Cleanup
Quoted after a free look
A one-time fee, quoted after a free look at the books. Months behind, number of accounts, and transaction volume move it.
Bookkeeping and cleanup · Tyler, TX
Bookkeeping in Tyler, TX, done by a CPA.
If you are looking for bookkeeping, you are probably in one of two places. The books are behind, or the books are current and still cannot tell you what last quarter earned. I handle both. I am the CPA who does the work, and every fee is fixed and in writing before it starts.
Your books are behind
Bookkeeping cleanup
Months of transactions nobody has categorized. Accounts that have never been reconciled. A credit card balance that does not match its statement. Cleanup brings the books current and corrects them, one time, for a fixed fee.
What cleanup covers
- Reconciliations
- Every bank, credit card, and loan account tied to its statements for the months behind
- Categorization
- Transactions coded to accounts that match how the business earns
- Repairs
- Duplicate accounts, leftover setup balances, and negative balances cleared
- Statements
- A corrected balance sheet and income statement for the period
- Your tax preparer
- A trial balance and workpapers, if your return is waiting on the books
How it is quoted
We start with a free conversation. You give me access to your books, and I look at what is there without changing anything. Then I send a fixed fee in writing, with the scope and timeline, before any work begins. How many months are behind, how many accounts there are, and how many transactions they hold move the fee.
Cleanup stands on its own. When it is done, monthly bookkeeping is available, not required.
Your books are current, but nobody closes them
Monthly bookkeeping, closed by a CPA
Recording transactions is half the job. Each month I also close the books. Income and expenses are booked to the month they belong to, every balance-sheet account is reconciled to a source document, and I review the statements before they reach you. You receive them by the 15th, with a short written note on what changed and why.
This is the Accounting engagement.
Bookkeeper or CPA?
The title matters less than the work. Whoever keeps your books, ask three questions:
- Is every balance-sheet account reconciled each month, or only the bank account?
- When do statements arrive, and who reviews them before you do?
- Is the fee fixed, and what changes it?
My answers: every account, every month. Statements by the 15th, reviewed by a CPA. A fixed fee, in writing, before any work begins.
What does bookkeeping cost?
Two numbers, both fixed and quoted in writing before any work begins.
Monthly
$1,250+ per month
Entity count, transaction volume, headcount, and any job or departmental reporting move it.
Two quotes for “bookkeeping” can describe different work. Compare what gets reconciled, what you receive, and when.
Common questions
- Do you work in QuickBooks?
- Yes. Typically QuickBooks Online or Xero, in your own subscription so you always own your data. If the books are in spreadsheets, moving them into QuickBooks can be part of the cleanup quote.
- Do I have to sign up for monthly bookkeeping after a cleanup?
- No. Cleanup is a one-time engagement. Monthly bookkeeping is available afterward if you want it.
- How far back can you go?
- As far as the books need. The quote names the exact months. If your tax return is waiting on last year’s books, that year comes first.
- Do you prepare my tax return?
- No. I do not prepare income tax returns. Your tax preparer keeps your return. When the books are cleaned up or closed for the year, I send them a trial balance and workpapers and answer their questions directly.
- Can you take over from my current bookkeeper?
- Yes. I start with a look at the books as they are, then quote any cleanup they need before monthly work begins.
Books behind, or ready for a monthly close?
Start with a free conversation. I reply personally within one business day.