Catch-Up Bookkeeping
Being behind on the books is common and fixable. Whether it's three months or three years, we work the backlog transaction by transaction until your books are current, accurate, and ready to build on.
What's included
- Full assessment of what's actually outstanding before any quote
- Backlog reconciled period by period, not bulk-coded to force a match
- Historical transactions coded properly against your chart of accounts
- Discrepancies documented rather than buried
- Books handed over current and ready for ongoing work or filing
Who it's for
- Businesses months or years behind on reconciliation
- Owners facing a filing deadline with books that aren't ready
- Companies that switched software and left a mess behind
- Anyone who wants to start ongoing bookkeeping from a clean position
How it runs
The actual sequence, start to finish.
- 01
Assess the backlog
We look at how far behind things are and how clean the underlying records are. This is what the quote is based on.
- 02
Quote the cleanup
Catch-up is quoted separately from ongoing bookkeeping, so a one-time mess doesn't inflate your monthly fee forever.
- 03
Work the backlog
Periods are reconciled in order so each one closes against a defensible opening position.
- 04
Hand over current books
You end up current, with anything unresolved documented rather than hidden.
What it costs
Quoted individually after reviewing what's outstanding, it depends entirely on how far behind and how clean the records are.
Questions about catch-up bookkeeping
We're years behind. Is that too far gone?
No. It changes the scope and the quote, not whether it's doable.
Do I have to sign up for monthly bookkeeping too?
No. Catch-up can be a standalone project, though most clients move onto ongoing bookkeeping afterwards to avoid ending up back here.
Why can't you quote this from a price list?
Because the range is enormous. Three tidy months and two chaotic years are entirely different jobs, and pretending otherwise means someone gets a wrong number.
More questions answered on the FAQ page.
Often paired with
Bookkeeping
Monthly reconciliation, coded transactions, and financial statements, every month.
Tax
GST/HST filing derived from your own books, and simple personal returns. Corporate, trust and partnership returns are done by our associated CPA.
Receipt & Invoice Organizing
Receipts and invoices captured, matched and filed: so if CRA ever asks, you can answer.
Bookkeeping for Allied Health Practices
How associates get paid, who owns the receivable, and the exempt versus taxable split that decides what a Canadian clinic can claim back.
Running one of these systems
QuickBooks Online Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online: the bank feed matched rather than added, Undeposited Funds cleared, a closing date that actually closes, and the connected apps accounted for.
QuickBooks Desktop Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping in QuickBooks Desktop: the company file kept current and reconciled, the Accountant's Copy handled properly at year end, and an honest answer on whether moving to QuickBooks Online is worth it.
Sage 300 Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping in Sage 300, still widely called Accpac: batches posted rather than stranded, multi-company and multi-currency handled deliberately, and a month end that closes.
Two years behind on your books? Here is what catching up actually involves
Catch-up bookkeeping is a defined project with a fixed end, not an open-ended bill. This is the sequence, and what makes one file take three weeks and another take three months.
How far behind is too far behind on your books?
There is no point at which books stop being recoverable. What decides the cost is how much source documentation still exists, rather than how many months have passed.
Ready to talk about catch-up bookkeeping?
A free 20-minute consultation, no obligation.