Short answer: Cleanup means getting every account reconciled, every transaction in the right category and the chart of accounts simple enough to trust. Work in this order.
The checklist
- Back up first. Export a copy of the company file or reports before changing anything.
- Lock in the start date. Pick the oldest month to fix and note the closing balances from statements.
- Reconcile every bank and credit-card account back to the start date. Resolve duplicates and unmatched feed items.
- Clear “Uncategorized” and “Ask My Accountant” accounts to zero.
- Review accounts receivable and payable. Remove stale open invoices and bills, or record the write-offs.
- Check payroll liabilities against your payroll reports.
- Simplify the chart of accounts. Merge duplicates, rename vague accounts.
- Review sales tax and revenue tracking. Washington businesses report gross receipts for B&O tax, and Seattle has its own business tax. Make sure revenue is recorded cleanly by period, then confirm requirements with the Washington Department of Revenue or a tax professional.
- Run the reports. Profit and loss and balance sheet should make sense to you.
- Set a monthly close routine so the books stay clean.
When to hand it off
If the backlog spans many months, or several accounts will not reconcile, a cleanup project is faster with help. See QuickBooks cleanup services.
After cleanup, ongoing monthly Seattle bookkeeping keeps it that way. Cost question? Read how much bookkeeping costs in Seattle. Unsure who to call? Read bookkeeper vs accountant vs CPA.
