Bookkeeping Cleanup
Books behind? We rebuild from the bank statement up.
Multi-month or multi-year cleanup, sales tax compliance, missed filings, and a monthly close that actually holds — for service businesses, ecommerce brands, and contractors $500K to $30M.
Flat fee
After diagnostic — no hourly surprises
4-16 wks
Typical cleanup timeline
All 50
States we handle sales tax for
Monthly
Close discipline that holds after
You probably know which of these is you.
The symptoms vary. The fix is the same: rebuild the books from primary source documents, then put a real close discipline in place so it doesn't happen again.
Bookkeeper quit, ghosted, or got fired
You logged in and discovered nothing has reconciled in months. Or 60% of expenses are in a catch-all account. Or there's a pile of unopened mail.
Multi-year tax filings missed
Returns missed for two, three, seven years. IRS notices in a drawer. State sales tax registration gaps. Penalties accruing every month it waits.
Bank reconciliations months behind
Last successful reconciliation: not this year. Bank balance per books and per statement haven't matched in a long time. P&L numbers no one trusts.
Suspected fraud or owner overspending
Vendor payments to entities no one recognizes. Personal expenses on business cards. Or cash going somewhere it shouldn't. We bring forensic discipline without escalating before there's a finding.
Lender, sale, or audit deadline forcing the issue
A bank, an acquirer, the IRS, or a CPA is asking for clean financials and you don't have them. Cleanup with a hard deadline is its own discipline.
Sales tax exposure across multiple states
Ecommerce or service brands that crossed nexus thresholds and never registered. Marketplace facilitator confusion. Drop-ship resale certificate gaps. We scope, register, and reconcile.
How a Level cleanup actually goes
Diagnostic first, flat fee second, real reconciliation third, monthly close discipline fourth. Not hourly. Not open-ended.
Diagnostic (week 1)
We assess scope: what's reconciled, what's behind, what's missing, how messy the chart of accounts is, what's been filed, what hasn't. End of week 1: a flat-fee scope and clear recovery plan.
Bank statement-up reconstruction (weeks 2-6)
Every account: bank, credit card, loan, merchant. Reconciled chronologically. Uncleared items investigated. Duplicates resolved. Real reconciliation reports — not journal-entry plug.
Tax + sales tax cleanup (weeks 4-10)
Coordinate with your CPA (or one we recommend) on missed filings. Voluntary disclosure agreements where helpful. State sales tax registrations and nexus reconciliation. Penalty abatement filings where eligible.
Monthly close that holds (week 8 onwards)
Close calendar built. Reconciliations cadence locked. Three monthly artifacts (rec reports, statements, close memo) delivered to you. Either we run it ongoing or hand it off cleanly.
From a bookkeeper on r/Bookkeeping
“I had a client come in with two businesses and he hasn't filed taxes since ‘14. He brought me a large plastic tote full of every receipt from both businesses for the last seven years mixed together.”
We see this. Often. The fix is process and patience, not panic.
What you get back
A reconciled balance sheet that ties to every bank statement
P&L you can actually trust month-over-month
A real bank reconciliation report (PDF) for every account, every month
Sales tax registrations + filings cleaned up across states
Coordinated tax filings (with your CPA or one we recommend)
A close calendar your bookkeeper can follow in your absence
1099 vendor tracking set up correctly for next January
Three monthly artifacts: rec reports, statements, close memo
Frequently asked questions
How much does bookkeeping cleanup cost?
It depends on the months behind, the entity complexity, the volume of transactions, and the accuracy of what's already in the system. Typical ranges: 6 months behind for a $1-3M services business: $3,000-$8,000. 12-24 months for a $2-10M business: $8,000-$25,000. Multi-year (5+ years) for any complexity: $15,000-$50,000+. We always quote a flat fee after diagnosis — never hourly with no ceiling.
Will you work with my existing CPA?
Yes. Most cleanups need to coordinate with a tax preparer for the missed filings. We work with your existing CPA and prepare the year-end packet for them. If you don't have a CPA or yours doesn't have capacity, we can recommend one experienced with cleanup work.
Do you handle sales tax cleanup across multiple states?
Yes. For ecommerce and multi-state services brands, we scope your nexus footprint, identify states where you should have registered, evaluate voluntary disclosure agreements, register where needed, and reconcile historical liability. We coordinate with sales tax software (Avalara, TaxJar, Anrok) for ongoing compliance.
What if cleanup reveals fraud?
We pause and escalate carefully. The cleanup process surfaces evidence, but accusations require formal investigation. We coordinate with you (and a forensic accountant if needed) to preserve evidence, document findings, and recommend next steps — which range from internal correction to police report to civil action.
How long until my books are current?
Typical timelines: 6-month catch-up: 4-8 weeks. 12-24 month catch-up: 8-16 weeks. Multi-year: 12-24+ weeks. The deadline (lender, audit, sale) often drives sequencing more than the volume.
Will you take over monthly bookkeeping after cleanup?
If you want us to. Many clients move from cleanup to ongoing monthly bookkeeping + fractional CFO. Some clients hand off to an internal bookkeeper or a different firm. We design the close calendar and chart of accounts to be portable.
Related reading
Behind on books? Let's get you caught up.
Free 15-min triage call. We'll scope your cleanup and give you a fixed-fee quote within 24 hours. Free audit included.
No commitment. Real numbers, not generic advice.