Catching up three years of books: what it really takes

Most owners who come to us behind expect a lecture. They don't get one. Falling behind is common, and it's fixable. What matters is doing the steps in the right order.

1. Gather the bank statements first

Your bank and card statements are the backbone. Every deposit and payment is already there, dated and totalled. We ask for every statement for the missing months before anything else. Receipts help, but statements come first, because they're complete.

2. Rebuild one month at a time

We start with the oldest month and close it before moving on, reconciling each account to the statement. Working in order means every month's closing balance is the next month's opening balance, so errors can't hide between periods. A typical month takes us a day or two.

A month isn't done until the books match the bank to the penny.

3. File what's missing

With clean books, the missing returns are straightforward. When returns are years late, the IRS usually asks for the last six years, rather than every year ever missed. We prepare them in date order and tell you what's owed before anything is filed, so there are no surprises.

4. Ask for penalty relief

Late returns usually bring penalties, but they can often be reduced. If your record was clean before, a first-time abatement may remove some of them. If something genuinely stopped you filing, such as illness or a disaster, that can count as reasonable cause. We ask on your behalf where the facts support it.

What you can do this week

Download every bank and card statement you can reach online, and ask the bank for any it no longer shows. Put every tax letter you've received in one envelope, opened or not. Make a list of the accounts the business has used, including any you've closed. That's all we need to quote a fixed price.

What it costs

We quote per month behind, before we start, so the price doesn't grow as we find things. Clients often ask whether it's worth catching up rather than starting fresh. It almost always is: lenders, buyers and the IRS all want the history, and a clean history is worth more than the cost of rebuilding it.

5. Start monthly, and stay there

The last step is the one that keeps you caught up: monthly bookkeeping, closed by the 10th. Catch-up usually takes six to ten weeks from the day we have your statements. After that, the numbers are never more than a month old again.