Shoebox is a records problem, not a character test
I have rebuilt files from a cardboard box, a dead laptop, and a zip of blurry photos.
Missing records are normal. Pretending they are not is how catch-up work turns into fiction. If we cannot support a number, it does not land on the statements as if we could.
That is the rule in reconstructing books from bank statements. This post is what happens when a month, an account, or a whole processor is gone.
What we try before we call it a gap
- Bank and card statement reorders for every known account
- Merchant processor and loan histories
- Payroll reports, 1099s, and prior-year returns
- Whatever the old software will still export
IRS guidance on how long to keep records is the standard I measure against. Banks can often produce years of statements even when the client cannot. Three-year files are still in play; see 3 years behind on bookkeeping.
What the gap report actually contains
Dollar amounts where the bank shows activity we cannot classify with a source document. Periods with no statements at all. Accounts that existed on a prior return and do not appear in the current stack.
Your preparer, lender, or buyer diligence team decides how to treat those items. We do not decide by smoothing the P&L. Book reconstruction for tax deadlines is explicit about this. Reconstruction for tax professionals is the same rule when the file is a resolution case.
Sample deliverables shows the monthly statement set. A rebuild includes those reports plus the gap log for each year.
Why estimating is worse than a hole
An estimated number looks finished. It is not supportable. That is a problem when the IRS expects records that back the return, when a buyer walks revenue to deposits, or when a partner has to sign.
CPA firms that want this work under their brand start at For CPA Firms. Pricing is still diagnostic first, then a fixed quote. Missing records change the quote. They do not change the no-invention rule.
The Journal of Accountancy has written about professional liability when outsourced work meets incomplete files. Documented gaps are diligence. Invented completeness is risk.
Send what you have. Label what you do not.
Get a reconstruction quote with the records you can find. We will tell you in writing what is missing.