Bookkeeping Cleanup & Catch-Up Services
When your books need to be right: for a lender, a buyer, tax preparation, or internal decision-making
If your books are behind, inconsistent, or don't hold up to scrutiny, cleanup rebuilds them into something you can rely on. We work with established companies that often have tangled accounting systems, multiple entities, or years of accumulated issues, and we bring the file to an accurate, defensible state. Whether you're preparing for financing, a sale, or a new fiscal year, or you're tired of not trusting your own numbers, we get the books right.
We work with businesses nationwide, entirely virtually, with a fixed project fee quoted up front.
What bookkeeping cleanup includes
Bookkeeping cleanup is more than catching up transactions. It's a thorough review and correction process that restores accuracy and reliability.
Cleanup typically includes:
Catch-up bookkeeping for prior months or years
Review and correction of income and expense categorization
Bank and credit card reconciliations
Cleanup of duplicates, misclassifications, and gaps
Organization of accounts for clear reporting
Clean, CPA-ready financial statements
For more complex files, cleanup may also involve:
Reconstructing and reconciling multiple bank, credit card, and loan accounts
Untangling intercompany transactions across related entities
Correcting job costing or WIP so project profitability is accurate
Rebuilding A/R and A/P subledgers that no longer tie to the general ledger
Straightening out inventory and cost of goods sold
Correcting payroll and multi-state payroll entries
Revising a chart of accounts that expanded over the years without a clear structure
Who needs bookkeeping cleanup?
This service is recommended when:
You're preparing for a loan, a line of credit, or a bonding application and need financials that stand up
You're heading into due diligence for a sale or investment
You've grown through acquisition, added entities, or changed systems and things never fully reconciled
Your CPA flags the same issues every year
A prior bookkeeper left, and you inherited a file you can't fully trust
Your reporting doesn't match reality, and you're making decisions on numbers you're not sure of
What we'll need from you
Cleanup is designed to demand very little of your time. Typically we ask for:
Accountant access to your QuickBooks Online file (we'll walk you through it, takes about two minutes)
Bank and credit card statements for the cleanup period
Loan statements and payroll reports, if applicable
Answers to a short list of questions about unclear transactions, usually one consolidated list rather than a stream of emails
That's it. We handle the rest, and you keep running your business.
Signs your QuickBooks file needs a cleanup
Your Profit & Loss shows income or expenses that don't make sense
Negative balances appear in accounts that should not be negative (like your bank balance, unless you’re overdrawn)
"Uncategorized Expense" or "Ask My Accountant" has a large balance
Undeposited Funds keeps growing and never clears
Bank balances in QuickBooks are wildly different from balances shown on your actual bank statements
Old, unpaid invoices or bills are still open, but you know they were paid
You switched bookkeepers, software, or entity types and things never quite lined up
Your entities don't reconcile against each other, and intercompany balances don't net to zero
Your job or project reports don't match your P&L
Any one of these might be a fairly simple fix. Several together usually means it's time for a structured cleanup rather than piecemeal fixes.
How the cleanup process works
1. Diagnostic
Before any work begins, we review your file and give you a written assessment: what's wrong, what it takes to fix, and a fixed price to do it. You get a clear picture and a firm number before you commit to the full engagement.
2. Catch-Up & Corrections
We bring all outstanding periods current, reconcile accounts, and correct errors.
3. Quality Check
We review the full set of books to ensure accuracy and consistency.
4. Clean Starting Point
You receive organized, reliable financials you can confidently use, and hand off to your CPA if needed.
Common questions about bookkeeping cleanup
How far behind is too far?
There’s no limit. We routinely clean up books that are several years behind.
What does cleanup cost?
Every cleanup is quoted as a fixed fee, so you know the full cost before we begin. Scope varies with how many months or years are involved, how many accounts and entities you have, whether job costing or inventory is in play, and how much has to be rebuilt rather than adjusted. We start with a paid diagnostic ($500, credited toward your cleanup if you move forward), which gives you a firm price with no guessing. Full cleanups typically begin at $2500.
Do I need cleanup if I plan to bring on ongoing accounting support?
Often, yes. Cleanup means your monthly work starts from an accurate foundation instead of carrying old errors forward.
How long does a cleanup take?
Most cleanups are completed in two to six weeks, depending on how many periods are involved and how quickly we receive statements and answers to open questions.
Do you only clean up QuickBooks?
QuickBooks Online is our specialty, including files converted from QuickBooks Desktop. If you're on other software, ask. In many cases part of the engagement is moving your books onto QBO with clean data.
Do you work with businesses outside Hawaii?
Yes. Many of our cleanup clients are on the mainland. All work is done virtually through QuickBooks Online, secure document sharing, and video calls scheduled around your time zone.
Will this fix issues my CPA flagged?
Yes. Cleanup resolves the kinds of issues CPAs often identify at tax time.
What happens after cleanup?
Many clients move directly into monthly accounting support once cleanup is complete.
Ready to get your books back on track?
Cleanup is a focused, one-time project with a fixed fee and a clear finish line.
It starts with a diagnostic: a clear look at where your books stand, and what it’s going to take to fix them.
