Books fall behind for ordinary reasons: a busy season, a staff change, a year when the business simply came first. A cleanup brings the file back to accurate and organized. Here is what that work involves, from the first look to a file your tax preparer can use.
How far back it goes
As far back as necessary. Sometimes that is only to the year your last tax return was prepared, which keeps the cost down. The scope is agreed in the quote, before any work begins.
What gets fixed
- Missing months entered, so the books cover everything that happened.
- Accounts reconciled until the books match the bank again.
- Expenses categorized correctly, all the way back to where the problems started.
- A file your tax preparer can use without a scramble at tax time.
How it is quoted
A cleanup is scoped and quoted on its own, before work begins. If you are not sure how deep the problems go, a QuickBooks Evaluation can tell you first.
What to have ready
Access to your QuickBooks Online file, bank and card statements for the period, and any receipts or bills that never made it in. A shoebox is a fine place to start.
What keeps it clean afterward
A cleanup is how monthly bookkeeping with us begins when the books need it. Once the file is right, the monthly work keeps it current, so next tax season starts from finished books. And you will not be judged for the state of your books.