Bookkeeping · a Fieldcraft practice
Months behind. Fixed price to get current.
Catch-up bookkeeping for businesses that are months or years behind: every account reconciled, books current through today, finished with a written read of what the numbers actually say. Fixed price, quoted after a look at your file. Most engagements are done in weeks, not months.
Who this is for
Behind, and something is now asking.
The business grew and the books did not keep up. The bookkeeper left. The year got away. Nobody plans to be nine months behind; it arrives on its own. What usually ends it is external: a lender wants current statements, a CPA wants a clean file, or a tax extension is coming due. September 15 and October 15 are statutory deadlines, and preparers need finished books well before either one.
What you get
Current books, then a read of them.
Cleanup alone is a commodity; you can buy reconciled accounts anywhere. The end product here is different: books current and trustworthy, then The First Read on top, a written answer to three questions. Can these numbers be trusted. What are they telling you. What should be fixed first. Delivered with a 30-minute walkthrough, so the file you paid to fix becomes a file you can run the company from.
Price
Fixed. Quoted after a look at your file.
Light catch-up (up to about six months, one entity, clean bank feeds) sits at the low end. Heavy catch-up (a year or more, multiple accounts, payroll to untangle) sits at the top. The quote follows a scoping look at your actual file, so it is a real number, and it does not move after you sign. Never hourly. No clock ever appears on an invoice.
What we need
Five things, none of them prep work.
- Read-only accountant access to QuickBooks Online or Xero, or a backup file
- Trailing 12 months profit and loss, and the balance sheet
- Three months of bank and credit card statements
- AR aging and AP aging, if you have them
- One 20-minute intake call
The comparison worth making
Three ways to get current.
| Catch-up here | A bookkeeping mill | Doing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price shape | Fixed, quoted from your file | Low monthly teaser, cleanup billed hourly on top | Free, except the nights and the errors |
| What exists at the end | Reconciled books plus a written read and a call | Reconciled books | Categorized transactions, uncertainty intact |
| Who reads the result | A person, who signs it | Nobody; reports are generated | You, at midnight |
| Time to current | Weeks, scoped up front | Open-ended | Indefinite |
Start
Request the scoping look.
Tell us where things stand. You get a straight answer about scope and a fixed quote, usually within one business day. Prefer to talk first? Start a conversation.
Questions owners ask
Straight answers.
- How far behind is too far?
- There is no too far. Six months, eighteen months, a shoebox year: the work is the same work, sized to the mess. The quote comes after a look at the file, so the number you get is real.
- Do I need to organize anything first?
- No cleanup first. Mess is normal; mess is data. Send what exists. The state of the file is part of what the quote prices.
- What does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
- A fixed price, quoted after a scoping look at your file. Never hourly. No clock ever appears on an invoice.
- How long does it take?
- It depends on months behind, account count, and transaction volume, so the honest answer arrives with the quote. Businesses on tax extension should start now: September 15 and October 15 are statutory dates, and preparers need finished books well before them.
- Do you file the taxes too?
- No. The deliverable is clean, reconciled, CPA-ready books plus a written read of what they say. Your tax preparer takes it from there, and they will have an easier year for it.
- What do I have at the end?
- Books current through today, reconciled and reviewed. Then The First Read on top: a written answer to whether the numbers can be trusted, what they are saying, and what to fix first, walked through on a 30-minute call.
- What happens after the catch-up?
- Your call. Many clients continue into monthly service (the Truth Layer, a flat monthly fee) so the books never fall behind again. Nobody is auto-enrolled in anything.
Updated 2026-08-07.