Ready for a bookkeeping spreadsheet alternative?
Your spreadsheet may have started with a few columns and a monthly total. Now there are repeated merchants, tabs for several accounts and questions about which rows are finished. Arkrel gives you a statement-based way to organize the work and review the year.
Upload one statement free, review merchants and preview My year. No card needed. Full tax reports, downloads, exports and accountant sharing unlock with a paid plan.
Choose the work you want to stop repeating
A spreadsheet can be a useful recordkeeping system when you maintain it consistently. Before changing tools, identify the part that is getting in your way: entering statement rows, revisiting the same merchants, assembling category totals or preparing a readable handoff.
Arkrel starts from bank and card statements and receipts. It groups transactions by merchant and remembers confirmed rules. You spend the review on what the purchases mean for your business, then use My year to see the organized activity together.
Compare the workflow with your current workbook
Getting transactions into the record
In a manually maintained workbook, you enter or paste the transactions and keep the columns consistent. With Arkrel, you upload or email the source statements. Keep an account-and-month checklist whichever approach you choose.
Handling familiar merchants
Your workbook may use formulas, saved categories or notes to handle repeat purchases. Arkrel groups activity by merchant, with rules that remember your confirmations. Check merchants with mixed business and personal purchases carefully in either workflow.
Preparing the output
A workbook gives you the totals and views you build into it. Arkrel's paid plans provide a tax report with a profit and loss summary, Schedule C totals and likely deductions to review. They also unlock downloads, exports and accountant sharing.
Move over without losing the context you already recorded
Choose the tax year you want to prepare and save a dated copy of your workbook. Keep the notes that explain unusual expenses, cash activity and adjustments. Those decisions are valuable reference material as you review your source records.
Next, gather the statements for that year. Start Arkrel with one statement whose transactions you know well. Compare the merchant review with your existing notes, paying attention to differences in dates, coverage and categories. A useful comparison starts with the same account and period. For the evidence behind the rows, use the receipt organization guide.
Keep unresolved differences in a short question list. If one total includes a missing month or a card payment appears alongside its underlying purchases, resolve that coverage issue before judging the result. Read how a profit and loss report comes together from statements for a closer look at the output.
Pick a paid plan for the records you need
Catch-Up costs $499 one time per purchased tax year and includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. Use it for the year you want to bring together from statements and receipts.
Autopilot costs $49 per month, with a 14-day free trial, and covers the current calendar year. It gives you a recurring upload or email-in workflow as new statements arrive. See monthly bookkeeping for self-employed people for the ongoing routine.
Questions about switching from a spreadsheet
Do I have to finish my spreadsheet first?
You can start with the source statements you already have. Save your existing workbook and notes, then use them to check the activity and decisions during review.
What should I use for my first test?
Choose one statement from a period you know well. Review the merchants and preview My year for free, then compare the coverage with your current records.
Should I keep my old workbook?
Keep it with the supporting records for the period it covers, especially when it contains explanations, cash records or decisions you may need to revisit.
Can I still give my accountant an organized file?
Paid plans unlock downloads, exports and accountant sharing. Before handing over the year, ask which format they prefer and use the self-employed tax document checklist to prepare the supporting records.
Is a spreadsheet acceptable for business records?
The IRS allows a recordkeeping system suited to the business that clearly shows income and expenses. The useful question is whether your system is complete, supported by records and practical for you to maintain.
Compare using your own statement
See how merchant review feels with a real month of your records before choosing how to handle the rest of the year.