Catch-up bookkeeping and cleanup.
For an owner who wants the books current again. Every missing month categorized and reconciled to the bank, the mistakes in the done months fixed, and a clean line the monthly work starts from.
- A quote before any work starts
- Reconciled month by month, to the bank and card statements
- A list of what changed, for your tax preparer
You probably need a catch-up if two of these are true.
- 01
The last reconciled month is more than a quarter ago
- 02
Uncategorized transactions are piling up in QuickBooks
- 03
Your tax preparer sent the books back, or asked for an extension
- 04
A lender or buyer wants statements and you are not sure they are right
- 05
The bank balance and the books disagree and nobody knows why
- 06
You switched bookkeepers and the handoff never happened
How a catch-up is quoted.
Quoted by how far behind the books are, transaction volume, number of accounts and their condition. Here is what each of those means in practice.
How far behind
Three months and three years are different jobs. I start from the last month that was actually reconciled, not the last month someone touched.
Transaction volume
Every deposit, card charge and bill in the gap has to be categorized. A month with forty transactions and a month with four hundred are priced differently.
Number of accounts
Each checking account, credit card, loan and payment processor gets reconciled for every month in the gap.
Condition of the books
Missing months are one thing. Months that were entered wrong, duplicated or forced to balance take longer to undo than to do.
What happens, in order.
No shortcuts like a single entry that forces the balance. Each month gets done properly, because the next month’s opening balance depends on it.
- 01
A look at what is there
Read access to QuickBooks, or whatever you use, and the bank and card accounts. I find the last clean month and size the gap.
- 02
The quote
You get the price for the catch-up and for the monthly tier that follows, before any work starts. It is based on the four things above.
- 03
Month by month
Each month in the gap is categorized and reconciled to the bank and card statements, in order, so every month starts where the last one ended.
- 04
The clean-up
Duplicates removed, uncategorized and suspense balances cleared, loan balances tied to the lender's statements, and the opening balances checked.
- 05
A clean line
Statements for the period, a list of what changed and why for your tax preparer, and the monthly work starts the next month.
What I need from you.
Most of it is a login, not a box of paper.
- Read access to every bank and credit card account, or the statements for each month in the gap
- Access to the current books, in whatever program they are in
- Loan statements, and the payroll reports if you run payroll
- Point-of-sale or payment processor reports, if you take cards
- Last year’s tax return, so the opening balances can be checked
- A short call for the questions only you can answer
Then the monthly work starts.
A catch-up gets you current. One of these keeps you there, starting the month after the catch-up ends.
The Foundation
From $600/ month
For an owner who wants more of the accounting handled. Most people land here.
More about The Foundation→The Partner
From $1,800/ month
For an owner who wants a second set of eyes on the numbers and an ongoing financial partner.
More about The Partner→Payroll is an add-on on The Foundation and The Partner. Catch-up is quoted separately. Take the questionnaire and I will bring the tier and the number to the call.
What people ask about catch-up bookkeeping.
If yours is not here, the 15-minute call is where it gets answered.
It is quoted, not listed, because it depends on how far behind the books are, how many transactions and accounts are in the gap, and what condition they are in. You get the number before any work starts.
Catch-up is months that were never done. Cleanup is months that were done wrong: miscategorized, duplicated or forced to balance. Most books that are behind need some of both, and the quote covers both.
As far back as the gap goes, as long as the bank and card statements exist for those months. Most catch-ups go back to the last month that was reconciled, or to the start of the year your tax preparer needs.
No. I get the books to the point where your preparer can file from them, and I give them a list of what changed. The return itself is theirs.
Yes. If the books are in another program, a spreadsheet or nowhere, the bank and card statements are the starting point. QuickBooks Online is included in every monthly tier, and on the call we sort out whether moving to it makes sense.
No. Leave it as it is. What looks like a mess usually makes sense once I can see the bank side, and changes made in a hurry are harder to undo than the original problem.
Find out how far behind is, and what it costs.
Tell me how far back the books go and what they are in. I will come to the 15-minute call with the shape of the quote.