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Bookkeeping Cleanup Services

CPA-led bookkeeping cleanup under a confirmed written scope.

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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.
  • Timing depends on the periods, accounts, transaction volume, the condition of the records, and how quickly you respond. The written scope gives an estimate and its assumptions; there is no standard completion window.
  • 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 cleanup scope names the periods, accounts, and records to correct and reconcile. I work in both QuickBooks Online and FreshBooks files. Before you write, the free bookkeeping self-check can sort your own answers about twelve record-keeping areas.

I am the firm's sole practitioner. I am responsible for every cleanup I accept, and I review, approve, and sign everything you receive. Your written scope lists the records covered and the tax-sensitive classification review.

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: I correct and reconcile only the records named in your written scope. An adjustment may increase, decrease, or leave reported income unchanged. I don't promise complete records, recovered deductions, or tax savings.

CPA-led review: Within your scope, I look for classification, information-return, depreciation, and reconciliation issues. Correcting an item may increase, decrease, or leave tax unchanged; the records and applicable law determine the result.

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 a cleanup may be considered: A written-scope cleanup may be relevant when a tax preparer identifies errors, prior records contain unresolved entries, records were maintained on spreadsheets, or covered periods are incomplete. The actual records, periods, accounts, and agreed cadence determine the work; cost and tax effects are not promised.

Personal Review

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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

    Use the contact form to tell me your accounting system, the periods and accounts involved, and how the records look now. Please don't upload an accounting file, bank statements, or other sensitive records there. If I need records, separate written instructions say which ones and how to send them. Neither the form nor any record review creates an engagement.

  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. These are bookkeeping reports, not audited, reviewed, or compiled financial statements, and no assurance is provided on them.

  5. 5

    Transition to Monthly

    Optional: request ongoing monthly bookkeeping under a separately accepted written scope; covered records, periods, deliverables, and fee are confirmed in writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is bookkeeping cleanup, and when do I need it?
Bookkeeping cleanup (also called catch-up bookkeeping) reviews identified incomplete or backlogged records. An accepted scope specifies the accounts, periods, source records, procedures, and reports; it does not promise a complete, accurate, current, or tax-ready result outside the covered records and procedures.
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?
Records that may be needed include access to the accounting file, bank and credit-card statements, prior returns, information returns, loan statements, and records from a prior bookkeeper. If I can take the work on, a written request lists what the proposed work needs.
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?
An accepted written monthly scope may include categorization of specified transactions, reconciliation of covered bank and credit-card accounts, agreed financial statements, QBO or chart-of-accounts maintenance, and stated tax-preparation coordination for the actual records and cadence identified in that scope. Vendor/customer master-data review may be included, but billing, collections, AP, AR, and payment execution remain with the client. When offered, pricing starts at $300/month and is confirmed in the 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.

Request a Cleanup Scope

Send your request through the contact form. I read each inquiry myself and do my best to reply within a week. Any scope I offer states the work, price, availability, and next steps, and work starts only after you accept it.

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.