Catch-Up Bookkeeping or QuickBooks Cleanup? How to Compare Quotes When You Are Six Months Behind
Six months behind in QuickBooks? Compare catch-up work with historical cleanup, see LiveFixPro’s published prices and use a scope checklist before hiring.
If your U.S. small business is six months behind in QuickBooks, the first question to ask a bookkeeper is which month last reconciled to the bank. Six missing months after a clean close usually call for catch-up bookkeeping. Six months of entries with duplicate income, unexplained balances or broken reconciliations call for cleanup. Some files need both, and the order affects the quote.
Two businesses, the same six-month gap
Imagine a contractor whose checking account and business card matched their March statements. From April through September the owner kept invoices and receipts but did little bookkeeping. A provider can scope the missing periods from a known starting point. Ask whether the quote includes recording activity, matching transfers, reconciling all six statements for each account and delivering the resulting reports.
Now imagine a shop that categorized every bank-feed row through September. Its processor also posted sales receipts, and someone added the same payouts as income. The bank balance might look plausible while sales are overstated. Entering more months will not answer which entries represent the same sale. A cleanup quote should identify the accounts, historical periods and tests needed to establish a reliable starting point.
What does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
LiveFixPro publishes catch-up bookkeeping from $799.99 one time and QuickBooks cleanup at $1,999 one time for the agreed scope. Six months alone does not determine the price. One bank account with complete statements and a reconciled opening balance is different from four accounts, two payment processors and a missing prior-year statement. Monthly bookkeeping is listed separately at $499 per month. See the current bookkeeping plans and pricing.
Five details that make quotes comparable
Periods and starting balance. Name the first and last month, the last reconciled month and any prior balance the provider will investigate. Ask what happens if the issue predates the quoted period.
Accounts and inputs. List each bank account, card, loan and payment platform. Flag missing statements. Specify who will obtain them and how open questions reach the owner.
Exceptions. Ask whether the quoted work includes duplicate deposits, old uncleared transactions or unmatched transfers. A provider can identify an exception without having enough documentation to resolve it.
Deliverables. Ask for a reconciliation status by account and month, an open-items list and the reports covered by the engagement. Agree on what marks the project complete.
Future months. Decide who keeps the current period moving during the cleanup. Otherwise, a project that clears September can leave October unattended.
What to bring to the first call
Prepare the month range, account count, last reconciliation date and one example of the problem. A note such as “March checked out, May’s card statement is missing and our processor appears twice in June” gives a bookkeeper enough context to ask the right follow-up questions. Use the QuickBooks cleanup preparation checklist for the documents.
Use the cleanup cost estimator to organize your starting assumptions, then request a written scope for the months you need. We confirm periods, accounts and fees before work begins. Tax filing and tax advice stay with your tax professional.
Mailing address: 701 Tillery Street Unit 12-1904, Austin, Texas 78702, United States
Get in touch
LiveFixPro Bookkeeping & Accounting Services LLC is an independent firm. Intuit, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks ProAdvisor are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. used with permission under the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Agreement.