You've been meaning to catch up on your books for months. Maybe longer. Every tax season you scramble, your CPA is frustrated, and you swear you'll stay current next year. Then another quarter slips by.
You're not alone — and it's fixable. Here's what a professional bookkeeping cleanup actually involves.
Step 1: Access and assessment
First, I get view access to your bank accounts, credit cards, and existing QBO file. I assess how far back the backlog goes and what data is available. This determines scope and timeline.
Step 2: Gathering statements
For every month being cleaned up, I need complete bank and credit card statements. Most banks provide PDF or CSV downloads going back 12–24 months.
Step 3: Transaction categorization
Every transaction gets reviewed and categorized correctly. This is the most time-intensive step — and where most DIY attempts go wrong, because categorization requires judgment calls about deductibility and account treatment.
Step 4: Reconciliation
Once transactions are categorized, I reconcile each account for each month. The ending balance in QBO matches the bank statement to the penny.
Step 5: Prior period corrections
If the prior bookkeeper made errors — misclassified accounts, incorrect sales tax treatment, workarounds that distorted the books — this is where we correct them with your CPA's awareness.
Step 6: Clean handoff
Once complete, I deliver a summary of what was found and corrected, plus clean financials for the cleaned period. From there, we transition to monthly bookkeeping to keep it current going forward.
How long does it take?
A 3–6 month cleanup typically takes 1–2 weeks. A full year takes 2–4 weeks depending on volume and complexity.
I serve small businesses in Danville, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, and throughout Contra Costa County. Let's talk about your situation.