How to prepare a documentation checklist to validate with your professional advisor

01

The short answer

A documentation checklist is prepared by listing the books and records that the Civil Code requires or that are needed based on the nature and size of the business: journal ledger, inventory book, original correspondence and invoices, plus any relevant corporate books. The checklist should then be validated with the professional advisor by checking form, drafting timelines and retention period.

02

What documents to include in the checklist

• The journal ledger records day by day the transactions related to the business's operations.
• The inventory book is drawn up at the start of the business and then every year, listing the business's assets and liabilities.
• Additional accounting records depend on the nature and size of the business.
• Originals and copies of letters, telegrams and invoices must be kept in order for each transaction.
• Limited liability companies also keep specific corporate books, such as the book of shareholders' decisions.

03

How to build the checklist step by step

Steps

1. List the books required for the company form: journal ledger, inventory book and, for LLCs, the corporate books under Article 2478.
2. Check whether the books require sequential numbering and, where applicable, stamping or certification.
3. If records are kept digitally, provide for time-stamping and digital signature at least once a year on the entries.
4. Check the signing date of the inventory, within three months of the deadline for filing the tax return.
5. Note the ten-year retention period for records, invoices, and letters and telegrams received or sent.

04

A hypothetical case

Hypothesis: a small LLC starts business in January. In its checklist it includes the journal ledger and the inventory book, drawn up under Article 2217, and the corporate books under Article 2478 kept by directors and auditors. If the accounts are kept digitally, it adds an item on the annual time-stamping required under Article 2215-bis.

05

Minimum items to check off with the professional

• Journal ledger with transactions recorded day by day.
• Inventory book signed within the deadline set out in Article 2217.
• Originals and copies of invoices, letters and telegrams kept for each transaction.
• Sequential numbering of accounting books and, where required, stamping.
• Meeting minutes with date, participants, capital represented and voting outcome, where relevant.

06

How to set up the workflow in management software

A business can ask its software provider to configure a register of documentation deadlines, with defined roles for who drafts, who digitally signs and who archives. This is a suggested operational approach, not a requirement derived from a specific feature.

It is also useful to keep track of versions of digitally kept books and set a reminder for the annual time-stamping, to make periodic review with the professional easier.

07

Frequently asked questions about the checklist

The checklist should distinguish books required by law, such as the journal ledger and inventory book, from records required only by the nature or size of the business.

For companies, the checklist should also include specific corporate books, such as the book of shareholders' decisions required for LLCs.

08

Next step

Share the checklist with your professional advisor before the year-end close, checking together the form of the books, signing deadlines and the ten-year retention period.