QuickBooks cleanup services, scoped before they’re quoted.
QuickBooks cleanup services fix books that are months behind, never reconciled, or full of duplicates and “Uncategorized.” We are two licensed CPAs in Knoxville, Tennessee. We start by finding out how bad it actually is. Then we give you one fixed price and one timeline to fix it, before you say yes to anything.
Can you rebuild my books from bank statements?
Yes. When months were never entered or the file cannot be trusted, we rebuild your books from your bank and credit card statements, matching every month to the actual statement. We usually work in your existing QuickBooks Online file so your history stays in one place. You get one fixed quote and timeline after we look, before any work starts.
What a QuickBooks cleanup costs and how long it takes.
Cost. There is no rate card for cleanup, and any quote given before someone opens your file is a guess. Two things drive the price: how many months of history need rebuilding, and how tangled each month is. Several sales channels, inventory, and payouts booked as revenue all add time. A cleanup covering a year or two of untouched books routinely runs into the thousands of dollars. We would rather you read that here than hear it on a call.
Time. Our review of your file takes about a week from the day you give us access. You get the findings, a recorded walkthrough and the quote together. The cleanup itself depends on how many months we rebuild, so the real timeline sits in the same quote as the price.
What you can count on: one fixed quote, no hourly meter, and no open-ended project.
How our bookkeeping cleanup works.
Free 30-minute call. Tell us how far behind you are and what feels off.
We look inside your real file. No guessing from a description.
One fixed quote and timeline. You decide with both numbers in hand.
We rebuild month by month. Every account is reconciled to the actual statement, not to itself.
You get clean, tax-ready books. If you want, we keep them that way with monthly bookkeeping for a flat monthly fee, quoted after we look at your books.
What onboarding looks like, start to finish.
No judgment about how far behind you are. Years behind is normal, and the goal is the same every time: bank-ready, tax-ready books you can trust.
Typical timeline. The free 30-minute call is first. Our review of your file takes about a week from the day you give us access. You then get one fixed quote with its own timeline, because how long a rebuild takes depends on how many months need work. Nothing starts until you approve the number.
Documents to have ready
- ✓ Read-only access to your QuickBooks Online file, if you have one
- ✓ Bank and credit card statements for every month that needs work
- ✓ Loan statements and any lines of credit
- ✓ Payout reports from Shopify, Stripe, Square, Airbnb or other platforms you sell through
- ✓ Payroll reports, if you run payroll
- ✓ Your last filed business and personal tax returns
- ✓ A list of contractors you paid, for 1099s
Missing some of these is fine. Tell us what you have and we will work out the rest together.
The things that make a file “messy.”
Nine problems account for most of the cleanups we take on. Some of these are quietly changing your profit number right now.
Accounts that have never been reconciled
Every bank, credit card, and loan account matched to the actual statement, month by month, instead of to itself.
Transactions parked in Uncategorized
The catch-all buckets get emptied and coded properly, with real vendor knowledge behind the calls, not a guess.
Duplicates and missing transactions
Double-entered deposits, transactions that never imported, and transfers booked twice as income and expense.
Opening Balance Equity that was never cleared
A balance sitting in that account is a sign the file was set up and then abandoned mid-setup. It gets traced and closed out.
Undeposited Funds that keeps filling up
Payments recorded but never matched to the deposit that actually hit the bank, which quietly inflates both income and receivables.
Payouts booked as revenue
Shopify, Stripe, Square, and marketplace payouts split into sales, fees, refunds, and sales tax, instead of one lump number that overstates your income.
Inventory and cost of goods that never move
Purchases expensed straight to the P&L with no cost of goods, which makes every margin on your reports wrong.
Owner money mixed with business money
Draws, contributions, loans, and payroll separated so the equity section means something and your return starts from the right number.
Vendors not set up for 1099s
Contractor payments identified and vendor records corrected before January, not during it.
Not sure you need a cleanup?
There are a handful of tells: you avoid opening QuickBooks, your accountant asks the same questions every year, the profit on your P&L does not resemble what is in the bank, or nobody has reconciled an account in months. We wrote those up in detail.
7 signs it’s time for a cleanup
Read the signs your books need a cleanup or see a real cleanup story.
QuickBooks cleanup questions.
How much do QuickBooks cleanup services cost?
It depends on how many months need rebuilding and how tangled they are. We quote one fixed price after we look at your actual file. A year or two of untouched books routinely runs into the thousands of dollars.
How long does a QuickBooks cleanup take?
Our review takes about a week from the day you give us access. The cleanup’s own timeline depends on how many months we rebuild, and it comes in writing with the quote.
What is the difference between bookkeeping cleanup and catch-up bookkeeping?
Catch-up fills in months that were never entered. Cleanup fixes months that were entered wrong. Most files need some of both, and we scope them together.
Do you work in my QuickBooks file or start a new one?
Usually we fix your existing QuickBooks Online file so your history stays in one place. If a file is beyond repair, we will tell you on the review and explain why.
Can you keep my books clean after the cleanup?
Yes. Many owners move straight into monthly bookkeeping, for a flat monthly fee quoted after we look at your books. It is optional.
How far behind can I be?
Years behind is normal and it is fine. We have picked up files that had not been reconciled since the account was opened. The further back it goes the more months there are to rebuild, which is what drives the quote, but there is no point where it becomes too late to fix.
Will I have to amend past tax returns?
Sometimes. If the cleanup changes a year that has already been filed, we will show you exactly what changed and walk you through your options. Amendments are quoted separately from the cleanup.
Do you need access to my bank accounts?
We start with read-only access to your QuickBooks. We do not move money and we do not need the ability to. For the cleanup itself we will need your bank and credit card statements for the months being rebuilt, so every account can be reconciled to the statement rather than to itself.
Do you only work with businesses in Knoxville?
We are based in Knoxville, Tennessee and work with clients across East Tennessee and nationwide. Cleanup work runs entirely remotely through secure document sharing and read-only access.
Do I have to pay for a review before you take me on?
No. It starts with a free 30-minute call with a CPA. We look at your books before we quote one flat monthly fee, and if your books need a cleanup first, that is quoted on its own before any work starts. We no longer sell a paid diagnostic review.
Ready when you are
Find out how far behind your books really are.
A free 30-minute call, then a fixed quote if you want the fix. Nothing open-ended.
Not ready for monthly help? On your free call we may suggest a one-time Diagnostic Review: a written fix-it plan for your books.
Questions first? Book a free 30-minute call, or email brooks@smokymountaincpas.com.