Catch-up and cleanup bookkeeping · Bergen County, NJ
Catch-Up and Cleanup Bookkeeping for New Jersey Small Businesses
Months or years behind, or books that do not match the bank? We rebuild them one month at a time, reconcile every account to its statement and finish with numbers that go straight onto your tax return. Catch-up is quoted at a flat price per month of statements.
Monday to Friday 10am to 6pm, weekends 11am to 5pm.
Who it is for
Behind, messy or both.
Months behind
Statements piled up while you ran the business. We work through them in order, oldest first.
Years behind
No books at all for one or more years, often with returns that are late or on extension.
Do-it-yourself books
Transactions categorized by a bank feed but never reconciled, so the balance sheet does not tie to anything.
A bookkeeper who left
Half-finished work and no notes. We find the last month that reconciles and rebuild from there.
A lender or buyer asking
A bank, landlord or buyer wants financial statements you can stand behind.
A notice arrived
The IRS or New Jersey wants a return or an answer, and the books are the first step.
What we fix
Reconciled, not just categorized.
Categorizing a bank feed is not bookkeeping. Reconciling is what catches the errors that change your tax.
Every month reconciled
Each bank, credit card and loan account is matched to its statement every month, so the ending balance in the books is the ending balance on the statement.
Owner draws and contributions
Money you took out or put in is recorded as equity, not as an expense or as income. This is the most common error we find.
Loans
Loan proceeds booked as a liability, and each payment split between principal and interest using the lender’s statement.
Duplicate and missing entries
Deposits recorded twice, transfers between accounts counted as sales, and charges that never made it into the books.
Opening balances
The first month has to start from real numbers. We tie the opening balances to the prior-year return and the statements.
Sales tax
Sales tax collected is booked as a liability and tied to the returns that were filed. Missing New Jersey or New York returns are flagged.
Payroll
Wages and payroll taxes tied to the reports from your payroll provider, so the books agree with the Forms 941 and W-2s.
Personal expenses
Personal charges on business accounts are moved out of expenses and recorded as draws or loans.
Month by month
Each month closes before the next one starts.
We do not jump to December and back into a number. Every month starts from the prior month’s reconciled balance, so an error found in March is fixed in March and does not ripple through the rest of the year.
- 01Opening balance agreedTo the statement and last year’s return
- 02Transactions codedEach line on every statement
- 03Account reconciledBooks match the statement to the penny
- 04One short list of questions for you
What we need
The list, in one place.
Everything moves through the secure client portal. Most banks let you download past statements online.
What you send
- Bank statements for every business account, for every month we are catching up
- Credit card statements for every card used for the business
- Loan and line of credit statements
- Payroll reports from your payroll provider, if you have employees
- Sales tax returns filed, if you collect sales tax
- Last filed business tax return
Helpful if you have them
- Any books or spreadsheets kept so far
- Merchant and platform payout reports
- Closing statements for property or equipment bought or sold
- Invoices or receipts for large purchases
- Notes on transfers between your personal and business accounts
How it works
From the first call to current books.
Free consultation
We look at how many months are behind, how many accounts you have and whether a return is due.
Flat quote
You get a flat price per month of statements before any work starts.
Statements uploaded
You upload the statements through the client portal. We tell you exactly which months are missing.
Books rebuilt
Each month reconciled in order, with a profit and loss and balance sheet for every month.
One list of questions
Anything we cannot identify from the statement comes to you in one list.
Year closed, then monthly
The year is ready for the return, and you move to a monthly package so it does not happen again.
If a deadline is close
File the extension first. Then do the books right.
How long catch-up takes depends on the number of months, the number of accounts and how quickly the statements arrive. If a deadline is close, we do not rush the books to meet it. We file the extensions on time and finish the books and the return together.
- S Corporations and Partnerships are due March 15 and can be extended to September 15 with federal Form 7004. For returns due in 2026, the IRS late-filing penalty is $255 per owner for each month the return is late, up to 12 months, so the extension matters even when no tax is due.
- Single-member LLCs and sole proprietors report the business on the owner’s Form 1040, due April 15 and extendable to October 15.
- An extension is more time to file, not to pay. We estimate the tax from the months already reconciled so the payment goes in with the extension.
Read more in our guides to catching up the books before a tax return and what monthly bookkeeping includes.
Common questions
Questions about catching up.
How is catch-up bookkeeping priced?
At a flat price per month of statements, quoted before we start. The price depends on how many accounts you have and how busy each month is, so you know the total up front.
What happens after the books are caught up?
You move to a monthly package, starting at $350 a month, so the books stay current and the next year-end is a review, not a rebuild.
I only have some of my statements. Can you still do it?
Yes. Most banks and card companies let you download past statements online, and we tell you exactly which months are missing. We cannot reconcile a month without its statement.
My return is due soon. Should I wait for the books?
No. We file the federal and state extensions on time, then finish the books and the return together. An extension gives more time to file, not to pay, so we estimate any tax due.
Do I need to buy bookkeeping software?
No. We keep your books in our system. You get a profit and loss and balance sheet for every month we catch up, and a full copy of your records whenever you ask.
Can you fix books another bookkeeper started?
Yes. We start from the last month that actually reconciles to the statement and rebuild from there.
Behind on the books? Start here.
Tell us how many months are open and which accounts you have, and we will quote a flat price. The first consultation is free.