Catch-Up Bookkeeping Services
Catch-up is for books that do not exist yet. The business ran, the statements piled up, and nothing was recorded. The good news about starting from nothing is that there is nothing wrong to undo: the bank already has most of the story, and the work is bringing it in.
What can be rebuilt, and from what
Everything that cleared a bank or card account can be recovered and coded: sales deposits, card processor payouts, supplier payments, payroll, loan payments, transfers, the owner’s draws. Banks keep statements for years and most can supply older ones on request, sometimes for a fee. Card processors keep payout reports. Payroll providers keep filings. For unfiled tax years, the IRS can supply wage and income transcripts showing what was reported about you.
What the bank cannot say is what a purchase was for. Receipts fill that in where it matters: a $900 charge at a hardware store is a job cost or a kitchen renovation, and the difference is deductible or not. Your bookkeeper will ask for the receipts that change the answer and not the ones that do not.
How far back
As far as you have statements and a reason. Most catch-ups cover one to three years. Longer ones happen, usually because returns are unfiled, and they are worked oldest year first so each return can be prepared in order. If a very old year has no records at all, that is said plainly and the options for it, which are a question for your tax preparer, are laid out rather than invented.
The order of work
- Statements gathered for every account and every month in scope, with gaps listed
- A chart of accounts built for the business before a single transaction is coded
- Every month reconciled to its statement as it is entered, not at the end
- Receipts requested only where they change a coding decision
- A holding account and a short list of questions for anything the bank cannot explain
- A year-end package for each year as it closes, so the preparer can start before the whole project ends
Working against a deadline
If a return is due, the current year comes first and the older years follow, because that is the order the penalties run in. Your bookkeeper will say after seeing the statements whether the date is reachable; if not, the fallback is a defensible interim set of numbers so an extension can be filed with something real behind it. The extension guide explains why that matters more than most people think.
Software, or none
A catch-up can start with no software at all. For most businesses the rebuilt books land in QuickBooks Online, because that is where they will be kept afterwards; for a very small one a simpler tool may be enough, and your bookkeeper will say so rather than sell a subscription. If you already have a QuickBooks file with a few months in it, the catch-up continues from the last clean month.
What it costs
Quoted after a look, as a project: a deposit up front, a monthly retainer while the work runs, then ordinary monthly bookkeeping from $250 once current. The variables are months, accounts and transaction volume. The cost guide gives worked examples.
Send the number of months, the number of accounts, and whether any returns are outstanding. The reply within a business day says what the deposit would be.
Common questions
I have no receipts. Is that a problem?
Less than people fear. The bank statements carry most of the story. Receipts are requested only where they change the coding, and many can be re-downloaded from suppliers.
Can you get old statements for me?
Your bookkeeper will tell you exactly which months are missing and what to ask the bank for. Most banks supply several years online or on request.
Which year is done first?
The one with a return due. Otherwise, oldest first so each year closes in order.
I ran payroll but never filed. Can that be caught up?
Yes, in any state. Missed filings are identified from the payroll records and handled as part of the project.
Do I have to use QuickBooks afterwards?
No. It is the usual destination because the books will be kept monthly afterwards, but your bookkeeper will say what fits the size of the business.
Related services
- QuickBooks Cleanup Services
- Bookkeeping Cleanup Services
- Behind on Bookkeeping Before a Tax Deadline
- Multiple Years of Bookkeeping, Rebuilt
- Monthly Bookkeeping After the Cleanup
Who this is for
Request a quote for catch-up bookkeeping
Tell us how far behind the books are and whether there is a date. Your bookkeeper replies within one business day with a plain answer: what it would take, whether the date is reachable, and what the deposit would be. Requests answered within one business day · Calls Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm Eastern Or call (888) 786-6502 if you would rather talk it through first.