Independent QuickBooks practice · Remote, nationwide
Your QuickBooks cleaned up, caught up and ready for your CPA.
QBSpecialist is an independent QuickBooks practice for U.S. small businesses whose books are wrong, months behind, broken, or moving from Desktop to Online. A specialist reconciles every account to its statement, corrects what was miscategorized or entered twice, and writes down every change. The scope and the fee are agreed in writing before any work starts.
Not ready to talk? Start with a free review request. You get a written reply within one business day that explains the next step and sets up a view-only review of your books. The findings and any fixed-scope quote follow the review.
Last reviewed October 2026 by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
Change map — reconciliation summary
| Account | Out by, before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Operating checking | 1,904.12 | 0.00 |
| Payroll checking | 312.40 | 0.00 |
| Business credit card | 2,086.55 | 0.00 |
| Equipment loan | 0.00 | 0.00 |
- #012Deposit entered twice from the bank feed — duplicate removed
- #019Card payment booked as an expense — moved to the card account
- #027Sales-tax payment entered as a check — re-tied to the liability
- Every account reconciled
- Fixed scope and fee
- Specialist-led
How the work is done
- QuickBooks Online
- Desktop
- accountant access
- screen-share
- written change log
What does your file need?
1 of 3
The company file is broken
It won't open, keeps throwing errors, or holds data you no longer trust
Whole months were never entered
The file stops partway through the year, and a return or a lender is waiting
The months are in QuickBooks, but the numbers are wrong
Accounts that won't reconcile, duplicates, Ask My Accountant piling up
Start here
QuickBooks rescue
Diagnose and repair a broken or corrupted company file before any bookkeeping is done on it.
Start here
Catch-up bookkeeping
Enter and reconcile the months that were never recorded, oldest first, until the file is current and a year can be filed.
Start here
QuickBooks cleanup
Reconcile every account, fix miscategorized and duplicate transactions, and trace Opening Balance Equity — for books that exist but are wrong.
Start here
Free QuickBooks review
Start with a free review request: a written reply within one business day explains the next step and sets up a view-only review of your books. We never ask for bank logins.
Why you can check us
What you can hold us to
Six commitments, each one either true of an engagement or not. None of them is a statistic we would have to ask you to take on faith.
Fixed scope, fixed fee
The scope and the fee are written down and approved before any work starts. No hourly drift.
View-only until you hire us
The free review is view-only — a screen-share you control, or a reports-only user if your plan has one. It never gives us edit access, and we never ask for bank logins.
Every account tied to its statement
Bank, credit-card and loan accounts reconciled for the period in scope, the difference driven to zero where the records support it — and explained in writing where they do not.
A change map your CPA can follow
Every correction is logged with its reason and the report it was checked against, so an outside reviewer can trace it without calling us.
A specialist, not a pool
One specialist on your file — never a rotating queue of whoever is free.
A written reply within one business day
Every message gets a written answer with the next step, inside one business day. Business days are Monday to Saturday.
Start with the symptom
What can we help you fix?
A QuickBooks file in trouble is usually in one of five states. Find yours; each page explains what is usually wrong, what you can fix yourself, and when it stops being a do-it-yourself job.
| If this is your file | You probably need |
|---|---|
| The months are in QuickBooks, but the numbers are wrongAccounts that won't reconcile, duplicates, Ask My Accountant piling up | QuickBooks cleanup2–4 weeks planned · from $1,500 |
| Whole months were never enteredThe file stops partway through the year, and a return or a lender is waiting | Catch-up bookkeepingFixed quote · scope sets the date |
| The company file is brokenIt won't open, keeps throwing errors, or holds data you no longer trust | QuickBooks rescueScoped first |
| You are moving from Desktop, Xero or SageAnd you don't want the mess to move with you | MigrationCustom fixed quote |
| The books are right and you want them kept that wayA monthly close, reconciliations and a month-end package | Monthly bookkeepingFrom $400/mo |
| You're not sure which of these you haveMost people aren't — that is what the review is for | Free QuickBooks reviewFree · view-only |
Or start from what you are seeing
- My accounts won't reconcileNot reconciling
- The same transaction appears twiceDuplicates
- I'm months behindBehind
- My balance sheet doesn't balanceOut of balance
- Sales tax owed doesn't match what I filedSales tax
- Opening Balance Equity won't go awayOBE
- Undeposited Funds keeps growingUndeposited Funds
- Payroll liabilities never clearPayroll
- Bank feeds stopped or doubled upBank feeds
- Inventory quantities or values are wrongInventory
What we do
Five engagements, each with a fixed scope
One of these usually fits. The free review decides which, and nothing obliges the next one along. Floors are published starting points, not a quote for your file.
QuickBooks cleanup
Reconcile every account, fix miscategorized and duplicate transactions, and trace Opening Balance Equity — for books that exist but are wrong.
- Timeline
- 2–4 weeks, planned
- Starts
- From $1,500
Catch-up bookkeeping
Enter and reconcile the months that were never recorded, oldest first, until the file is current and a year can be filed.
- Timeline
- Set in your written scope
- Starts
- From $1,500
QuickBooks rescue
Diagnose and repair a broken or corrupted company file before any bookkeeping is done on it.
- Timeline
- Scoped first
- Price
- Quoted
Migration
Move to QuickBooks Online from Desktop, Xero or Sage — cleaned first, then converted, then checked against the reports taken before the move.
- Price
- Custom fixed quote
Monthly bookkeeping
Reconciliation, categorization and a month-end package every month, so a cleaned file stays clean. Always optional.
- Timeline
- Ongoing
- Starts
- From $400/mo
Why QBSpecialist
Why our work is reconciliation-first
We don't call a file clean because the transactions look tidy. A bank statement is evidence; a QuickBooks report is an assertion. So we reconcile each account to its statement first, correct what the reconciliation exposes, and write down every material change — because a number you cannot explain is a liability, and a number with a documented reason behind it is an asset.
How an engagement works
What happens after you contact us
Eight steps, in order. You see the scope and the fee in writing before anyone touches the file, and the last step is optional.
Free review
Free · view-only
You send a request; a written reply within one business day sets up a view-only review of your books. Then the specialist writes back a plain-language health check — what is wrong and what it takes to fix.
Discovery call
By phone
On a call you request, we go over what the review found, what your filing or lender deadline actually requires, and which years are worth doing.
Proposal
Fixed scope
A written scope: what we will fix, what we will not touch, the fixed fee, and the timeline. Nothing starts until you approve it.
Access set up
No bank logins
The review is view-only: a screen-share you control, or a reports-only user. Once you approve the scope, your QuickBooks admin invites our accountant user — Desktop by screen-share or a hosted copy. We never ask for your bank logins.
Cleanup
2–4 weeks planned
Reconciliation, categorization, duplicates, and opening balances, worked in passes. Every correction is written down before it is made.
Verification
Every account
Each account is tied back to its statement, and your saved reports are re-run and compared against the snapshot taken before we started.
Delivery
Change map included
You receive the corrected file, the change map, and a month-end package you can hand to a CPA.
Optional monthly bookkeeping
From $400/mo
If you want the books kept clean, the same specialist runs the monthly close. Entirely optional — the cleanup stands on its own.
What you receive at hand-back
- Reconciled accounts — every bank, credit-card and loan account tied to its statement for the period, the difference driven to zero.
- A corrected chart of accounts — duplicated, misused and orphaned accounts merged or retired, so the profit and loss reads like the business.
- Duplicates cleared — double-entered bills, doubled bank-feed matches and duplicated deposits removed, and listed rather than hidden.
- A month-end package — the reconciliation summary and statement pack for the closed period.
- A change map — every correction, why it was made, and the report snapshot it was checked against.
- A cleanup summary — one page in plain language on the state the file arrived in and what changed in the numbers you read.
- Open issues, written down — a missing statement, a balance only you can explain, a decision that is your CPA's to make. Named, not buried.
- Next steps — what to change so the same mess does not rebuild, honest about what you can do yourself.
QuickBooks Live or a specialist?
Is QuickBooks Live enough, or do you need a specialist?
It depends on what your file needs, not the brand. QuickBooks Live is Intuit's own bookkeeping service for QuickBooks Online. Its Full Service gives you a dedicated Intuit bookkeeper who reconciles and closes each month, with an initial cleanup of up to 20 months, starting at $300/mo after initial cleanup fee (Intuit, checked October 2026). For QuickBooks Online books with ordinary transactions, that is often a sensible choice — and we will tell you so.
Intuit's own exclusions draw the line: no inventory, receivables or payables management, no bill pay or invoicing, no payroll or tax filing, and no Desktop version described. A file on Desktop, more than about 20 months behind, or carrying that kind of work needs scope Live does not sell, and that is the work we do. Neither QuickBooks Live nor QBSpecialist files tax returns. Check Intuit's QuickBooks Live page for its current terms.
| QuickBooks Live | QBSpecialist | |
|---|---|---|
| Who provides it | Intuit | An independent firm — not Intuit |
| Built for | Monthly bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online, within Intuit's scope | Books that are wrong, behind, broken or moving |
| Messy or years-behind files | Initial cleanup of up to 20 months | Cleanup and catch-up of any length, at a fixed scope |
| Who works on your file | A dedicated Intuit bookkeeper (Full Service) | One specialist, the same person throughout |
| QuickBooks product | QuickBooks Online | QuickBooks Online, Desktop and Enterprise |
| Inventory, receivables, payables | Excluded by Intuit | |
| Files your tax return | ||
| Price | Starting at $300/mo after initial cleanup fee (Intuit) | Cleanup from $1,500 · monthly from $400/mo |
| Fits best | QuickBooks Online books inside Intuit's scope | Desktop, older or complex books |
By business
Where the books work differently
Most bookkeeping is the same everywhere. The parts that are not — job costing, trust accounts, restricted funds, marketplace payouts — are where a generalist gets it wrong. Each page covers what actually differs.
- ConstructionJob costing, retainage
- Law firmsClient trust accounts
- Medical practicesInsurance remittances
- E-commercePayouts net of fees
- Real estateProperty-level tracking
- NonprofitsRestricted funds
- RestaurantsDaily sales, tips payable
- TruckingMiles by state
Do it yourself
Guides, checklists and tools, free to use
The cleanup checklist we work from is published, along with the references behind it. If a gap is small enough to fix yourself, start here.
Questions people ask before they hand over a file
How long does a QuickBooks cleanup take?
A cleanup is usually planned at two to four weeks; your written scope sets the finish date. The variables are how many months are open, how many accounts have to be reconciled, and how fast statements and answers come back to us. A catch-up has no fixed timeline: how long it takes depends on the missing months, transaction volume, the number of accounts and how quickly statements arrive. The catch-up calculator gives a planning estimate; your written scope sets the finish date. Either way you get the timeline in writing in the proposal, before any work starts.
How much bookkeeping history can be recovered?
There is no fixed limit. Books can be caught up as many years back as your records support, whether that is a few months or a decade — QuickBooks imposes no cap. What governs how far you go is whether the source records still exist, what your filing obligation actually requires, and whether reconstructing an older year is worth the cost. We tell you which years are worth doing and which are not.
Do I need QuickBooks Online, or do you work in Desktop too?
Both. In QuickBooks Online the free review is view-only — a screen-share you control, or a reports-only user if your plan has one — and paid work uses QuickBooks' accountant access. QuickBooks Desktop we work by screen-share or on a hosted copy of the file. You do not need to migrate to Online to get your books cleaned up — and if migration is the right move, that is its own engagement with its own scope.
Can I keep working in QuickBooks while the cleanup is happening?
In QuickBooks Online, yes — we can work in the file at the same time you do, so you keep invoicing and entering as normal while we work behind you in the periods being cleaned. On Desktop it depends on how we access the file: by screen-share we schedule around you, and on a hosted copy we agree a cut-off first so nothing you enter afterwards is lost. We tell you which applies before any work starts.
Will anything be deleted from my file?
Nothing is combined, retyped, or deleted on our judgment alone. Corrections are written down before they are made, approved by you, and executed one change at a time so cause and effect stay visible. At the end you receive a change map — the written record of every correction and why it was made.
What access do you need to my books?
The free review is view-only: we look at your books with you on a screen-share you control, or through a reports-only user if your QuickBooks Online plan has one. It never gives us edit access. If you approve paid work, your QuickBooks admin invites our accountant user and can remove it at any time. On QuickBooks Desktop, the review is a screen-share you control or a copy of the file. We never ask for your bank logins.
Is 'QuickBooks specialist' a certification?
Not under that name. The QuickBooks credentials you can check are Intuit's ProAdvisor certifications, held by individuals and listed in Intuit's Find a ProAdvisor directory, and the Intuit QuickBooks Certified User exam, which Certiport describes as validating students' ability to use QuickBooks. A QuickBooks specialist, in our sense, keeps and corrects the books inside a QuickBooks file — reconciling, recategorizing and closing each period — and our specialist is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor.
More answers: how fast a cleanup runs · how many years back you can go
Not sure how bad it is?
Talk to a QuickBooks specialist.
Describe the file and a specialist will tell you which of these you are dealing with — including when the answer is that you don't need us.