Clean-Up Bookkeeping

What this covers

Clean-up is about accuracy rather than volume. The entries are there; they are wrong. Miscategorised expenses, duplicated transactions, and a balance sheet full of accounts nobody can explain.

• Miscategorised and duplicated transactions corrected
• Accounts reconciled against real statements rather than marked reconciled in software
• Undeposited funds cleared and traced
• Phantom receivables and stale payables investigated and resolved
• Opening balances corrected so the balance sheet balances
• Chart of accounts rebuilt where the original never fit the business

How it works

1. A free consultation. Twenty minutes on how the business runs, what software you are in, and what shape the records are in today.
2. A written scope and a price. Based on your actual transaction volume and account count — not a tier.
3. Access and setup. Read access to the accounts and software involved, and a chart of accounts that matches how you operate.
4. A fixed rhythm. You know what lands, and when.

What an eighteen-month clean-up actually looks like

A typical engagement, start to finish. Details are generalised — this is the shape of the work, not one named client.

1. The starting point

   A sole proprietor two tax years behind. Bank feeds connected but never reviewed, so eighteen months of transactions sat uncategorised. The balance sheet showed an accounts receivable figure nobody could explain and an undeposited funds balance that had been growing since the file was created.

2. Week one — find the floor

   Before touching the current year, we work backwards to the last month that was genuinely reconciled against a real bank statement. On a file like this it is usually further back than the owner expects. That month becomes the foundation; everything after it gets rebuilt on top.

3. Weeks two to four — rebuild forward

   Each period is reconstructed and reconciled in order, oldest first, against actual statements rather than what the software claims. Uncategorised transactions are coded to a chart of accounts rewritten to match how the business actually operates, not the default list.

4. Week five — clear the balance sheet

   Undeposited funds cleared, the phantom receivable traced and written off with an explanation, opening balances corrected so the balance sheet balances for the first time.

5. The handover

   Current books, a written summary of what was wrong and what changed, and a filing-ready set of statements. From there the file moves onto a monthly close with a fixed date.

Common questions about clean-up bookkeeping