QuickBooks Cleanup & Catch-Up
Being behind on bookkeeping is common, and fixable. Cleanup and catch-up work creates an accurate starting point so you can make decisions, work with your tax professional, and move into a reliable monthly routine.
Cleanup versus catch-up
Catch-up bookkeeping records and reconciles periods that were never completed. Cleanup bookkeeping reviews work that exists but may contain duplicated transactions, incorrect categories, unreconciled balances, old items, or inconsistent account use. Many projects require both.
Signs your QuickBooks file needs attention
- Bank or credit-card balances do not agree with statements.
- Old transactions remain unreconciled or undeposited funds keep growing.
- Income, loans, transfers, and owner activity are mixed together.
- The Profit & Loss changes dramatically after small edits.
- Your tax professional requests corrections or additional schedules.
- You avoid reviewing reports because you do not trust them.
What Sheri reviews
The review may include account setup, bank feeds, reconciliation history, opening balances, duplicated or missing activity, uncategorized transactions, balance-sheet accounts, and the relationship between imported activity and supporting statements. The exact scope depends on the file and available records.
A practical cleanup process
- Discovery: identify affected periods, accounts, deadlines, software access, and available statements.
- Assessment: determine what is incomplete, inconsistent, or unsupported and agree on priorities.
- Reconciliation and correction: work period by period, document questions, and avoid changing items without a supportable reason.
- Handoff: explain the cleaned starting point, unresolved items, recommended workflow, and whether monthly service is appropriate.
What affects timing and cost?
The number of months, accounts, transactions, missing statements, payroll activity, loans, inventory, payment processors, prior reconciliations, and response time for questions all affect the project. A consultation and file review are needed before estimating scope. Catch-up bookkeeping starts at $100 per month behind, with a $300 minimum cleanup fee. See packages and pricing.
Before anyone starts changing the file
Avoid mass-deleting transactions, forcing reconciliations, creating journal entries solely to make balances disappear, or disconnecting feeds without a plan. Preserve statements and source documents. If a tax filing or financing deadline is involved, mention it immediately so expectations can be set honestly.
After cleanup
The best cleanup ends with a repeatable process. That may mean clearer account rules, a monthly document deadline, regular reconciliations, a questions list, and ongoing monthly bookkeeping so the backlog does not return.