The client arrives with a shoebox
Statements, receipts and a ledger that stops part-way through the year.
Catch-up bookkeeping · for CPA and EA firms
Catch-up bookkeeping services for CPA firms: books current before the return
Months or years of unreconciled books brought current, so the return can be prepared from a ledger you can rely on. Quoted up front, at $30 per hour or a fixed price.
The problem
A return needs books that are finished
The return waits on reconciliation
Each unreconciled month has to be brought current before your preparer can rely on it.
Clean-up eats review time
Hours spent rebuilding a ledger come out of the weeks set aside for review.
What we do
Catch up bookkeeping services, period by period
- Scope and quote. We review the periods outstanding and quote before work starts.
- Statements gathered. A list of the bank and card statements needed, sent to your team.
- Transactions coded. Every period coded to the client's chart of accounts.
- Accounts reconciled. Each bank and card account reconciled to its statements, month by month.
- Clean-up entries listed. Corrections proposed for your review, with the reason for each.
- Ready for the return. A trial balance your preparer can work from — and, if you choose, our tax preparation picks it up from there.
What you receive
At the end of the catch-up
- Every period reconciled to its statements
- A trial balance ready for the return
- Proposed adjusting entries, each with its reason
- A list of open items for you and your client
- Delivered within [turnaround] of complete statements
How it works
Start with one file. Decide on the output.
1
Scoping call
Twenty minutes: your software, your client mix, your deadlines.
2
One paid test file
Send one real client file at the published price, and judge the work itself.
3
Secure intake
Engagement letter, SSNs masked, access to the client's ledger that you grant and can revoke.
4
Prepare and check
Worked in the client's own ledger, reconciled, open questions listed.
5
You review and send
The reports come back for your review; you send them under your firm's name.
Price DRAFT — D2, not confirmed
Catch-up, quoted before work starts
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Catch-up and clean-up | $30/hr |
| Software migrationQuickBooks ↔ Xero | fixed quote |
| Bookkeeping — under 50 transactions a month | $250/mo |
| Bookkeeping — 50 to 200 transactions | $450/mo |
| Bookkeeping — 200 to 500 transactions | $750/mo |
$30 per hour, or a fixed quote
You choose the basis before work starts. Monthly bookkeeping prices are shown for when the file is current.
Questions firms ask
Before the first file
How is a catch-up priced?
At $30 per hour, or a fixed quote agreed before work starts, once we have reviewed the periods outstanding. US wage data for an in-house bookkeeper is in our bookkeeper hourly rate answer.
Can the catch-up feed straight into the return?
Yes. The trial balance is built to be prepared from, and our tax preparation can pick it up for your review and signature.
What do you need from my client?
Bank and card statements for each period, and access to the ledger. Every request goes through your team.
Related answers
PRICING
What does outsourced bookkeeping cost?
Published seat and hourly prices, and when per-client pricing fits.
BOOKKEEPINGWhat is white-label bookkeeping?
How the model works for a CPA firm, and what stays with you.
SECURITYDoes an accounting firm need a WISP?
What the FTC Safeguards Rule requires, and what changes when you outsource.