Where to start?

[acheronia]

Hey everyone.. first time poster

I've just agreed to help a friend's mother's business with her books and have now come to the realisation that nothing has ever been done for bookkeeping. She started the business about 30 years ago and just never bothered keeping any sort of record... of anything.. After getting over the initial shock, I've asked her about SARS and how she has been paying tax and I just can't get a clear answer out of her.

I've discussed the ramifications of this with my friend, seeing that the plan is for her to take over the business from her mom. She is fully onboard that everything needs to be done correctly and we need to make sure that all the proper registrations (Income tax?, annual returns for CIPC?, the list goes on) are in place and in order.

But all this is fairly basic stuff and even though it's a mountain of work to work through, not that hard or complicated. This all brings me to my real question:

Concerning the bookkeeping:
1. Which year do I start with getting everything on an accounting system? I prefer Pastel, so I'll be using that.
2. What do I do with opening balances?
3. Is it easier to start capturing on a month by month basis (starting on whatever question 1 was answered)?
4. How far back do I attempt to go regarding the bookkeeping?

I'd appreciate any guidance.

Thank you