Bookkeeping in Thailand

Bookkeeping is the continuing record of what the business earns, spends, owns and owes. It should support both day-to-day decisions and the statements and returns required for the entity. Leaving everything until the annual audit makes missing evidence and unexplained balances harder to resolve.

Confirm whether the entity must appoint a qualified bookkeeper and record the responsible person correctly. DBD’s qualification rules changed from 1 January 2026; check current status through its e-Accountant service instead of relying only on an old certificate or a sales claim. A bookkeeping role and a CPA audit role are different.

Agree the chart of accounts, accounting period, invoice process, bank and cash controls, software and document cutoff. If an external firm handles the books, make clear who in the business supplies complete evidence and answers questions.

A bank transfer shows that money moved. It may not show what was bought, which period it belongs to, whether it is a company cost or how tax should be handled. Keep the invoice or receipt, order or contract, delivery evidence where relevant and proof of payment together.

Use a consistent filing reference so a ledger entry can be traced back to the source. Include cash purchases, owner-paid business expenses, refunds, credit notes, platform sales and bank charges. Ask the accountant how to record capital and shareholder or director loans rather than treating every deposit as sales.

For payment gateways and online marketplaces, retain gross sales, fees, refunds and settlement reports. Recording only the net bank deposit can hide revenue and expenses. Agree how each settlement reconciles to the underlying transactions.

Confirm the business’s VAT status before designing invoices or charging VAT. A commercial invoice, receipt and VAT tax invoice do not necessarily serve the same purpose. A VAT registrant’s tax documents and reports need the particulars and processes required by the Revenue Department.

Ask the bookkeeper to review the business name, tax identification, address and branch details on issued and received documents. Establish a controlled numbering and correction process. Do not create a backdated invoice or replace a genuine record with an edited version merely to make the ledger balance.

Before an unusual supplier or overseas payment, ask about withholding tax, VAT and the supporting evidence. The applicable treatment depends on the transaction and parties; one universal percentage or a supplier’s informal assurance is not a reliable substitute for review.

Match every bank and cash balance to the ledger. Reconcile payment-gateway settlements and investigate differences instead of rolling them forward indefinitely. Keep a list of missing documents with a responsible person and a resolution date.

Review customer debts, supplier bills, stock movements, fixed assets, payroll and loans. Check whether a transaction has been duplicated, omitted or posted to the wrong period. Separate routine processing from judgements that need the accountant or management to decide.

Ask for a monthly package you can use: trial balance, profit and loss, balance sheet, cash position, receivables, payables and the tax amounts due where relevant. Discuss significant changes. A report delivered on time is less useful if nobody understands the unexplained balances.

Separate preparation, approval and payment where the size of the business allows. Reconcile cash regularly and document who can approve expenses, refunds, supplier changes and bank payments. For a small team, a director’s independent review can help compensate for limited staff separation.

Give people only the access their role requires and use the system’s supported delegation and approval controls. A provider should not be the sole holder of the company’s ledger, filing history or recovery contact. Agree export formats and the handover process at the start.

Keep an audit trail for corrections and back up the records. Do not delete an original transaction just because a later adjustment is needed. Explain the correction and preserve the supporting evidence so a reviewer can follow what happened.

The Revenue Code’s VAT record provisions require relevant invoices, reports and supporting documents to be retained for at least five years from the relevant filing or report date, with additional rules and possible longer periods. Other accounting, employment, contractual or dispute records can have different requirements.

Ask the adviser to set a retention schedule covering the record type, starting date, location and accepted format. Do not assume that scanning a document automatically permits destruction of the original, or that storing everything in an overseas cloud account satisfies every Thai requirement.

Keep original electronic records and metadata where applicable, with readable exports and reliable access after staff or software changes. Preserve records longer where an assessment, investigation, claim or other legal requirement makes that necessary.