Susan C. Lloyd CPA Certified Public Accountant

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Catch-Up Bookkeeping

Behind on your books. Let’s clean that up.

Catch-up bookkeeping is a one-time service that gets your accounts reconciled, your transactions categorized, and your records ready for taxes — no matter how far behind you are.
Most business owners who call have been putting it off for months. The work is always less overwhelming than the dread of starting it. Susan has seen books in every condition. She’ll give you a straight answer on what’s there and what it takes to fix it.
One-time fixed-fee project — not a recurring service
Schedule a free call
Call (530) 221-1609
  • CA License #96754
  • Fixed-fee quote after diagnostic
  • CA License #96754
  • Fixed-fee quote after diagnostic
  • Most cleanups done in 4–8 weeks
DK

Danny K. — landscaping company

Redding, CA · 14 months behind

Before

14 months of uncategorized transactions

Ignored

Bank accounts never reconciled

Never done

No idea if business is profitable

Unknown

CPA needs clean books to file taxes

Not ready

After cleanup

Caught up. Reconciled. Ready to file.

Clean P&L, reconciled accounts, tax-ready file
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01 · You’re Not Alone

Books get behind because you were running a business.
That’s not a character flaw.

Most people who call have been putting it off for months — some for much longer. Not because they don’t care about their finances, but because every week that passes makes it feel more overwhelming. The story in your head about how bad it is almost always turns out worse than what’s actually there.
There’s no judgment here. Susan has seen books in every condition — years of backlog, errors inherited from prior owners, accounts that were never reconciled once. When you call, you just describe where things stand. She’ll tell you what cleanup involves, how long it takes, and what it costs. That’s all the first conversation needs to be. Most people who call have been putting it off for months — some for much longer. Not because they don’t care about their finances, but because every week that passes makes it feel more overwhelming. The story in your head about how bad it is almost always turns out worse than what’s actually there.

“It’s almost never as bad as you think.”

Once Susan reviews the file, most clients say the cleanup itself was the straightforward part. Deciding to make the call is almost always the harder step.
  • Judgment-free — she’s seen much worse
  • Free 15-minute call — no commitment
  • Fixed quote before any work begins
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02 · What’s Included

One project. Start from wherever you are. End with clean books.

Cleanup is a fixed-scope engagement: Susan takes your books from their current state to fully reconciled, accurately categorized, and ready for tax filing or financial review.
  • Full transaction import and categorization — every transaction from the backlog period coded correctly, with deductibility in mind
  • Bank and credit card reconciliation — every account reconciled back to opening balance, matched to statements
  • Chart of accounts review and cleanup — consolidate duplicates, fix misnamed categories, align to tax reporting requirements
  • Duplicate and misposted entry correction — identify and remove phantom transactions, double-counted revenue, split entries in the wrong period
  • Accounts payable and receivable reconciliation — outstanding balances verified against actual invoices and bills
  • Prior-period error correction — journal entries to fix opening balances, reclassify transactions, and correct inherited mistakes from previous bookkeepers
  • Clean financial statements — accurate profit and loss, balance sheet, and general ledger delivered at the end of the project
  • Year-end close preparation — if cleanup spans a December, proper closing entries so the tax year is reportable
Get a diagnostic review
Call (530) 221-1609

What you’ll have when cleanup is complete

  • All accounts reconciled back to the start of the backlog period
  • Accurate profit and loss statement, ready to read
  • Clean balance sheet with verified balances
  • Tax-ready QuickBooks file your CPA can open and use
  • Understanding of where your business actually stands financially
  • A clean baseline for ongoing bookkeeping or tax prep

After cleanup, Susan can transition to ongoing monthly bookkeeping, prepare your tax return, or hand you back a clean file — your choice.

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03 · Common Situations

What finally brought you here. All of these are the right time to call.

Catch-up bookkeeping is almost always triggered by a specific event — a deadline, a request, a realization. Whatever yours is, it doesn’t change how the work gets done.
Tax filing

Tax deadline is here

Returns can’t be filed accurately without clean books. Whether you’re a few weeks out or already past due, catch-up comes first — then Susan can prepare the return.
Financing

Applying for a loan or SBA financing

Lenders require 2–3 years of clean financials. Disorganized books stall or kill applications. Cleanup is often faster than you think — faster than waiting on the bank.
General catch-up

Months behind and overwhelmed

The backlog keeps growing and the thought of fixing it keeps getting pushed. This is the most common reason — and there’s no judgment. She’s seen much worse.
Accountability

Partner, investor, or buyer asking for financials

When someone else needs to see your numbers, “my books aren’t ready” isn’t an option. Cleanup converts weeks of anxiety into a presentable, defensible file.
New hire

You hired your first employee

Payroll changes everything. If books weren’t clean before the hire, they need to be now — for payroll tax deposits, workers’ comp audits, and year-end W-2s.
Exit planning

Thinking about selling the business

Buyers and their accountants review 3–5 years of records. Clean, credible books command a higher sale price — and messy ones kill deals in due diligence.
IRS or FTB notice

You received a notice or audit letter

Responding to a notice requires accurate records. Cleanup before a response protects you — and gives Susan the foundation she needs to represent you with the IRS or FTB.
Inherited books

You took over a business with existing books

Someone else’s QuickBooks file. Someone else’s chart of accounts. Someone else’s errors. Starting clean is almost always worth the cost — before the problems compound further.
Switching advisors

You’re changing CPAs or bookkeepers

New advisor, fresh start. Cleanup ensures your incoming CPA receives a file they can actually use — not one full of old problems, unexplained balances, and prior-period guesswork.
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04 · How It Works

A clear process. No surprises, no open-ended billing.

Cleanup starts with understanding what you actually have. The scope is defined before work begins — so you know what it costs before Susan touches a transaction.

01

Free 15-minute call

Describe where your books stand — how far behind, what software you’re on, what happened. No commitment, no judgment. Susan will tell you if catch-up is the right fit or if something else makes more sense.

02

File diagnostic and fixed-fee quote

Susan reviews your QuickBooks file or bank statements, scopes the work, and delivers a fixed-fee quote before any cleanup begins. The quote is based on actual scope — months behind and transaction volume — not a guessed hourly estimate.

03

Cleanup execution

Categorization, reconciliation, error correction, and chart of accounts cleanup — done to the standards a tax return requires. Susan communicates along the way if anything unusual turns up that affects scope or decisions you need to make.

04

Review and handoff

When cleanup is complete, Susan walks you through what was found, what was corrected, and where your business actually stands. Clean financial statements are delivered. From here, you can transition to ongoing bookkeeping, have Susan prepare your taxes, or take the clean file wherever you need it.

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05 · Pricing

Priced after we see the file. Never before.

Honest pricing requires seeing what’s actually there. Every cleanup quote comes after a diagnostic review — not from a rate sheet. Scope is driven by two variables: how many months are behind, and how many transactions are in those months.

Cleanup Bookkeeping — Pricing Structure

Free diagnostic call

Describe your situation — how far behind, what platform you’re on. No commitment required.

Fixed-fee quote after file review

Scope is defined up front. No open-ended hourly billing, no surprise invoice when the project closes.

Typical range: $750–$3,500

Most small business cleanups with fewer than 18 months of backlog fall in this range. Larger or more complex situations are quoted directly after review.

One-time flat fee — project based

Cleanup is not a recurring service. When the books are clean, the project is closed. No ongoing charge unless you choose to continue with bookkeeping.

After cleanup, Susan can transition into monthly bookkeeping, prepare your individual or business tax return, or simply hand you back a clean file. Your call.

Why Susan

Cleanup done by a CPA — not just a bookkeeper.

Every categorization decision in a cleanup has a tax consequence. Most bookkeepers don’t know what those are. Susan signs tax returns. She knows.

Tax-aware categorization from the first transaction

Susan codes every transaction with deductibility in mind. Not just “what account does this go in” but “what does this cost you at tax time if it’s wrong.”

Judgment-free — she’s seen much worse

Two years behind, four years behind, never reconciled, inherited from a previous owner — none of it is unusual. The goal is a clean file, not a verdict on how it got this way.

Fixed price before work begins

Cleanup is scoped after a file review, not guessed at. You know the cost before anything starts — no hourly billing that grows as the work turns out to be larger than expected.

Complete handoff — you understand what was found

When cleanup is done, you get a walkthrough: what was corrected, what was discovered, where your business stands. Not a black box — a briefing.

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06 · Common Questions

Questions about catch-up bookkeeping

How far behind can my books be?

There’s no upper limit. Susan has handled cleanups spanning multiple years of backlog — businesses that were never reconciled, books inherited from prior owners, files that hadn’t been touched in three or four years. The scope determines the price; it doesn’t determine whether the work is possible. If the bank statements exist, the cleanup can be done.

What if I don’t have QuickBooks — just bank statements?

Bank and credit card statements are enough to reconstruct the books. Susan can build the file from scratch using statements, receipt records, and any documentation you have. QuickBooks Online or Desktop is the preferred platform, but cleanup can begin from raw bank data if that’s what you have.

How long does cleanup take?

Most small business cleanups are completed within 4–8 weeks, depending on the backlog length and transaction volume. Simple cleanups — a business with 100–150 transactions per month, 6–12 months behind — often take two to three weeks. Larger files or multi-year backlogs take longer, and the timeline is discussed before work begins.

How do you price this? I’ve seen other services charge by the month.

Some services charge a per-month rate for cleanup — which works if the scope is clear up front but can produce estimates that don’t reflect the actual complexity inside those months. Susan scopes each cleanup after reviewing the file: months behind, average transaction volume, complexity of the chart of accounts, and whether prior errors need to be unwound. The result is a single fixed fee for the entire project — not a per-month rate that grows as the file turns out to be messier than expected.

Can you prepare my taxes after the cleanup?

Yes — and it’s often the most efficient path. When Susan does the cleanup, she already knows the file, understands what was found, and has the context to prepare an accurate return without starting from scratch. Individual tax preparation and business tax preparation are both available as a natural next step after cleanup.

What’s the difference between catch-up bookkeeping and ongoing bookkeeping?

Catch-up bookkeeping is a one-time project with a defined start and end: you come in behind, cleanup is done, project closes. Ongoing bookkeeping is a monthly recurring service that keeps the books current going forward. Many clients do a catch-up first, then transition to ongoing bookkeeping so the backlog problem never returns. Others just need the one-time cleanup and manage the books themselves after that.

I’m embarrassed about the state of my books. Is that going to be a problem?

No — and it’s worth saying directly. The books being behind is one of the most common situations Susan sees. It’s almost never about negligence; it’s usually about running a business without enough hours in the day. Catch-up bookkeeping is a judgment-free service. The only thing that matters is getting the file clean.

My prior bookkeeper made a lot of errors. Can those be undone?

Yes. Correcting prior-period errors is a standard part of cleanup. That includes reclassifying transactions coded to the wrong account, fixing opening balances that were set incorrectly, removing phantom or duplicate entries, and unwinding journal entries that don’t reflect what actually happened. If there are errors that affect a prior tax year, Susan will flag them and advise on whether an amended return makes sense.

live

Stop carrying the weight of it. Let’s get your books current.

Schedule a free 15-minute call with Susan. Describe where your books stand — how far behind, what platform you’re on, what’s been keeping you from fixing it. She’ll give you a straight answer on what cleanup involves, how long it takes, and what it costs. No commitment required.
Schedule a free cal
Call (530) 221-1609