Bookkeeping without connecting your bank account
Use the bank and credit card statements you already have. Arkrel organizes their transactions by merchant, remembers your review decisions and brings the activity into a view of your year.
Start by uploading one statement free. Review the merchants and preview My year, with no card needed. Choose a paid plan when you are ready for the full tax report, downloads, exports and accountant sharing.
Start with files you choose
A statement-based workflow gives you a clear starting point: a file, an account and a period. Download the statement from your bank or card provider, then upload it to Arkrel. You can also forward statements to your Arkrel email-in address.
This works well when you prefer to bring in records yourself, have older statements saved in a folder or want to organize a specific tax year. You decide which files to add and when to add the next month.
Build a complete picture of the period
List the accounts you used for business, including cards that appear only as payments on a checking statement. Check the dates on each file and note missing months. Keep receipts and other supporting records with the statements so you can explain the purchases during review.
- Use an account-and-month checklist to track the statements you have collected.
- Include credit card statements so you can see the purchases behind card payments.
- Keep separate records for business activity outside those accounts, such as cash receipts.
- Bring forward questions about unfamiliar merchants, mixed-use purchases or money moving between your accounts.
For a practical first-session checklist, read where to start when you are behind on bookkeeping.
Review merchants with your business context
Arkrel groups transactions by merchant so you can work through familiar names together. Confirm a merchant and the rule remembers it for next time. Give extra attention to stores you use for both work and personal purchases, and check the supporting records when a description is unclear.
The review is where your knowledge matters. A store name can help you recognize a transaction; the purchase and its purpose explain how it belongs in your books. See how to separate business and personal expenses for mixed-account examples.
Choose the year you want to work on
Catch-Up is $499 one time per purchased tax year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It unlocks that year's statements and receipts, merchant review, My year, the tax report, exports and accountant sharing.
Autopilot is $49 per month with a 14-day free trial. It covers the current calendar year and gives you an ongoing upload or email-in routine. Bring in the new statements as they become available, then review the merchants that need your attention.
Explore monthly bookkeeping for self-employed people if you want to keep the current year moving.
Questions about statement-based bookkeeping
Do I need to connect a bank account?
Arkrel does not connect to your bank. Add activity by uploading statements or forwarding them to your Arkrel email-in address.
How do new transactions get into my books?
Upload or forward the next statement when it is available. Keep the account-and-month checklist up to date so you know which periods your records cover.
Can I use statements from a previous year?
Yes. Catch-Up unlocks the tax year you purchase. Collect each year's records separately; the prior-year bookkeeping guide explains how to organize them.
Can I take the results to my accountant?
Paid plans unlock the full tax report, downloads, exports and accountant sharing. The report brings together a profit and loss summary, Schedule C totals and the transaction detail behind your year.
What can I try before paying?
Upload one statement, review its merchants and preview My year for free, with no card needed. That gives you a concrete way to see how the workflow fits your records.
Put one statement to work
Choose a statement from the year you want to organize. Start with the merchants you recognize and see your first My year preview.