Bookkeeping Cleanup
Books behind? We rebuild from the bank statement up.
Multi-month or multi-year cleanup, sales tax compliance, missed filings, and a monthly close that actually holds, for contractors, service businesses, and ecommerce brands $500K to $30M. It's also step zero: clean, reconciled data is the foundation Level's operating layer needs before it can track margin and find trapped cash.
Flat fee
After diagnostic, no hourly surprises
4-24+ wks
Planning timeline, by months behind
All 50
U.S. states covered in nexus reviews; filings where applicable
Monthly
Close discipline that holds after
You probably know which of these is you.
The symptoms vary. The fix is the same: rebuild the books from primary source documents, then put a real close discipline in place so it doesn't happen again.
Bookkeeper quit, ghosted, or got fired
You logged in and discovered nothing has reconciled in months. Or 60% of expenses are in a catch-all account. Or there's a pile of unopened mail.
Multi-year tax filings missed
Returns missed for two, three, seven years. IRS notices in a drawer. State sales tax registration gaps. Penalties and interest can keep growing while it waits.
Bank reconciliations months behind
Last successful reconciliation: not this year. Bank balance per books and per statement haven't matched in a long time. P&L numbers no one trusts.
Suspected fraud or owner overspending
Vendor payments to entities no one recognizes. Personal expenses on business cards. Or cash going somewhere it shouldn't. We bring forensic discipline without escalating before there's a finding.
Lender, sale, or audit deadline forcing the issue
A bank, an acquirer, the IRS, or a CPA is asking for clean financials and you don't have them. Cleanup with a hard deadline is its own discipline.
Sales tax exposure across multiple states
Ecommerce or service brands that crossed nexus thresholds and never registered. Marketplace facilitator confusion. Drop-ship resale certificate gaps. We scope, register, and reconcile.
How a Level cleanup actually goes
Diagnostic first, flat fee second, real reconciliation third, monthly close discipline fourth. Not hourly. Not open-ended. Week ranges below illustrate a typical 12-month catch-up; 6-month cleanups compress, and 24-month or multi-year work runs longer.
Diagnostic (week 1)
We diagnose the records supplied at triage and send the initial fixed-fee scope within 24 hours. During week 1 we validate reconciliations, missing periods, account structure and filing history against that scope, and confirm the recovery plan. The quote states included work and exclusions; additional work is separately agreed.
Bank statement-up reconstruction (weeks 2-6)
Every account: bank, credit card, loan, merchant. Reconciled chronologically. Uncleared items investigated. Duplicates resolved. Real reconciliation reports, not journal-entry plug.
Tax + sales tax cleanup (weeks 4-10)
Coordinate with your CPA (or one we recommend) on missed filings. Voluntary disclosure agreements where helpful. State sales tax registrations and nexus reconciliation. Penalty abatement requests where eligible, prepared and filed by the CPA/EA or credentialed preparer named in your engagement.
Monthly close that holds (week 8 onwards)
Close calendar built. Reconciliations cadence locked. Three monthly artifacts (rec reports, statements, close memo) delivered to you. Either we run it ongoing or hand it off cleanly.
A common cleanup scenario
An owner with two businesses, several years of unfiled returns, and one box of receipts from both companies mixed together asks where to even start.
The starting point is the bank statements, not the box. The fix is process and patience, not panic.
What you get back
A reconciled balance sheet that ties to every bank statement
P&L you can actually trust month-over-month
A real bank reconciliation report (PDF) for every account, every month
Sales tax registrations and filings coordinated with the credentialed preparer, per engagement scope
Coordinated tax filings (with your CPA or one we recommend)
A close calendar your bookkeeper can follow in your absence
1099 vendor tracking for next January and late prior-year filings, using each payment year's rules
Three monthly artifacts: rec reports, statements, close memo
Frequently asked questions
How much does bookkeeping cleanup cost?
It depends on the months behind, the entity complexity, the volume of transactions, and the accuracy of what's already in the system. Non-exhaustive planning examples before diagnosis (not a quote): 6 months behind for a $1-3M services business: $3,000-$8,000. 12-24 months for a $2-10M business: $8,000-$25,000. Multi-year (5+ years) for any complexity: $15,000-$50,000+. The triage diagnosis supports the fixed-fee quote within 24 hours. Week 1 validates the supplied records against that scope; additional work is quoted and agreed in writing before it starts.
Will you work with my existing CPA?
Yes. Most cleanups need to coordinate with a tax preparer for the missed filings. We work with your existing CPA and prepare the year-end packet for them. If you don't have a CPA or yours doesn't have capacity, we can recommend one experienced with cleanup work.
Do you handle sales tax cleanup across multiple states?
Yes. For ecommerce and multi-state services brands, we scope your nexus footprint, identify states where you should have registered, evaluate voluntary disclosure agreements, register where needed, and reconcile historical liability. We coordinate with sales tax software (Avalara, TaxJar, Anrok) for ongoing compliance.
What if cleanup reveals fraud?
We pause and escalate carefully. The cleanup process surfaces evidence, but accusations require formal investigation. We coordinate with you (and a forensic accountant if needed) to preserve evidence, document findings, and outline next steps to review with your attorney, which range from internal correction to police report to civil action.
How long until my books are current?
Non-exhaustive planning timelines before diagnosis: 6-month catch-up: 4-8 weeks. 12-24 month catch-up: 8-16 weeks. Multi-year: 12-24+ weeks. The deadline (lender, audit, sale) often drives sequencing more than the volume.
Will you take over monthly bookkeeping after cleanup?
If you want us to. Many clients move from cleanup to ongoing monthly bookkeeping and Level's operating layer, once the data is clean, we can track margin and surface where cash is trapped. Some clients hand off to an internal bookkeeper or a different firm. We design the close calendar and chart of accounts to be portable.
Related reading
Simple pricing
Three tiers, one ladder.
$500+/mo
Bookkeeping
The clean data layer: monthly books, reconciliations, and organized financials AI can work with.
$1,500-$5,000/mo
Scale
The full AI operating layer: custom agents, weekly actions, and benchmarks to grow margin per hour.
Custom
Platform / Multi-Office
Multi-branch benchmarking and scorecards for PE-backed and multi-location groups.
Behind on books? Let's get you caught up.
Free 15-min triage call. We'll scope your cleanup and give you a fixed-fee quote within 24 hours.
No commitment. Real numbers, not generic advice.