Bookkeeping • Monthly close & cleanup
Find a Bookkeeper Near You
Hire a vetted bookkeeper to keep your books reconciled, your reports current, and tax season painless. Compare verified pros across QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks.
Get help with QuickBooks, bookkeeping, payroll, tax planning, controller support, and CFO advisory from professionals who understand your business needs.
Overview
What a bookkeeper actually does
A bookkeeper records transactions, reconciles bank and credit card accounts, and produces monthly financial reports. The goal: clean books your CPA can trust at tax time and dashboards you can use to run the business.
- Categorize income and expenses each month
- Reconcile bank, credit card, and merchant accounts
- Produce monthly P&L and balance sheet
- Manage accounts payable and receivable
- Clean up prior-period errors and catch-up work
- Hand off clean files to your CPA at year-end
Typical pricing
What this service usually costs
Solo and contractor books typically run $300–$600/mo. Growing small businesses with payroll and inventory: $800–$1,500/mo. One-time cleanup engagements are usually quoted hourly at $50–$125/hr.
Estimate cleanup costRight fit
Who should hire this professional
- Owners spending more than 2 hours/week on books
- Anyone behind on reconciliations
- Businesses preparing for a loan or investor
- S-corps that need clean payroll + distribution tracking
- Anyone whose CPA charged a 'messy books' fee last year
- Solo founders trying to focus on revenue, not data entry
Scope
Services included
Monthly bookkeeping
Transaction categorization, reconciliations, and a closed period each month.
Bookkeeping cleanup
Catch-up work for prior months or years so you have accurate financials.
QuickBooks setup
Chart of accounts, integrations (Stripe, Shopify, PayPal), and bank feeds.
Accounts payable
Bill entry, vendor management, and scheduled payments.
Sales tax filing
Multi-state sales tax registration, calculation, and remittance.
Year-end packet
Adjusting entries, depreciation schedule, and a clean trial balance for your CPA.
Need help with bookkeeping, QuickBooks, tax, or CFO support?
Tell us what service you need and where your business is located.
Before you hire
Questions to ask any candidate
- 1Which software do you specialize in (QuickBooks, Xero, FreshBooks)?
- 2Are you a Certified ProAdvisor or Xero Certified?
- 3How quickly do you close each month?
- 4What reports will I get and when?
- 5How do you handle missing receipts or unclear transactions?
- 6Do you coordinate directly with my CPA at year-end?
Get ready
Documents to prepare
- Most recent bank and credit card statements
- Access to QuickBooks, Xero, or FreshBooks file
- Prior-year tax return
- Payroll reports (if applicable)
- Loan agreements and amortization schedules
- List of recurring vendors and revenue sources
Compare
Related services
Outsourced bookkeeping
Full-service monthly bookkeeping handled remotely.
Explore this serviceBookkeeping cleanup
Catch-up work to bring prior months current.
Explore this serviceQuickBooks bookkeeping
QuickBooks Online and Desktop specialists.
Explore this serviceBookkeeping + payroll
Bundle books and payroll under one provider.
Explore this serviceMonthly bookkeeping
Recurring monthly close at a flat rate.
Explore this serviceBookkeeping packages
Tier-based packages from solo to multi-entity.
Explore this serviceNeed help with bookkeeping, QuickBooks, tax, or CFO support?
Tell us what service you need and where your business is located.
FAQ
Common questions
How much does a bookkeeper cost?
Most small businesses pay $300–$1,500/month depending on transaction volume, payroll, and complexity. Cleanup work is usually quoted hourly at $50–$125/hr.
Bookkeeper vs. accountant — what's the difference?
Bookkeepers record transactions and reconcile accounts. CPAs review the books, file taxes, and advise on strategy. Many small businesses need both.
Can a bookkeeper file my taxes?
Bookkeepers can file sales and payroll taxes. Federal and state income tax returns are filed by a CPA, EA, or other PTIN-holder.
How long does cleanup take?
Typical cleanup for 6–12 months of backlogged books runs 2–4 weeks. Multi-year cleanups can take longer and are often phased.
By city
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Bookkeeping in Houston, TX
Houston CPAs serve energy, healthcare, and the city's vast small-business community.
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Dallas accounting firms anchor finance, real estate, and corporate headquarters across DFW.
Bookkeeping in Los Angeles, CA
LA's accountants specialize in entertainment, real estate, and creative-industry tax planning.
Bookkeeping in San Francisco, CA
San Francisco CPAs serve startups, venture-backed companies, and complex equity-comp clients.
Bookkeeping in New York City, NY
NYC's accountants cover Wall Street, media, real estate, hospitality, and the small businesses of all five boroughs.
Bookkeeping in Miami, FL
Miami's CPAs specialize in international tax, real estate, hospitality, and Latin American business.
Bookkeeping in Chicago, IL
Chicago accountants serve professional services, manufacturing, logistics, and the Midwest's largest corporate base.
Bookkeeping in Atlanta, GA
Atlanta's CPAs support film, fintech, logistics, and one of the country's most dynamic small-business scenes.
Bookkeeping in Boston, MA
Boston-area accountants serve life sciences, higher education, financial services, and innovation-economy startups.
Bookkeeping in Seattle, WA
Seattle CPAs serve tech, aerospace, and the Pacific Northwest's deep entrepreneurial bench.
Bookkeeping in Washington DC, DC
Washington DC accountants serve federal contractors, nonprofits, associations, and the law firms that anchor the capital's economy.
Bookkeeping in Baltimore, MD
Baltimore CPAs serve healthcare systems, port and logistics operators, biotech, and the city's deep nonprofit and higher-ed community.
Bookkeeping in Richmond, VA
Richmond CPAs serve Fortune 500 headquarters, banking and insurance, tobacco-to-tech manufacturers, and Virginia's state-capital legal and government economy.
Bookkeeping in Birmingham, AL
Birmingham CPAs serve banking, healthcare, steel, and the Magic City's small-business economy.
Bookkeeping in Anchorage, AK
Anchorage CPAs serve oil and gas, fisheries, federal contracting, and the state's tourism economy.
Bookkeeping in Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix CPAs serve semiconductors, real estate, healthcare, and one of the country's fastest-growing small-business markets.
Bookkeeping in Little Rock, AR
Little Rock CPAs serve healthcare, logistics, agriculture, and the state's government and legal economy.
Bookkeeping in Denver, CO
Denver CPAs serve tech, aerospace, cannabis, and the Front Range's outdoor and energy economies.
Bookkeeping in Hartford, CT
Hartford CPAs serve insurance, reinsurance, manufacturing, and the broader Connecticut River Valley economy.
Bookkeeping in Wilmington, DE
Wilmington CPAs serve banking, corporate trust, pharma, and the Fortune 500 entity-formation economy.
Bookkeeping in Honolulu, HI
Honolulu CPAs serve tourism, military contracting, real estate, and the islands' small-business community.
Bookkeeping in Boise, ID
Boise CPAs serve tech, agriculture, manufacturing, and a fast-growing relocation-driven small-business economy.
Bookkeeping in Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis CPAs serve manufacturing, life sciences, logistics, and motorsports.
Bookkeeping in Des Moines, IA
Des Moines CPAs serve insurance, agribusiness, biofuels, and the state's growing tech economy.
Bookkeeping in Wichita, KS
Wichita CPAs serve aviation, aerospace, energy, and agriculture.
Bookkeeping in Louisville, KY
Louisville CPAs serve bourbon, equine, automotive manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics (UPS Worldport).
Bookkeeping in New Orleans, LA
New Orleans CPAs serve maritime, tourism, oil and gas, and the city's film and hospitality economies.
Bookkeeping in Portland, ME
Portland CPAs serve tourism, fisheries, forestry, and the state's growing remote-work and craft economies.
Bookkeeping in Detroit, MI
Detroit CPAs serve automotive, mobility, healthcare, and the broader Southeast Michigan manufacturing base.
Bookkeeping in Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis CPAs serve Fortune 500 headquarters, medical devices, agribusiness, and finance.
Bookkeeping in Jackson, MS
Jackson CPAs serve manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, and the state's government and legal economy.
Bookkeeping in St. Louis, MO
St. Louis CPAs serve agribusiness, defense, biosciences, financial services, and logistics.
Bookkeeping in Billings, MT
Billings CPAs serve agriculture, energy, healthcare, and Montana's tourism economy.
Bookkeeping in Omaha, NE
Omaha CPAs serve insurance, financial services, agribusiness, and the Berkshire Hathaway ecosystem.
Bookkeeping in Las Vegas, NV
Las Vegas CPAs serve gaming, hospitality, entertainment, real estate, and a fast-growing logistics base.
Bookkeeping in Manchester, NH
Manchester CPAs serve advanced manufacturing, biotech, healthcare, and a thriving small-business community.
Bookkeeping in Newark, NJ
Newark CPAs serve pharma, financial services, logistics, ports, and the NYC-metro small-business economy.
Bookkeeping in Albuquerque, NM
Albuquerque CPAs serve federal labs and defense, oil and gas, film, and tourism.
Bookkeeping in Fargo, ND
Fargo CPAs serve agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and the Red River Valley's tech and healthcare economy.
Bookkeeping in Oklahoma City, OK
Oklahoma City CPAs serve oil and gas, aerospace, agriculture, and the state's growing healthcare and bioscience industries.
Bookkeeping in Portland, OR
Portland CPAs serve tech, athletic apparel, forestry, and the Pacific Northwest's craft beverage and outdoor industries.
Bookkeeping in Providence, RI
Providence CPAs serve financial services, healthcare, defense manufacturing, and tourism.
Bookkeeping in Charleston, SC
Charleston CPAs serve ports, aerospace, automotive, hospitality, and a growing tech economy.
Bookkeeping in Sioux Falls, SD
Sioux Falls CPAs serve financial services, credit card processing, trust administration, and healthcare.
Bookkeeping in Brookings, SD
Brookings CPAs and QuickBooks ProAdvisors serve South Dakota State University-area businesses, agribusiness, and the city's growing tech and biotech employers.
Bookkeeping in Nashville, TN
Nashville CPAs serve healthcare, music and entertainment, hospitality, and the state's franchise and excise tax compliance.
Bookkeeping in Salt Lake City, UT
Salt Lake City CPAs serve the Silicon Slopes tech corridor, outdoor recreation, mining, and financial services.
Bookkeeping in Burlington, VT
Burlington CPAs serve craft food and beverage, tourism, healthcare, and outdoor brands.
Bookkeeping in Charleston, WV
Charleston CPAs serve coal and natural gas, chemicals, healthcare, and state government.
Bookkeeping in Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee CPAs serve manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, and the Lake Michigan industrial corridor.
Bookkeeping in Cheyenne, WY
Cheyenne CPAs serve energy, ranching, trust administration, and a growing data-center and tech economy.
Bookkeeping in Charlotte, NC
Charlotte CPAs serve the second-largest U.S. banking center, plus energy, healthcare, motorsports, and one of the fastest-growing relocation markets in the country.
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Advisor-grade guides
Downloadable ebooks & templates
CPA-ready playbooks and templates you can use today — instant downloads, no signup required.
The Small Business Tax & Profit Playbook
A CPA-ready guide to deductions, quarterly taxes, S-Corp strategy, owner pay, cash flow, and year-round tax planning.
Business Tax Deduction Checklist
A CPA-curated checklist of 80+ business deductions most owners miss — organized by category so you can sweep it before filing.
The Definitive Bookkeeping Cleanup & Recovery Guide
The CPA's step-by-step playbook for diagnosing messy books, reconstructing missing history, and restoring a clean, audit-ready ledger.
The Freelancer Tax Guide
The practical tax playbook for freelancers, contractors, and solo creatives — deductions, quarterly estimates, and self-employment strategies.
The Year-End Tax Planning Guide
The CPA's December playbook — practical strategies to reduce your tax bill before the year closes.
The Premium Bookkeeping Template Pack
Automated dashboards, multi-account reconciliations, and CPA-ready reporting workbooks for serious owners and bookkeepers.
Tax & Bookkeeping Resource Library
Our complete advisor-grade collection — every premium asset an owner needs to run clean books, lower taxes, and recover messy ledgers, in one bundle.