How often should I reconcile my bank and credit card accounts?

Once a month, as soon as each bank and credit card statement closes. That is the rhythm most bookkeepers work on, and it keeps the books ready for your CPA at year end.

Reconciling means checking that your books match the statement to the penny. Doing it monthly catches a missed deposit, a charge counted twice or a bank fee nobody booked while the month is still fresh. Wait a year and you are digging through twelve statements to find one mistake. An account with heavy traffic is worth a look every week.

In Switchbooks, Switch reconciles in the chat: give him the statement end date and ending balance, or drop the statement in. Turn on the weekly books check with Do the work too, and every week he reconciles to the statements Switchbooks already has. With the weekly check on, early each month he also leaves a note on what is left before last month can close.