Catch-up & clean-up bookkeeping
ARC CPA is a Halifax accounting firm. We take on small businesses whose books are months or years behind, catch them up and correct them, file what is late, and keep them current from then on.
Books fall behind more often than you think
Nobody calls about catch-up bookkeeping when things are going well. Something has usually forced the question: an HST return or a tax return that cannot be filed until the books are done, numbers that stopped making sense, or a call from the CRA. It is a stressful spot for any small business to be in, but it does not need to be. We have worked with businesses that had not had proper books in years, and multi-million dollar construction companies with five years of missed reporting and over 15,000 transactions to work through. In every case we got them back on track, and keeping the books up to date was never an issue for the business again.
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
Treat it as a signal. It is the moment to look at how the books have been kept and change whatever let them slip, so it does not happen again.
Catching up on your books every year
The cost is bigger than the catch-up. The business runs less efficiently than it could, and for most of the year you are making decisions without seeing how it actually operates. The numbers only become real once the year 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. From the day you sign with ARC CPA your books run on the same monthly system as every other client: QuickBooks, Dext, one bookkeeper and a close 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 expectation at the beginning and give you a projected timeline for the catch-up. But from the day you sign, you are on our system, and your books are in good shape from day one.
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
You get a homework list
Exactly which bank, card and loan statements to find and send, and access to your CRA account, so we can see what the CRA sees and make sure everything lines up.
- 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.
The timeline is agreed in writing at the start, and we hold to it as long as the statements, receipts and answers to our questions 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.
Tell us how far behind things are and what is due. We will tell you what we would need from you, roughly how long it would take and what it would 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, we give you a range for what the catch-up should cost. If it ends up at the high end, we tell you why, clearly and directly.
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. Once the backlog is done, you never have 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 who did not know how.
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 are done within a few months. The business we took on that was six years behind had a written commitment of 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 you get a range and a timeline you can plan around, rather than a promise nobody could 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 you find out from us rather 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. The aim is to be fair and transparent and tell you 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
- A return is due for every period you are registered for, 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. This is our fourth year together, and he is the only person who will ever touch our books from now until ever. 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?
Usually a few months, and sometimes much less. A business six years behind was caught up and filed in about five weeks. You get a projected timeline in writing at the start, and 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.
Can you file my late HST and tax returns?
Yes. Every return that came due while the books were behind is filed as part of the catch-up, and because you are on monthly bookkeeping from the start, new ones are filed on time.
Can the CRA reduce the penalties and interest?
Rarely. Relief generally needs a serious event outside your control, such as a death in the family or a serious illness, and a decision can take about a year. Being overwhelmed does not qualify. What we can do is tell you the number early, so it is a known cost rather than a surprise.
Can you just catch up the books and stop there?
No. Every catch-up we take on runs alongside monthly bookkeeping from the day you sign. Bringing the books current and then handing them back to the setup that let them fall behind would only put you back here in a year or two.
What do I need to send you to get started?
Statements for every bank, credit card and loan account for the period that is behind, and access to your CRA account as your representative. After the first call you get a list that says exactly which ones.
Do I have to move to QuickBooks and Dext?
Yes, and you do not have to do the move yourself. We set up the file, bring your history across and import the transactions. Your part is sending the receipts.
My previous bookkeeper made a mess. Can you fix it?
Yes. It is one of the two most common reasons people come to us, the other being books nobody has touched in years. We recategorise everything to the accounts your business should be using, so it reads consistently from the first year to the latest.
I incorporated but still use the spreadsheet I had as a sole proprietor. Is that a problem?
Usually, yes. A corporation needs proper double entry books, where every account reconciles, and a spreadsheet cannot do that. We see it often and it is fixable: we move everything into QuickBooks and bring the books up to where a corporation needs them to be.
Ready to get the books caught up?
Send us a note about your business. A conversation is usually enough to tell whether we are a fit, and we will say so either way.
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