Cleanup
Catch-Up Bookkeeping Services
Falling behind on the books is common and fixable. What matters is rebuilding the record accurately rather than force-fitting transactions to make the file look finished.
We bring back periods, reconcile them, and hand you numbers that hold up — for your tax preparer, for a lender, or simply so you know where the business stands.
The problem
Behind is not just a paperwork problem
When books are months behind, everything else stalls. Tax filings get extended. Loan applications get delayed. Nobody knows the real profit, so pricing and payroll decisions get made blind.
The longer it sits, the harder reconstruction becomes — statements get archived, vendors change systems, and memory fades on what a payment was for.
Signs you may need this
- Multiple months or years have never been reconciled
- You filed an extension because the records were not ready
- The accounting file was abandoned partway through a year
- A bookkeeper left mid-year and nobody picked it up
- You need financials for a loan, insurance, or bonding application
- Prior-year balances do not agree to the filed return
What we do
How the work actually runs
01
Scope the gap
We identify exactly which periods, accounts, and entities are incomplete, and what source records are available before quoting the work.
02
Gather source data
Bank, credit card, merchant, loan, and payroll records for the full catch-up period, assembled in one place.
03
Rebuild period by period
Transactions recorded and reconciled in chronological order so each period closes on a verified balance rather than a plug.
04
Agree to prior filings
Opening balances tied to the last filed return or the last verified period, with differences documented rather than hidden.
05
Hand off or continue
A completed file, a summary of what was found, and either a handoff to your team or an ongoing schedule so it does not recur.
Deliverables
What you receive
- Reconciled accounts for every catch-up period
- Monthly and annual profit and loss and balance sheet
- Documented list of assumptions and unresolved items
- Prior-year comparison to filed returns where available
- Year-end package for your tax preparer
- A plan to stay current going forward
Outcome
What changes
You get a defensible history instead of a gap. Filings can proceed, applications can move, and you finally see what the business earned during the period you were flying blind.
Catch-up work also usually surfaces something useful: a duplicated subscription, an unbilled customer, a loan recorded as income. Those findings often pay for part of the project.
Best suited to
- Businesses one month to several years behind
- Owners facing a filing deadline or extension
- Companies applying for financing, bonding, or insurance
- Businesses that lost a bookkeeper mid-year
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Related services
Where clients usually go next
Cleanup
QuickBooks Cleanup Services
QuickBooks cleanup for small businesses: fix miscoded transactions, broken reconciliations, and a distorted chart of accounts so reports can be trusted.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping Services for Small Businesses
Online bookkeeping services for U.S. small businesses. Accurate coding, monthly reconciliations, and books that stay current instead of falling behind.
Monthly close
Monthly Accounting and Month-End Close
Outsourced monthly accounting and month-end close for U.S. small businesses: reconciled accounts, accruals, reviewed statements, and a fixed close date.
Next step
Discuss a Cleanup
Tell us how far behind you are — no judgment, just a scope and a plan.