· Reviewed by Nimra Khalid
What is catch-up bookkeeping?
Catch-up bookkeeping is a one-time project that records and reconciles months or years of transactions that were never entered. The goal is a set of books where every bank, card and loan balance agrees with the statement and every period can be reported on. It ends when the backlog is current and reconciled, usually followed by ongoing monthly bookkeeping.
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Catch-up bookkeeping: what we do and how it runs
Catch-up bookkeeping is a one-time project that records and reconciles months or years of transactions that were never entered. The goal is a set of books where every bank, card and loan balance agrees with the statement and every period can be reported on. It ends when the backlog is current and reconciled, usually followed by ongoing monthly bookkeeping.
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What it is
Catch-up bookkeeping is a one-time project that records and reconciles months or years of transactions that were never entered. The goal is a set of books where every bank, card and loan balance agrees with the statement and every period can be reported on. It ends when the backlog is current and reconciled, usually followed by ongoing monthly bookkeeping.
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What you get
Every back month posted, reconciled and reviewed before sign-off
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How it runs
Quoted per back month after a short review of your file
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Discovery call and file review
A 20-minute call, then read-only access so we can see how many months are open, which accounts are unreconciled and what documents exist. You get a written scope and a per-month quote within 1 business day.
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A named accountant, a backup and a team lead
Inside your own software, on a fixed close calendar, with a reply from a person within 1 business day. Call +1-657-777-0006 or start a quote.
Get a custom quote 06 / 06
Who it is for
Owners facing a tax deadline
The return is due, the extension is running out, and the books stop in March. You need the year posted and reconciled so your CPA can file without guessing.
Businesses applying for finance
A lender or investor has asked for two years of financial statements you do not have. Catch-up work produces them from bank data and documents you already hold.
Owners who lost their bookkeeper
The person who did the books left, or the service you used shut down, and no one has touched the file since. You need the gap closed before it gets larger.
What's included
- File review and written scope listing every month and account to be cleared
- Bank, card and loan statements collected for the whole backlog period
- Every transaction posted and categorized to a chart of accounts you agree
- Receipts and bills matched where documents exist, flagged where they do not
- Sales invoices and customer payments recorded and applied
- Payroll journals rebuilt from provider reports for each pay period
- Payment-processor payouts matched to sales, fees and refunds by month
- Sales tax, VAT or GST liability recomputed by period for your preparer
- Monthly reconciliations of every bank, card and loan account for every back month
- Opening balances tied to the last filed return or reviewed period
- Second-accountant review of the rebuilt trial balance
- Tax-ready year-end package and a list of open questions for your CPA
Deliverables and KPIs
| Deliverable | KPI we report | Cadence |
|---|---|---|
| Scope and month plan | Every back month, account and missing statement listed with a target date | Per project |
| Posted and reconciled back months | Each month reconciled to statement before the next is started | Weekly progress |
| Open-items list | Every unknown transaction has a question, an owner and a date | Weekly |
| Rebuilt trial balance | Balance sheet ties to bank, card and loan statements at each year-end | Per project |
| Tax-ready package | Statements, schedules and notes issued after Two-Tier Review | Per project |
| Handover to monthly service | Ongoing bookkeeping starts the month after the backlog is cleared | Once |
KPIs are what we measure and report, agreed per engagement. Service-level commitments are set in your agreement.
How it works
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Discovery call and file review
A 20-minute call, then read-only access so we can see how many months are open, which accounts are unreconciled and what documents exist. You get a written scope and a per-month quote within 1 business day.
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Statements and access gathered
You upload or connect bank, card, loan and payroll statements through the LedgerDesk portal. Where feeds cannot reach back far enough, we work from PDF statements and import them.
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Month-by-month rebuild
A named accountant posts and reconciles each month in order, oldest first, and sends a short weekly note on progress and open questions. Nothing is estimated where a statement exists.
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Review, package and handover
The team lead reviews the rebuilt trial balance under Two-Tier Review. You receive the tax-ready package, and your monthly bookkeeping starts the next month so the backlog does not return.
Software we work in
How much does catch-up bookkeeping cost?
Catch-up bookkeeping is quoted as a fixed project fee built from a per-back-month rate, set after we have looked at your file. The rate reflects transaction volume, the number of accounts and how much of the work is rebuilding rather than posting. Pricing depends on volume and scope, so we send a custom quote within 1 business day.
What moves the quote
- Number of back months and whether they span more than one tax year
- Transactions per month and the number of bank, card and loan accounts
- Condition of the file: empty, partly posted, or posted but never reconciled
- Whether payroll, inventory or payment-processor payouts must be rebuilt
Market benchmarks
| Market | Typical range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| US | $200 to $500 per back month for catch-up work | John Galt Finance (2026) |
| US | $150 to $1,600 per month for ongoing outsourced bookkeeping once current | indinero, RadCity, NerdWallet (2026) |
| UK | £20 to £55 per hour for bookkeeping projects; fixed fees £100 to £1,500 per month ongoing | UK provider pricing surveys (2026) |
| Australia | A$40 to A$100 per hour for bookkeepers; A$300 to A$1,500 per month ongoing | Australian bookkeeping fee surveys (2026) |
Third-party ranges for orientation, not our prices.
Get a custom quote No setup fee. Month-to-month.
Catch-up bookkeeping for your industry
Case study
2 years of books caught up
Case studyTwo years of catch-up bookkeeping for a contractor before a bank loan
A general contractor in the Mountain West had run for two years on bank balances and a box of receipts. The business was busy, but when the owner applied for an equipment and working-capital loan, the bank asked for two years of financial statements, and the QuickBooks Online file had not been touched since the previous bookkeeper left. The owner engaged LedgerBPO for catch-up bookkeeping, bank reconciliation and financial reporting. A named accountant, a backup and a team lead rebuilt 24 months of books inside the contractor's existing QuickBooks Online file, reconciled every account and prepared the statements the lender asked for. The contractor's CPA reviewed the results and handled the tax returns. LedgerBPO handled the books.
- Months of books outstanding240
Security and compliance
- Statements shared through an encrypted portal, never by unencrypted email attachment
- Read-only bank access where possible; we never move money
- MFA on every login, access logged, files deleted from our side at project end
Full control list on the security page and country rules on the compliance page. Certifications are listed only when held.
Frequently asked questions
How much do catch up bookkeeping services cost?
Pricing depends on volume and scope, and we send a custom quote within 1 business day of reviewing your file. As a market reference, US catch-up bookkeeping typically runs $200 to $500 per back month (John Galt Finance, 2026). A quiet month with one bank account sits at the low end; a month with several cards, payroll and processor payouts sits higher.
How far back can you go?
As far back as statements exist. Most projects cover one to three years. Banks usually provide 18 to 24 months through feeds and up to seven years as PDF statements on request, so the limit is document availability rather than our capacity. Older periods that were already filed are tied to the filed return rather than reopened.
How long does catch-up bookkeeping take?
A typical 12-month backlog with one entity takes three to six weeks once statements are in hand. The pace is set mostly by how quickly missing documents and answers come back from you. We give a target date in the scope and report progress every week.
What if I have no receipts for most of it?
Bank and card statements are the primary record, so posting does not stop for missing receipts. Transactions without support are categorized from the payee and flagged on the open-items list. Your CPA decides how to treat unsupported items for tax; we give them a clean list rather than a guess.
Do you charge per month, per hour or per project?
Per project, built from a per-back-month rate. You know the total before we start, and the fee does not rise if a month takes longer than expected. If the scope changes because we find a second entity or an account you did not mention, we requote that part before touching it.
Will my books be tax-ready when you finish?
Yes. The final package includes reconciled statements for every period, fixed-asset and loan schedules, accruals where they matter and a list of questions for your preparer. Your CPA or accountant reviews and files; we provide preparation support and answer their questions through our Compliance Desk.
Is catch-up the same as a bookkeeping clean-up?
No. Catch-up fills in months that were never posted. Clean-up fixes months that were posted wrongly: miscategorized entries, duplicates, wrong opening balances. Many files need both, and we scope them together. Our bookkeeping clean-up service page explains the rebuild side.
Can I switch to monthly service after the catch-up?
That is the usual path, and the same accountant who rebuilt your file continues with it. Our monthly bookkeeping service starts the month after the backlog is cleared, month-to-month, so the file never falls behind again. Most clients also keep the bank rules and coding sheet we built during the rebuild.
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