The short answer
Bookkeeping cleanup in Chandler fixes books that exist but are wrong: duplicate transactions, uncategorized items, unreconciled bank and card accounts, opening balance equity problems and personal spending mixed into the business. AZ Easy CPA reviews your QuickBooks file, quotes the work after a look and corrects it so your reports make sense.
What are the signs your books need a cleanup?
Your books probably need a cleanup if your QuickBooks bank balance does not match the bank, reconciliations have been skipped, there is a large uncategorized or Ask My Accountant balance, or your profit and loss report shows numbers you know are wrong. A tax preparer asking a lot of questions is another clear sign.
Messy books rarely happen all at once. A bank feed gets connected twice, a few months of reconciliations get skipped, a loan payment gets coded entirely to expense, and before long the reports stop matching reality.
Here are the signs we see most often:
- The cash balance in QuickBooks does not match your bank statement
- Reconciliations are months behind, or have never been done
- A big balance sits in Uncategorized Income, Uncategorized Expense or Ask My Accountant
- Opening Balance Equity has a balance that nobody can explain
- Revenue or expenses look doubled for some months
- Loan balances in QuickBooks do not match what the lender says you owe
- Accounts receivable shows customers owing money they paid long ago
- Your tax preparer sent the file back with a long list of questions
If two or three of those sound familiar, a cleanup is usually the right next step.
What does a QuickBooks cleanup fix?
A QuickBooks cleanup corrects the problems that make your reports unreliable. We remove duplicate transactions, categorize what was left uncategorized, reconcile bank and credit card accounts to statements, clear out opening balance equity issues and separate personal spending from business activity.
Duplicate transactions
Duplicates usually come from a bank feed connected twice, transactions imported from a spreadsheet and also downloaded, or invoices recorded as deposits and then paid again. We find them, match them to the statement and remove the extras so income and expenses are not inflated.
Uncategorized and miscategorized items
We work through the Uncategorized and Ask My Accountant balances and give each item a proper home. Along the way we fix common mix-ups, like loan payments recorded fully as expense when part of the payment is principal.
Unreconciled accounts
Every bank account, credit card and loan gets reconciled to its statements. This is the step that proves the books are right, and it often uncovers the other problems on this list.
Opening balance equity issues
Opening Balance Equity is a holding account QuickBooks uses when balances are entered during setup. It is supposed to be cleared out, but often it collects years of leftover entries. We trace where the balance came from and move it to the correct accounts.
Personal and business mixing
Personal spending on a business card, or business bills paid from a personal account, makes a real mess. We identify these items and record them properly, usually as owner draws or owner contributions, so the business numbers stand on their own.
See what a cleanup actually changes
Same month, same transactions. Drag the handle to see what happens when every account is reconciled and every transaction lands where it belongs.
| Date | Payee | Category | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/02 | Amazon | Uncategorized Expense | 214.37 |
| 09/03 | Deposit | Ask My Accountant | 2,450.00 |
| 09/03 | Deposit | Duplicate entry | 2,450.00 |
| 09/05 | Home Depot | Meals | 386.12 |
| 09/08 | SBA loan | All booked as expense | 1,150.00 |
| Difference vs bank | 2,450.00 | ||
| Date | Payee | Category | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 09/02 | Amazon | Office Supplies | 214.37 |
| 09/03 | Deposit | Sales, Invoice 1042 | 2,450.00 |
| 09/03 | Deposit | Removed duplicate | 2,450.00 |
| 09/05 | Home Depot | Job Materials | 386.12 |
| 09/08 | SBA loan | Loan principal and interest | 1,150.00 |
| Difference vs bank | 0.00 | ||
What is the difference between cleanup, catch-up and monthly bookkeeping?
Cleanup fixes books that have been kept but kept wrong. Catch-up fills in months or years that were never recorded. Monthly bookkeeping keeps current books accurate going forward. Many clients start with a cleanup or catch-up project, then move into monthly bookkeeping so the problem does not come back.
| Bookkeeping cleanup | Catch-up bookkeeping | Monthly bookkeeping | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Books that exist but have errors | Books that are months or years behind | Books that are current and need to stay that way |
| Main work | Fixing duplicates, categories, reconciliations and balances | Recording and reconciling the missing periods | Posting, reconciling and closing each month |
| Timing | One-time project | One-time project | Ongoing every month |
| Pricing | Quoted after a look at the books | Quoted after a look at the records | Typically starts around $300 a month |
| Result | Accurate, reconciled books you can trust | Complete books up to the present | Monthly reports and a strategy session |
Plenty of files need a bit of both: some months recorded with errors and some months not recorded at all. We sort that out when we review the file, so you get one quote for the full project. Learn more about catch-up bookkeeping or monthly bookkeeping.
How does bookkeeping cleanup pricing work?
Cleanup work is quoted after we look at your books, because the effort depends on how many months are affected, how many accounts need reconciling and how deep the problems go. We start with a free phone call, review the file and give you a clear quote before we begin.
Two QuickBooks files can look similar from the outside and need very different amounts of work. One might have a single bank feed connected twice for three months. Another might have five years of unreconciled credit cards and a large opening balance equity number.
Looking at the file first means the quote reflects the real job. It also means we can tell you honestly whether a cleanup makes sense, or whether starting fresh in a new file would be simpler.
Why is a CPA-led cleanup different?
A cleanup touches your balance sheet, equity and past periods, which affects what your tax preparer sees. Chris Badulescu is a CPA and QuickBooks ProAdvisor at the Elite tier, so the corrections are made with the accounting in mind, not just to make the bank feed look tidy.
Deleting transactions until the bank balance matches is not a cleanup. Real cleanup work asks why each balance is there and fixes the cause. That matters most in places like loans, equity and prior years that have already been used for a tax return.
"Chris is a master of his craft! Crazy cool to see him whip through Quickbooks." (Shawn M., Google review)
When a correction touches a year that was already filed, we flag it and coordinate with your tax preparer. We do not prepare returns ourselves, but we work with trusted tax partners and keep everyone on the same page.
What happens after the cleanup?
After the cleanup you have reconciled books and reports you can actually use. Many clients move into monthly bookkeeping so the books stay that way. Others want to keep doing their own books, and we can set up bank rules and provide QuickBooks training so the same issues do not creep back.
A cleanup is a good time to also fix the setup that caused the mess. That might mean tightening up your chart of accounts, adjusting bank rules or disconnecting a duplicate feed for good.
- Monthly bookkeeping if you want us to keep the books current
- QuickBooks training if you or your team will keep entering transactions
- QuickBooks setup if the file needs a new chart of accounts or a fresh start
How do we get started?
Free phone call
Tell us what feels off about your books. No pressure and no judgment.
File review
We look at your QuickBooks file and statements to see how deep the problems go.
Clear quote
You get a quote for the cleanup based on what we found.
Cleanup work
We fix duplicates, categories, reconciliations and balance sheet issues, and send questions as they come up.
Review together
Chris walks you through the corrected reports and what to do next.
Bookkeeping Cleanup questions
How do I know if I need a cleanup or a fresh start?
It depends on how much of the existing file is usable. If most transactions are there but some are wrong, a cleanup usually makes sense. If the file is badly broken, starting a new file can be simpler, and we will tell you which way we would go after we look.
How long does a bookkeeping cleanup take?
It depends on how many months need work, how many accounts are involved and how quickly we get statements and answers back. We can give you a better sense of timing once we review the file.
What do you need from me?
Access to your QuickBooks file, bank and credit card statements for the affected periods and loan statements if you have loans. We will also send a list of questions about transactions we cannot identify. Everything is shared through a secure upload portal.
Will a cleanup change my past tax returns?
Sometimes corrections reach back into years that were already filed. When that happens, we flag it and work with your tax preparer so they can decide what, if anything, needs to be done.
Can you clean up QuickBooks Desktop files?
Yes, and a cleanup is often a good time to move to QuickBooks Online. We can clean up the file and handle the Desktop to Online conversion as part of the same project.
How much does a cleanup cost?
Cleanup work is quoted after we look at your books, since every file is different. The first step is a free phone call.
I mixed personal and business spending. Is that fixable?
Yes, it is one of the most common things we fix. We identify the personal items and record them as owner draws or contributions, so the business numbers are accurate.
Bookkeeping near you
From our Chandler office we work with businesses across the East Valley and Arizona, in person or online.
