Catch-up bookkeeping
Your books have fallen behind. Months (sometimes years) of activity were never recorded. We work through the unrecorded months in order, reconcile the accounts, and bring everything current.
Catch-up bookkeeping
Catch-up bookkeeping and cleanup for small businesses that have fallen behind
Months behind on your books, or not sure how far behind you are? You're not alone, and it's fixable. JRK Financial brings small-business books back up to date: we work through the missing months in order, reconcile every account, and hand back records you and your tax preparer can rely on. You'll get a flat quote before any work starts.
Prefer to talk? Call or text 269-200-2910.
What catch-up bookkeeping includes
Catch-up work isn't just data entry. It's rebuilding an accurate picture of what happened in your business during the months nobody was keeping score. A typical project includes:
- Pulling complete bank, credit card, and loan statements for every month in the gap
- Recording every transaction and categorizing it consistently
- Reconciling each account, month by month, so the books agree with the bank
- Sorting out owner draws, transfers, and personal charges that ran through business accounts
- Cleaning up the chart of accounts so categories mean something
- Reviewing payroll, sales tax, and loan payments so liabilities are recorded, not just the cash that moved
- Producing reports you can hand straight to your tax preparer
Catch-up vs. cleanup: which do you need?
Bookkeeping cleanup
Your books are current but inaccurate: miscategorized transactions, unreconciled accounts, duplicate entries, and balances that no longer tie out. Scope is confirmed after a review of your existing file.
Plenty of businesses need both: a gap of missing months plus a stretch of messy ones. We'll tell you which applies after a quick look.
Common situations we fix
- Accounts that were never reconciled: balances don't match the statements, so every report built on them is off.
- A year or more of uncategorized transactions sitting in "Ask My Accountant" or Uncategorized.
- Personal and business spending mixed in one account.
- Duplicate transactions from a re-imported feed or a switched bank connection.
- Payroll recorded as one lump withdrawal instead of wages, taxes, and employer liabilities.
- Loans, lines of credit, and credit cards recorded as expenses.
- Sales tax collected but never tracked as a liability.
- A prior bookkeeper left mid-year and the file was never closed out.
- Books abandoned after a software switch, such as an incomplete move between QuickBooks Online and Manager.io, or from spreadsheets.
None of these are unusual, and none of them are a reason to be embarrassed about the state of your file.
How a catch-up project works
- 1
Scope the gap.
We look at which accounts, which months, and what records exist, then give you a flat quote before any work starts. No hourly surprises.
- 2
Work forward, month by month.
We reconcile each month before starting the next, so small errors don't get buried.
- 3
A short list of questions.
We keep a running list of the handful of transactions only you can explain. Most owners are surprised by how short it is.
- 4
Clean books delivered.
You get reconciled books, clean financial statements for each year involved, and records your CPA or tax preparer can work from directly.
- 5
Stay current (optional).
If you want, we roll straight into monthly bookkeeping so the gap doesn't reopen.
Software and location
We work in QuickBooks Online and Manager.io (see our Manager.io bookkeeping support), and everything is handled remotely, so where you're located doesn't change the process. We're based in Kalamazoo, Michigan (see Kalamazoo bookkeeping) and work with businesses across West Michigan and remote clients nationwide (see remote bookkeeping).
Why it's worth fixing now
Behind books rarely stay a bookkeeping problem. You can't price work well without knowing your true margins, late sales tax and payroll filings carry penalties and interest that compound, and lenders and landlords ask for financial statements on short notice. A tax preparer working from incomplete records will either charge more or file an extension, sometimes both.
Want to try it yourself first? Our guide explains how to find your last reconciled month and when DIY makes sense: How to catch up on bookkeeping.
Catch-up bookkeeping FAQ
How much does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
Catch-up and cleanup work is quoted as a flat project after we scope it, so there are no hourly surprises. The quote depends on how many months you're behind, how many bank, credit card, and loan accounts are involved, and what records are available.
How long does a catch-up project take?
It depends on the number of months and accounts and on how quickly records can be gathered. Missing statements are usually what stretches a project out, not transaction volume. We'll give you a realistic picture when we scope the work.
How far behind can I be?
Whether you're a few months or more than a year behind, the process is the same: find the last reconciled month and work forward from there, one month at a time.
What do I need to get started?
Roughly how many months you're behind and which accounts are involved. From there we'll identify the statements, payroll reports, and loan schedules we need.
Do I have to switch accounting software?
We work in QuickBooks Online and Manager.io. If your books are in something else, tell us what you use and we'll talk through the options.
Do you work with businesses outside Kalamazoo?
Yes. Everything is handled remotely, so the process is the same wherever you're located.
What happens after the books are caught up?
You get reconciled books, clean financial statements for each year involved, and records your tax preparer can work from directly. If you'd like, we can move straight into monthly bookkeeping so you stay current.
Find your last reconciled month, and we'll take it from there.
Tell us roughly how many months you're behind and which accounts are involved, and we'll scope the cleanup and quote it as a flat project.