InsightsAbout
Appearance
Get Started

Bookkeeping Cleanup Services

CPA-led bookkeeping cleanup under a confirmed written scope.

Get StartedView Pricing
No commitment Document instructions after acceptance Written response only

Quick Answer

  • If bookkeeping-cleanup work is offered after contact-form intake, the covered records, fee, assumptions, and estimated timing are stated in a written scope before acceptance; no typical price or completion range is represented.
  • Cleanup may include transaction recategorization, reconciliation of specified accounts, duplicate or error review, and agreed financial statements for the periods and records identified in the written scope.
  • Cleanup timing depends on the accepted periods, accounts, transaction volume, record condition, and client responses. Any estimate and its assumptions are stated in the written scope; no universal completion window is promised.
  • A CPA-led cleanup adds tax-classification review and organizes the corrected records for tax preparation and substantiation; it does not promise tax savings or a particular filing result.
  • QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks are both supported. If you're on spreadsheets or another platform, migration to QBO can be part of the cleanup process.
Overview

Bookkeeping cleanup (also called catch-up bookkeeping) is a CPA-led review of identified incomplete or backlogged records. Under an accepted scope, Monaco CPA may review transaction categories, reconcile specified bank and credit-card accounts, address duplicates, and produce scope-limited reports from the supplied records. QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks may be supported. Any offered flat fee starts at $750 and is confirmed after contact-form intake; completeness or a particular financial-statement result is not promised.

If your books are behind, a written bookkeeping-cleanup scope can identify the periods, accounts, and records to be corrected and reconciled.

Greg remains responsible for every cleanup engagement and reviews, approves, and signs all client-facing work. Greg is the sole practitioner. That accountability keeps tax-sensitive classification issues visible throughout the cleanup process.

After contact-form intake, any offered bookkeeping-cleanup scope states a flat fee and covered work in writing; additional work requires separate written approval.

Scope and result: Accepted cleanup addresses and reconciles only the records identified in the written scope. An adjustment may increase, decrease, or leave reported income unchanged; no completeness, deduction-recovery, or tax-savings result is promised.

How it works: Submit the contact form for intake. If work is offered, the written scope identifies the periods, accounts, client-provided records, fee, and estimated timing. Accepted cleanup then addresses only those covered records; no response, completion date, completeness, or tax outcome is promised.

CPA-led review: A cleanup can identify classification, information-return, depreciation, and reconciliation issues within the accepted written scope. Correcting an item may increase, decrease, or leave tax unchanged; the records and applicable law determine the result, and no savings or completeness outcome is promised.

Issues a cleanup may address: Duplicate transactions from overlapping bank feeds, gross-versus-net revenue entries, unsupported Undeposited Funds balances, and personal-versus-business classification questions. Whether an issue exists and how it affects the records depend on the source documents and accepted scope.

When to get a cleanup: You need a cleanup if your tax preparer flagged errors, your previous bookkeeper left a mess, you've been doing your own books on spreadsheets, or you've simply fallen behind. Earlier records may reduce the amount of reconstruction required, but cost and tax effects depend on the actual records.

Personal Review

Tell Greg what you need help with

Share the basics through the contact form. Any response, availability, scope, and timing are confirmed only in writing; no call or consultation is promised.

Get StartedView Pricing
No commitment Written intake only

What's Included

  • Contact-form intake review of your current books
  • Transaction recategorization for entries covered by the written scope
  • Bank and credit-card reconciliation for accounts covered by the written scope
  • Duplicate transaction identification and removal
  • Uncategorized transaction resolution
  • Vendor and payee master-data cleanup; no AP, AR, billing, collections, or payment execution
  • P&L and Balance Sheet for each corrected period
  • Tax-deduction review during cleanup
  • Year-end coordination with tax preparation
  • Optional transition to monthly bookkeeping

How It Works

The written engagement and intake instructions describe the expected steps from first contact through the accepted work; timing and steps may vary with the agreed scope and client-supplied information.

  1. 1

    Contact-Form Intake Review

    I review your QuickBooks/FreshBooks file (or bank statements) and assess the scope of the cleanup.

  2. 2

    Flat-Rate Quote

    If work is offered, the covered records, fee, estimated timing, and assumptions are stated in writing before the engagement is accepted.

  3. 3

    Systematic Cleanup

    I work through each month: recategorizing transactions, reconciling accounts, removing duplicates, and fixing errors.

  4. 4

    Financial Statement Delivery

    You receive an organized P&L and balance sheet for each corrected period for tax preparation and routine internal review. Lender, investor, fundraising, and due-diligence packages are not included.

  5. 5

    Transition to Monthly

    Optional: move to ongoing monthly bookkeeping ($300/mo) so the books stay clean going forward.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is bookkeeping cleanup, and when do I need it?
Bookkeeping cleanup (also called catch-up bookkeeping) is the process of reviewing and correcting messy, incomplete, or outdated financial records. You need it when your books haven't been reconciled in months, your tax preparer flagged errors, a previous bookkeeper left inaccurate records, or you've been tracking finances on spreadsheets instead of accounting software. The goal is to bring your books to a current, accurate, tax-ready state with clean financial statements for each corrected period.
How much does bookkeeping cleanup cost for a small business?
If cleanup work is offered after contact-form intake, its flat fee and covered work are stated in writing before acceptance. Price depends on the periods, transaction volume, accounts, source records, software, and condition of the books; no typical range or engagement is promised.
How long does QuickBooks cleanup take?
Timing is quoted only after reviewing the periods, transaction volume, accounts, available statements, access, and condition of the records. Any written estimate depends on timely client responses and may change if missing records or new issues appear. Work is limited to the accepted scope, and no completion date or completeness result is promised.
What documents do I need to start a cleanup?
To start, I need access to your QuickBooks Online or FreshBooks account (or your bank and credit card statements if you're not on accounting software yet). Helpful additional documents include prior tax returns, 1099s received, loan statements, and any records from a previous bookkeeper. If the request fits current scope and capacity, I may reply in writing with exactly what's needed based on your specific situation; a response is not promised.
Will I owe more taxes after a cleanup?
A cleanup can increase, decrease, or leave tax liability unchanged because the result depends on the entries corrected and the governing tax treatment. Any amended-return work is considered separately after the corrected records are reviewed; no deduction recovery or tax result is promised.
What's the difference between a bookkeeper and a CPA for cleanup?
Cleanup responsibilities vary by provider and written scope. An accepted Monaco CPA scope may include reconciliation and tax-sensitive classification review from supplied records, but it does not guarantee that every issue, deduction, or information return will be identified. Agreed output is organized for the stated tax-preparation or internal-use purpose.
Can you clean up books from multiple years?
A request involving multiple years may be considered after intake. Any accepted scope identifies the periods, accounts, records, work, fee, and estimated timing in writing; no experience claim, starting price, availability, or completion result is promised.
What does monthly bookkeeping include?
Monthly bookkeeping includes transaction categorization, bank and credit-card reconciliation, agreed financial statements, QBO and chart-of-accounts maintenance, and tax-preparation coordination. Vendor/customer master-data review may be included, but billing, collections, AP, AR, and payment execution remain with the client. Pricing starts at $300/month under a separate written scope.
What's the difference between catch-up and cleanup bookkeeping?
The terms are often used interchangeably, but there is a practical distinction. Catch-up bookkeeping generally means assembling records for periods that were not maintained, while cleanup generally means reviewing existing records for identified errors, miscategorizations, or gaps. An accepted engagement may include one or both; covered periods, records, work, and any flat fee are confirmed in writing after intake.
When should a small business hire a bookkeeper?
A small business may consider a professional bookkeeper when reconciliations are behind, a tax preparer has flagged classification errors, employee or contractor records need accounting review, or the owner cannot maintain current records. Bookkeeping does not promise recovered deductions, tax savings, or a return on its fee.
How does clean bookkeeping affect tax reporting?
Clean bookkeeping supplies reconciled records and consistent classifications for tax preparation. Corrections can increase, decrease, or leave taxable income unchanged. Estimated-tax and planning analysis is separate, depends on information the client supplies, and does not include deadline monitoring or a promised outcome.
Which industries do you serve for bookkeeping?
The industries pages provide general examples of records and classification questions for listed business types; they do not claim experience with every industry. Acceptance and any bookkeeping structure, accounts, reconciliations, or deliverables depend on written intake and a separately accepted scope.
How do you handle mixed personal and business expenses?
When included in an accepted cleanup scope, supplied mixed-purpose entries are reviewed for supported business-use allocation and accounting classification. The client supplies the business purpose and records and separately opens and controls any bank account or card. No review of every transaction, deduction, substantiation, or examination outcome is promised.
What happens if my previous bookkeeper made errors?
A cleanup can address identified misclassifications, unreconciled accounts, duplicate transactions, payroll-record entries, and sales-tax accounting entries within the written scope. Corrected statements are delivered for the covered periods. If a filed return may be affected, amended-return work is evaluated separately; no deduction or outcome is promised.
Do I need to switch to QuickBooks for your services?
QuickBooks Online is the practice's primary platform, while FreshBooks may fit some service businesses that invoice by time or project. The right platform depends on current plan features, integrations, workflow, volume, and budget. If you use a different system, any migration is separately scoped.

Ready for Clean Books?

If a response or scope is offered after contact-form intake, it will state availability and next steps in writing. Work starts only after you separately accept written scope and pricing.

Request a Bookkeeping-Cleanup Intake ReviewContact Me
No commitment Document instructions after acceptance Written response only

Use of this website does not create a CPA-client relationship.

Tax advice disclaimer: This material is for general educational information only and is not legal, tax, or accounting advice for your specific facts. A CPA-client relationship is formed only through a signed engagement letter.