Bookkeeper vacation coverage works when three things are settled before you leave: every close that can be finished early is finished, a named backup has a one-page sheet listing what they may and may not do, and each client has been told who to contact and what will wait. Plan it four weeks ahead and most clients will not notice.
What should a bookkeeper finish before vacation?
Before a vacation, finish every close whose statements already exist, send every client question that is open, and file anything with a deadline during your absence. What cannot be finished, such as a month whose statements arrive while you are away, goes on the backup's sheet with clear instructions.
Work back from the departure date. Four weeks out, list each client and the date their statements usually arrive. Two weeks out, close the previous month for everyone and send the questions lists early, so answers come back before you leave. In the last week, deal with payments, filings and deadlines that fall inside the absence.
Do not start anything new in that last week. A catch-up project or a new client begun two days before a vacation will either sit half done or land on the backup without the context it needs.
Which tasks can a vacation backup run?
A backup can safely run the mechanical steps of a close: collecting statements, converting them, checking that each balances, and categorizing lines that existing rules already cover. Judgment calls should wait for you. A backup who books a large unknown deposit as income, without the history you carry in your head, creates a correction for your return.
A handover sheet the backup works from
Give the backup one sheet. The step list below is an example of what it covers for each client.
- Client and contact. Name, the person who answers questions, and how they prefer to be reached.
- Expected statements. Each account, the last four digits and the usual arrival date.
- What to run. Convert and balance-check new statements, then apply existing rules.
- What to hold. Any line the rules did not categorize, any line over an amount you set, and any new vendor.
- Deadlines inside the absence. Payroll dates, sales tax filings, bill runs, with who owns each.
- When to contact you. Only for a missed deadline or a client emergency, and how.
- What not to do. No exports, no reports sent to clients, no changes to rules.
Let automation take the routine
Recurring work is the easiest to hand over when it already runs on a schedule. In AutoBankConvert you can set a monthly schedule per client, so new statements are converted as they arrive, and lines the rules are unsure about go to a review queue with a suggested category. The backup checks that statements arrived and balanced; the queue waits for you. The guide to accounting automation for bookkeepers covers which other routine steps are worth scheduling before you go.
Who the backup is
For a solo bookkeeper, the backup is often a trusted peer who covers for you and whom you cover in return. Agree in writing what they may see, how client data is handled, and how they are paid. For a small team, it is a colleague who already has access to the client.
Telling clients who covers their books on vacation
Tell clients about your vacation two to three weeks in advance, in one short message. Say the dates, who the backup is, what will happen as normal, and what will wait until you return. Clients worry less about an absence they know about than about a reply that never comes.
A good notice covers:
- The dates you are away and the date you will reply to messages.
- The backup's name and how to reach them for urgent matters.
- What continues: statements are still collected and processed.
- What waits: monthly reports and non-urgent questions.
- Anything the client must send before you leave.
Send the notice again the day before you go, as a short reminder, and set an automatic reply on your email that says the same thing.
A client who will not accept a week's wait
Most clients take a planned absence calmly. A client who insists on same-day answers while you are on vacation, after being told in advance, is telling you something about the engagement. If the same demand shows up in ordinary months, the guide on when to fire a bookkeeping client helps you weigh whether that client is worth keeping.
Vacation coverage for clients with unusual months
Some clients need extra planning before a vacation because their month does not follow the usual pattern: clients with several related entities, clients who just changed banks, and clients with payroll or tax deadlines inside the absence. For these, either finish more work early or give the backup narrower instructions.
Multi-entity clients
Clients with several related companies move money between entities, and those transfers must be booked on both sides. A backup who sees only one side may book the transfer as income or expense. Tell the backup to hold every intercompany line for you. The guide to bookkeeping for multi-entity clients explains why these entries need someone who knows the whole group.
A client who just switched banks
A client in the middle of a bank change has two sets of statements, overlapping dates and transfers between the old and new accounts. Do not leave that to the backup. Finish the first month on the new bank before you go, or tell the backup to collect the statements only. The guide to bookkeeping when a client switches banks lists the checks that month needs.
Deadlines that will not move
Payroll runs and tax filings due during your absence should be done early or assigned to the backup by name, with the exact steps written out. A missed payroll date costs the client more than any bookkeeping error.
If you want new statements processed while you are away, AutoBankConvert can run each client's month on a schedule and leave the judgment calls in a queue for your return.