Books
Cleanup: from backlog to a documented close
We turn backlog into a controlled, documented close and give you a balance sheet you can actually trust going forward. The diagnostic comes first, so your cleanup is quoted at a fixed fee from published rates.
Because when your books are halfway there, living on a prayer isn’t the next step.
How cleanup works, and what it costs
Open a box to read it.
The diagnostic
Give us accountant access to your books and your bank and card statements. Within five business days you receive a written diagnostic:
- How many months are open, and which accounts reconcile and which do not, and by how much.
- Which balance sheet accounts cannot be right, and why.
- What sits in uncategorized or suspense balances, and whether your opening balances tie to your last filed return.
- Which tax filings are affected (income tax years, TPT periods, 1099s).
- What we recommend, in what order.
- A fixed quote and a delivery date for the cleanup, priced from the schedule below.
The diagnostic is paid at engagement.
You decide with the full picture in front of you.
The diagnostic is complete work on its own; if you take it to another bookkeeper, it is yours.
A fixed quote and a delivery date for the cleanup, priced from the schedule below.
Cleanup
From documents complete: 1–3 months of backlog, about two weeks; 4–12 months, three to five weeks; more than 12 months, six to eight weeks. Your diagnostic states your date. During cleanup you receive a short progress note each Friday; every upload and question is acknowledged within one business day. We schedule cleanup May through mid-February. Between February 15 and April 15 we take cleanup only when it is required to file an extended return.
50% at engagement, 50% at delivery of the close memo; projects over $5,000 are billed at milestones stated in the quote.
A documented close
- Every bank, card, and loan account reconciled to its statement, with the reconciliation reports saved in your file.
- No balances left in uncategorized, "ask my accountant," or suspense accounts.
- Every balance sheet account supported by a schedule or statement; opening balances tied to your last filed return, with differences explained in writing.
- Owner draws and contributions separated from business activity.
- A fixed-asset list with dates and costs; loans agreed to lender statements.
- Sales tax payable reconciled to TPT filings; payroll liabilities reconciled to provider reports.
- A close memo: what we found, what we changed, what judgments we made and why (for example, how we split a mixed-use expense), and what remains open, with an owner and a due date for each open item.
- Books locked with a closing date, and a year-end tax package ready for each year closed.
You choose: monthly service at the tier that fits, or a clean handoff to your own bookkeeper.
Books diagnostic
$400
Give us accountant access to your books and your bank and card statements. Within five business days you receive a written diagnostic:
Books diagnostic: You receive
- How many months are open, and which accounts reconcile and which do not, and by how much.
- Which balance sheet accounts cannot be right, and why.
- What sits in uncategorized or suspense balances, and whether your opening balances tie to your last filed return.
- Which tax filings are affected (income tax years, TPT periods, 1099s).
- What we recommend, in what order.
- A fixed quote and a delivery date for the cleanup, priced from the schedule below.
You decide with the full picture in front of you. The diagnostic is complete work on its own; if you take it to another bookkeeper, it is yours.
| Situation | Price |
|---|---|
| Service business, cash basis, up to 2 accounts, up to 100 transactions per month | $450 per month of backlog |
| Additional accounts | +$50 per account per month |
| Volume above 100 transactions per month | +$100 per additional 100 (or part) |
| S corporation or partnership with payroll | +40% |
| Personal and business spending mixed in the same accounts | +25% |
| Project minimum | $1,000 |
| 12 or more months | Fixed quote from the diagnostic, typically $5,400–$7,500 for a service business at base scope; entity and commingling modifiers apply on top |
Percentage modifiers are added together and applied to the month price after account and volume adders. The project minimum applies after modifiers.
What closed means, and the terms
What closed means
- Every bank, card, and loan account reconciled to its statement, with the reconciliation reports saved in your file.
- No balances left in uncategorized, "ask my accountant," or suspense accounts.
- Every balance sheet account supported by a schedule or statement; opening balances tied to your last filed return, with differences explained in writing.
- Owner draws and contributions separated from business activity.
- A fixed-asset list with dates and costs; loans agreed to lender statements.
- Sales tax payable reconciled to TPT filings; payroll liabilities reconciled to provider reports.
- A close memo: what we found, what we changed, what judgments we made and why (for example, how we split a mixed-use expense), and what remains open, with an owner and a due date for each open item.
- Books locked with a closing date, and a year-end tax package ready for each year closed.
Timing
From documents complete: 1–3 months of backlog, about two weeks; 4–12 months, three to five weeks; more than 12 months, six to eight weeks. Your diagnostic states your date. During cleanup you receive a short progress note each Friday; every upload and question is acknowledged within one business day. We schedule cleanup May through mid-February. Between February 15 and April 15 we take cleanup only when it is required to file an extended return.
Payment
50% at engagement, 50% at delivery of the close memo; projects over $5,000 are billed at milestones stated in the quote. The diagnostic is paid at engagement.
| Work | Price |
|---|---|
| Prior-year income tax returns from the cleaned books | Individual and business schedules, +25% per prior year |
| TPT returns for unfiled periods | $100 per period |
| First-time penalty abatement request to the IRS or the Arizona Department of Revenue (ADOR) | $250 per request. We prepare the request; the agency decides. |
Pricing examples (illustrative)
Cleanup client
An LLC taxed as an S corporation, unreconciled since January 2026
- Situation
- Eight months open (January through August 2026). Three accounts and about 140 transactions a month. Payroll through a provider. Some personal spending mixed into the business accounts. The 2026 Form 1120-S cannot be prepared from the books as they stand.
- Fee
- $8,320 total, including the diagnostic
- Scope
- Books diagnostic $400, delivered within five business days, with a fixed cleanup quote. Cleanup from the schedule: base $450 + one additional account $50 + one additional 100 transactions (or part) $100 = $600 per month before percentage modifiers. Entity with payroll +40% and commingled +25% are added together and applied to that figure: $600 × 1.65 = $990 per month of backlog. Eight months: $7,920, over the $1,000 minimum, billed at milestones because the project exceeds $5,000. Delivery: three to five weeks from documents complete; the diagnostic states the date. The 2026 Form 1120-S then starts at $1,250 because the tie-out is done.
- Next decision
- MCR Books Control from the first clean month; the first Control close follows the cleanup delivery date stated in the diagnostic.
Next step
Know where you stand.
An introductory call covers your situation, the scope we recommend, and what happens next. We reply to every inquiry within one business day.