- Monthly profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
- A year-end package handed to your tax preparer.
Step-by-step process
- Onboarding call. We learn how you sell, which platforms you use, and how you pay yourself.
- Access. You grant read-only access to bank and platform accounts, or send statements each month.
- Setup. The chart of accounts, categories and rules are configured.
- Opening balances. Your starting position is set, including any capital you put in when the company was formed.
- Monthly close. Transactions are categorized and reconciled, and you receive your statements.
- Year-end. Accounts are finalized and the tax package is prepared for your return.
Documents and information you need
- EIN letter and formation documents.
- Access to, or monthly statements from, every bank account and payment platform the company uses.
- Invoices you issued and bills you paid, especially for amounts that are not obvious from the statement.
- A list of contractors, where they are based, and the tax forms they have given you.
- Details of any money you moved between personal and company accounts.
Timeline
Initial setup typically takes one to two weeks once we have access. After that, each month is usually closed within a few weeks of month-end, depending on how quickly statements and answers come in. Catch-up work for past months is quoted separately and its timeline depends on the volume of transactions.
Why owner transactions need special care
When you put money into your LLC or take money out, it is not income or an expense. It is an owner contribution or distribution. If these are mixed into sales or costs, your profit figure is wrong and your Form 5472 may miss reportable transactions. The IRS instructions list amounts paid or received in connection with forming, funding and distributing from the entity as reportable. The penalty for failing to file a correct Form 5472 on time is USD 25,000, so we keep these transactions in their own accounts and give your tax preparer a clear list at year-end.
Contractors and Form 1099-NEC
If your US company pays a US person for services, you may need to file Form 1099-NEC with the IRS by 31 January of the following year. For payments made from 2026 onward, the IRS reporting threshold rose to 2,000 US dollars per recipient for the year. Payments to contractors outside the US generally do not go on a 1099-NEC, but you should collect a Form W-8BEN from them to document their foreign status. We track these so the year-end filing is a short task, not a hunt through statements.
What your monthly report looks like
Each month you receive a profit and loss statement, a balance sheet and a short list of open questions. The profit and loss shows gross sales by channel, platform fees, cost of goods where relevant, and operating expenses such as software, advertising and contractors. The balance sheet shows cash in each account, amounts owed to and by the company, and the running total of what you have put in and taken out. If a number moves sharply from the prior month, we note why so you are not left guessing.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using a personal account for business. It blurs your records and can weaken the liability protection of your LLC.
- Recording platform payouts, not sales. Stripe or Amazon deposit net amounts after fees and refunds, so recording only the deposit understates both income and costs.
- Leaving it all until March. A year of transactions in one go is slower and more error-prone than twelve small monthly closes.
- No receipts. Keep invoices and receipts for expenses, since a bank line alone does not show what was bought.
This is general information, not tax or accounting advice. A CPA should confirm treatment of specific transactions.
Related services
Read our guide to bookkeeping for small business. When the year closes, your books feed straight into tax preparation and planning, and for advice on unusual items you can book a CPA consultation. See the pricing page for current fees.
Bookkeeping at a glance
| What we do | What you do |
|---|---|
| Connect your bank and payment accounts | Give us read access or monthly statements |
| Categorise each transaction | Answer questions about unclear items |
| Reconcile accounts each month | Keep business and personal spending apart |
| Produce a monthly report | Review it and flag anything unexpected |
| Prepare records for tax time | Send contracts or invoices that explain large entries |
What a monthly report shows
| Report | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Profit and loss | Income and expenses for the month and year to date |
| Balance sheet | What the company owns and owes at month end |
| Transaction list | Every category assigned, for review |
| Open questions | Items waiting for your answer |
Clean books are what make tax filing fast. They also help when a bank or marketplace asks for evidence of revenue.
Why bookkeeping and tax belong together
A tax return is only as accurate as the records behind it. Foreign-owned LLCs especially need clear records of money moving between owner and company, because Form 5472 asks about it. Books kept monthly make that easy; books rebuilt at year-end rarely are. Learn how this connects to IRS filing.
Why owner transactions need special care
Money that moves between you and your company has to be recorded as what it is: a capital contribution, a distribution, a loan or a payment for services. A loose "transfer" label is where records fall apart and where the IRS asks questions. Foreign-owned LLCs report these amounts on Form 5472, so the way they are booked affects a federal filing.
We set up clear categories for owner activity from the first month and ask you to confirm anything unclear, so year-end is a review instead of a rebuild.
