QuickBooks cleanup starts by identifying the last reliable closing balances, the missing months and every bank, card and payment account. The goal is reconciled records and a documented exception list—not simply making the bank-feed screen empty.
Assess my cleanupCanada-US focus, with foreign-owned US entity compliance available to owners worldwide.
Posted transactions are not necessarily reconciled. Prior filed returns, locked periods, inventory, payroll, multicurrency and related-party accounts require additional care. Corrections affecting filed returns or tax positions need a separate tax review; no entries should be deleted just to force a balance.
Hypothetical examples, not client stories or advice for your circumstances.
A hypothetical service business has all statements but duplicate imported expenses. The cleanup compares source transactions with posted entries before proposing corrections and completing monthly reconciliations.
A hypothetical seller records only net deposits. The scope includes processor reports to reconcile gross sales, refunds, fees and settlement timing instead of assuming deposits are revenue.
Start with a brief description. Do not send tax IDs, passwords or financial documents through the public inquiry form.
Reconcile agreed accounts and periods, document approved corrections, support closing balances and deliver an exception list and recurring close checklist.
Months, entities, accounts, transaction volume, missing records, inventory, payroll, ecommerce and multicurrency activity. We provide a written scope and fee before work begins. A fit call is not a completed tax review.
Months are one driver. Accounts, transaction volume, missing support and payroll or sales channels can change the work materially.
No. Reconciliation compares the ledger with the complete statement and investigates differences.
Not by default. Preserve history, identify errors and agree corrections with an audit trail.
Identify the affected period and coordinate proposed corrections with the tax preparer before altering filed-year balances.
A coordinated scope is possible, but keep each legal entity, currency and intercompany balance distinct.
Create a missing-records list and identify what can be reconciled now. Unresolved amounts remain visible rather than being silently estimated.
The agreed reconciled periods, balance-sheet support, correction log, outstanding questions and a practical monthly-close checklist.
Only when expressly included. The engagement identifies payroll corrections, tax preparation and ongoing bookkeeping separately.
Get a fact-specific scope and a clear records request. You choose whether to submit an inquiry.
Assess my cleanupExplore the three business-owner routes
Updated and official sources checked September 17, 2026. Published by Illuminous Accounting. Meet practice founder Gurleen Kaur. Tax positions are confirmed during a professional engagement. General information only; facts and applicable rules must be reviewed before acting.
This checklist organizes a professional review, not a filing decision or fee quote. It runs in your browser. Your answers are carried to the inquiry only when you choose the request link; nothing is submitted automatically.
Without the interactive checklist: gather the records listed on this page, identify unknown facts, and request a scoped review. Do not enter confidential identifiers.