Behind on your books? No shame here.
Need help with catch-up bookkeeping services? You’re not alone. 25% of business owners are behind on their books. Whether you’re behind a few months or a few years, Haas House will bring your financials up to date so you can worry less about the past and spend more time thinking about the future.
How it works...
We Make Starting Easy
Call, Text, or Email
Accurate bookkeeping for financial control
We Keep it Easy
We’ll start with an onboarding call to get on the same page. After that, we’ll assign you a specialized bookkeeping expert. Whether you’re two months or two years behind, our team will get you caught up.
Your Haas House Bookkeeper will help you complete your New Client information form and Checklist so that we can gather the information we need to catch up on your books.
Each month of historical bookkeeping is peer-reviewed to ensure total accuracy. Your books will be tax-ready and up-to-date in no time.
Once all the work is done, we will generate financial reports. You can use these reports to make important decisions about growth and sustainability for your business.
The Checklist
Gather Financial Documents. The goal is to identify all financial transactions that affect your business. Including everything, in addition to our New Client Information form, will give us a clear picture of your business’s health, so don’t leave anything out.
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Invoices
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Receipts
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Bank statements
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Credit card statements
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Business loan statements
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Payroll data
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Federal and state taxes paid
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Any other relevant financial documents
What's next?
Our QuickBooks ProAdvisors and Xero specialists will
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Begin a comprehensive review of your bookkeeping system – verifying that your chart of accounts is optimized for your business and making sure your accounts are set up properly.
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Identify the main categories that represent your business’s transactions (e.g., income, expenses, equity, assets, liabilities).
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Assign categories for tax purposes for the cost of goods/services.
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Ensure all income and expenses are accounted for.
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Ensure consistency in categorizing similar transactions.
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Separate personal expenses from business expenses.
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Month-to-month reconciliations of your bank account and credit card transactions.
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Identify discrepancies between your accounting software and bank statements and resolve them.
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Update your accounts receivables and accounts payables.
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Analyze your company file to ensure data accuracy.
What is the difference between Clean-up Accounting, Catch-up, and Rebuild services?
Clean-up accounting refers to the process involved for a business that hasn’t followed consistent practices to maintain its financial records. This is usually evident in January, when records are needed but don’t exist for income tax purposes. Accurate reporting for the entire year is necessary for tax filing, and it’s usually an emergency that needs to be done quickly. The business owner then has to identify and locate all documents required to recreate all of the transactions the business conducted for the last 12 months. It’s not easy, and essential expenses incurred months ago are often forgotten and not accounted for.
Catch-up services are essential for regaining control and accuracy and are useful when a set of clean and well-organized books needs to be brought up to date.
A Build or Rebuild is one or more years of historical data recreated in a separate file. It is intended to bring order to historical data and create a professional and organized baseline for future use. This start-from-scratch approach separates old information from the new and is often the best practice for businesses that were once LLCs and are now S-Corps or when there is too much data or none at all.
All three services include the same level of care, attention to detail, and accuracy.
What Happens If You Don’t Do Bookkeeping?
A business may be able to get by for a few years without keeping track of its books, but it will catch up to you. You won’t know if you’re overpaying for products or services. You won’t know if you are applying the appropriate markup to your customers. These are the most significant reasons businesses don’t survive over time.
How Much Time Do Small Business Owners Spend on Accounting?
A small single-owner business with less than 3 bank accounts should expect to spend between 8 and 10 hours a month maintaining its financial records. A mid-size business with 3 to 6 bank accounts should expect to spend between 12 and 15 hours a month. Larger companies will need to devote a minimum of 20 hours a month to maintaining their financial records, in addition to interacting with their customers, creating invoices, and paying bills.
How Often Should a Small Business Do Bookkeeping?
A small business should “do bookkeeping” as often as possible. At a minimum, weekly cleanups are necessary to identify any problems with the transactional reporting. Monthly account receivable reports are necessary to determine who owes your business money. These intervals can vary depending on your corporate structure, such as an S-corporation, but monthly account receivable reports should be a minimum expectation across the board.
If your books are set up properly, a monthly review will be vital to develop growth strategies for your industry.
Next Time Doesn’t Need to be as Tough
Catching up with your bookkeeping can be a daunting task, but by following our checklist, we will have taken a significant step towards financial organization and clarity. To make this process less stressful in the future, consider implementing regular bookkeeping practices throughout the year. Set aside dedicated time each week or month to update your financial records, reconcile accounts, and review transactions. Utilize accounting software or tools that streamline the process and automate repetitive tasks.
Additionally, consider seeking counsel from our bookkeepers or an accountant to ensure accuracy and compliance with financial regulations. By staying proactive and maintaining consistent bookkeeping practices, you’ll not only save time and reduce stress during catch-up sessions but also gain valuable insights into your business’s financial health and performance. Remember, financial organization is key to making informed decisions and achieving long-term success.
