CPB Bookkeeper common mistakes
CPB Bookkeeper · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Recording a transaction on the wrong side of the ledger - e.g., debiting Sales and crediting Cash for a cash sale, or debiting an expense when the account actually decreases.
Candidates reason from the bank statement's point of view ("cash went up, so record it as a plus like my bank app") instead of from the account's normal balance, so increases and decreases get flipped.
What to do instead
Before writing any entry, state the account type and its normal balance out loud (asset = debit, liability/equity/revenue = credit), then ask "is this account increasing or decreasing?" Post the entry to its normal side for an increase and the opposite side for a decrease. Drill 20 mixed entries until the normal-balance table is automatic.
Expensing a purchase that should be capitalized, or capitalizing routine repairs - e.g., recording a new delivery van as Vehicle Expense, or adding a $4,000 engine replacement that extends the van's life to the expense account.
Candidates rely on the dollar amount or on what the invoice is titled rather than on whether the cost adds life or value to the asset, and they have no capitalization policy in mind.
What to do instead
Apply the two-question test: does it extend useful life beyond the original estimate, or increase capacity/value? Yes = capitalize and depreciate; no (keeps it in working order) = expense. Memorize that materiality and company capitalization policy set the dollar threshold, and record the policy so the treatment is consistent.
Skipping period-end adjusting entries - omitting accrued wages, accrued revenue, prepaid insurance/rent that has been used, and unearned revenue that has been earned - so the trial balance foots but the financials are wrong.
Candidates treat the trial balance balancing as proof of correctness and default to cash-basis thinking, since no cash moved on the accrual date.
What to do instead
At every period end run a fixed four-item checklist: accrued expense, accrued revenue, prepaid expense used, unearned revenue earned. Ask "did the economic event happen even though cash did not move?" and write the adjusting entry before closing the period.
Entering account-to-account transfers as two separate transactions (a check from Account A and a deposit to Account B), which double-counts the movement and leaves both registers wrong.
Candidates carry over habits from other software where a transfer is just two entries, and they don't know the dedicated Transfer feature exists.
What to do instead
Use the Transfer function for every movement between company accounts so QuickBooks writes both sides from one transaction. If two separate entries already exist, delete or void both and re-enter as a single transfer; then confirm the transfer appears correctly in both registers before reconciling.
Deleting transactions to clean up errors instead of voiding them, wiping out the audit trail and breaking any reconciliation the item was part of.
Deleting feels like the fastest fix in the register, and candidates don't connect it to the audit trail or to the reconciliation discrepancy it creates.
What to do instead
Default to Void (or a credit memo / adjusting entry) so the original transaction and its history remain visible. Reserve deletion for genuine duplicate entries that were never reconciled, and re-run the reconciliation after any void to confirm the ending balance still ties to the statement.
Receiving customer payments into Undeposited Funds and never completing the Bank Deposit step, so QuickBooks shows money in Undeposited Funds while the bank shows a deposit that never gets matched.
Candidates don't realize Receive Payment and Bank Deposit are a deliberate two-step flow that mirrors the real deposit slip, so they stop after step one.
What to do instead
Always follow a payment posted to Undeposited Funds with a Bank Deposit that matches the actual deposit slip total and date. Before reconciling, confirm the Undeposited Funds balance equals checks actually not yet taken to the bank - it should be zero if everything has cleared.
Treating employee withholdings as an employer expense - e.g., expensing the full gross payroll plus the employee's share of FICA again, or reporting only the employee half of Social Security and Medicare as the employer liability.
Candidates blur the difference between money withheld from the employee (a liability held in trust) and money the employer owes on top of wages.
What to do instead
Split every payroll into three lines: gross wages expense, employee withholdings as liabilities, and employer taxes (matching FICA plus FUTA plus SUTA) as a separate expense and liability. Check the employer FICA figure equals the employee FICA figure before posting.
Computing overtime as 1.5 times every hour worked, or applying a daily overtime rule, instead of 1.5 times the regular rate only for hours over 40 in the workweek - and leaving nondiscretionary bonuses out of the regular rate.
Candidates import state or union-contract habits and forget that the federal regular rate must include production bonuses and commissions, not just base hourly pay.
What to do instead
Total straight-time earnings (base pay plus allocable nondiscretionary bonus/commission) divided by total hours worked = regular rate. Pay straight time for all hours, then add an extra half-time premium for hours over 40 in the workweek. Note any state daily-OT rule separately as an additional requirement.
Dumping a long, jargon-heavy narrative at the client instead of stating the answer first - e.g., replying to "why is my profit lower than my bank balance?" with a paragraph on accrual concepts and never directly answering the question or naming the next action.
Candidates equate thoroughness with length and want to demonstrate technical knowledge, so the actual answer and required action get buried or omitted.
What to do instead
Use a three-part structure every time: the answer in one sentence, the one or two reasons that matter, then the specific action and owner. Write at the client's level of accounting knowledge, and close by confirming in writing what was done and what is still needed from them.
Guessing at missing or illegible source documents (unidentified bank deposits, missing receipts, unclear vendor names) rather than asking the client, and answering questions that are outside the bookkeeping engagement - such as giving tax or legal advice.
Candidates want to finish the work and appear capable, and they haven't internalized the boundary between recording transactions and advising on tax or law.
What to do instead
Keep a written open-items list and send one consolidated, specific request to the client rather than posting a plug figure. When a question falls outside scope, say so, state the boundary of the engagement, and refer the client to their CPA or attorney - then document the referral in the file.