Catch-up & clean-up bookkeeping
When the books fall months or years behind, the HST and tax returns can’t be filed and the numbers stop making sense. It’s stressful, and it’s hard to know where to start. At ARC CPA, we catch the books up, correct what was done wrong, file what’s late, and keep you current from then on.
Books fall behind more often than you think
Nobody calls about catch-up bookkeeping when things are going well. Something usually forces the question: an HST or tax return that cannot be filed until the books are done, numbers that stopped making sense, or a letter from the CRA.
We have caught up businesses that had not had proper books in years, including a multi-million dollar construction company with five years of missed reporting and over 15,000 transactions. Every one of them has stayed current, and stayed with us, since. That is the peace of mind the ARC method brings to a business.
Accounting done properly should be close to silent. Most months it runs in the background without anyone having to think about it, and tax season is a date on the calendar rather than a scramble.
First time catching up on your books
This is the moment to look at how the books have been kept and fix whatever let them slip, so it does not happen again.
Catching up on your books every year
Doing the books once a year costs more than it saves. You spend the year making decisions without seeing your real cash flow, and only find out how the year went once it is over.
Good books from the day you sign.
We do not take catch-up work on its own, because it is only half the job, and it does not fix what let the books fall behind in the first place. From the day you sign with ARC CPA, your books run on the same monthly system as every other client, with one dedicated bookkeeper and the books closed every month. The backlog gets caught up alongside it, so the present is in order while we work through the past.
When the catch-up is done, there is nothing to hand over or switch. The old years and the new months are already in one file, and it simply carries on.
We set the expectations at the beginning: what we need from you, the price range, and a projected date for the catch-up to be done. And from the day you sign, you are on our system. Your books are in good shape from day one, and every month is closed by the end of the next.
How a bookkeeping catch-up runs with ARC CPA
The same five steps whether the books are three months behind or six years. Knowing the order is most of what takes the stress out of it.
- 01
We find the starting point
A call about how the books have been kept, how far back the gap goes and what is unfiled with the CRA. From there we find the last date your books were right, where they match the bank, and that is where the catch-up starts.
- 02
We send you a short list
What we need from you: statements for each bank account, credit card and loan, and access to your CRA account, so we see exactly what the CRA sees.
- 03
We build the file
We set up QuickBooks Online and Dext, bring your history across and import every transaction. You get a list of every transaction, with its date and amount, to work from as you send us receipts.
- 04
We catch it up, account by account
Your dedicated bookkeeper enters, reconciles and recategorises every account, with questions as we go and a review with you at the end. Late HST and tax returns get filed along the way.
- 05
The past meets the present
The current months run on the monthly cycle from the start: receipts and a short list of questions once a month, the month closed by the end of the next one. When the backlog is done, it is all one file.
Before any work starts, we agree in writing on the date your books will be up to date, and we hold to it as long as the statements, receipts and answers we ask for come back when they should. You do not have to do anything for the move into QuickBooks. We handle the conversion.
Find out where your books actually stand.
Not sure how far behind things are? That is normal. We will work it out together: how far back the gap goes and what is due. Then you get a plan, with what we need from you, how long it will take and what it will cost, before anything starts.
What a bookkeeping catch-up with ARC CPA gets you
A starting point you can trust
We find the last date your books matched the bank and build from there, so the whole catch-up rests on numbers that are right.
A timeline in writing
We set the expectation at the start and give you a projected date for when your books will be up to date.
A price range up front
Based on your business and the state of its books, you get a range for what the catch-up should cost before any work starts.
Expense categories that finally make sense
Your expenses are sorted into the categories your business should be using, and they stay the same from year to year, so every year compares properly with the last.
Late returns filed
Every HST and tax return that came due while the books were behind gets filed, and from then on they are filed on time.
Books that stay current
Monthly bookkeeping starts the day you sign, with the same bookkeeper who does your catch-up. They already know your business, so once the backlog is done, there is nothing to catch up again.
How books end up in a mess
Almost every catch-up comes back to one of two things. Either nobody has done the books for a long time, usually because the owner got overwhelmed, or someone has been doing them without the training for it, often a spouse or a part-time helper doing their best.
The second is harder to spot from the outside. A common version is the new corporation still running the spreadsheet the owner kept as a sole proprietor. Another is books where the same expense lands in a different category every year, so no year can be compared with any other, and a CRA reviewer notices that kind of swing and flags it as an issue.
Whatever was done before, we recategorise it to the accounts your business should be using, so the past and the future end up in one file that reads the same all the way through.
How long does a bookkeeping catch-up take?
It depends on the size and complexity of the business far more than on how many years are missing. Three months behind at 1,500 transactions a month can be a bigger job than six years behind at 275 transactions a year.
Most catch-ups take between ten and sixty days. One business we took on was six years behind, and we committed in writing to have everything caught up and filed in about five weeks. What stretches a timeline is records that are hard to get: banks do not keep old cheque images ready to export, and digging them out takes as long as it takes.
Books that have been behind for years usually hold a surprise or two. That is why we give you a range and a timeline you can plan around, rather than a promise nobody can keep.
Has the CRA already been in touch?
Late returns and a letter from the CRA often arrive together. We deal with both: the books caught up, the returns filed, and the CRA handled on your behalf as your authorized representative.
What caught-up books show you
Once every account is reconciled, anything that does not add up has nowhere to hide. Catching up has turned up an employee taking money from the till over a long period, a manager skimming from the staff tip pool at a restaurant, a company credit card recorded with a balance in the millions for a business that pays it off every week, and HST and tax returns the owner did not know had never been filed.
Most of the time what turns up is less dramatic: expenses that were never claimed, HST that could have been recovered, a vehicle used in the business that never made it onto the books. Either way, you find out, and it is better, and less stressful, to find out from us than from the CRA.
What a catch-up costs
Catch-up is quoted as a range, not a fixed price and not an open-ended bill. Based on your business and the state of its books, you get a range in writing before any work starts, with the reasons behind it. If it ends up at the high end, we tell you why, clearly and directly, so you know what you are getting into before you get there.
- What moves the number:
- How many accounts there are. One chequing account and one card is a different job from chequing, savings and four credit cards
- How many transactions run through them in a month
- How far back the gap goes, and how hard the old records are to get
- How much help you need finding the statements and receipts we ask for
Dates and rules to know.
- GST/HST returns
- Due one month after each monthly or quarterly period ends. Annual filers have three months after their year end, or until 15 June for sole proprietors. A return is due for every period, including the ones with nothing to pay
- Corporate tax
- A T2 return is due six months after your year end, whether or not the books are done
- Keeping records
- The CRA expects business records to be kept for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to
General guidance only. We confirm the dates that apply to your business when we talk.
“If you have found ARC CPA, then you have found your accounting team. We found Clem after numerous recommendations from others, and he has been amazing in every sense of the word. He cleaned up mistakes from our prior accountant, stayed up late, and worked long hours to help us hit deadlines we needed to make.”
Don & Jamie McCooeyeCatch-up & clean-up bookkeeping, answered.
How far behind can my books be before you can help?
We have taken on businesses more than six years behind with nothing filed. How far behind matters less than you would expect. What sets the size of the job is how many accounts and transactions there are, and how easy the old records are to get.
How long does catch-up bookkeeping take?
Most take between ten and sixty days, but it depends on your situation. When you start working with us, we give you a projected timeline in writing, based on your business, how far behind the books are and any deadlines the CRA has already given you. Anything the CRA is waiting on comes first. We hold to it as long as the statements and receipts we ask for come back when they should.
How much does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
It is quoted as a range, based on your business and the state of its books, and you have it in writing before any work starts. The main factors are the number of bank and card accounts, how many transactions run through them, how far back the gap goes and how hard the records are to get.
What is the difference between catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping?
Catch-up bookkeeping fills in months or years that were never recorded. Clean-up bookkeeping fixes books that were recorded but done wrong, such as expenses in the wrong categories or accounts that never reconciled. Most files need some of both, and we do them together.
Do I need to catch up my books before I file my taxes?
Yes. HST and tax returns are prepared from the books, so the books come first. Anything the CRA is already waiting on goes to the front of the line, and each late return is filed as its period is caught up. If the CRA is already involved, CRA help covers what happens next.
Ready to get the books caught up?
Tell us what is going on with the books, even if you are not sure how far behind they are. We will work it out together, and show you what a catch-up would involve and how you would be on the monthly system from day one.
- 01
You send us a note
A couple of lines about the business and what you are dealing with is plenty.
- 02
We come back to you
Usually with a question or two, so the call is not spent on the basics.
- 03
We set up a call
A proper conversation about how the business runs and what your accounting actually needs.
- 04
You get a plan
What we would look after, how it would run month to month, and twelve months of pricing set out up front.
Send us a message
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