Simplified Startup1
Setup
Week 1–2What happens: We assess the current state honestly, build or repair the chart of accounts, and scope any catch-up in writing.
You get: A clean starting point and a fixed monthly scope.
SS-WEB-10 · Practice file · Bookkeeping
Books, handled.
Small business bookkeeping services with a close date you can circle. Transactions categorized, accounts reconciled, reports in plain English — CPA-ready when tax season comes. Priced up front, so you always know the number.
Reconciled to the pennyCPA-ready
Monthly closeThis month
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Close date, met — every month.
— Named product · fixed scope
What the engagement includes — in writing.
One named product, one fixed scope, one price fixed in your plan before work starts.
Setup & catch-up
Monthly close
Reports you can read
Tax-season ready
Scope is written down, both directions. Your plan states the accounts, volume, and platforms in scope. Catch-up work is scoped and priced separately, in writing, before it starts.
— How it runs
Three steps. No mysteries.
2
Close
Monthly · datedWhat happens: Categorization, reconciliations, and the checklist — done by the close date written in your plan, every month.
You get: Books that are actually closed, on a date you can circle.
3
Report
Plain EnglishWhat happens: The monthly report lands with notes on what moved and why — plus flags on anything you should look at.
You get: Numbers you can read, and act on.
— The discipline
A close date you can circle.
Bad bookkeeping isn't usually wrong numbers — it's late ones. The whole product is discipline.
- A written monthly close date, met.Late books are wrong books, because you're steering on stale numbers.
- Reconciliation is a checklist, not a mood.Every account, every month, same steps.
- We're bookkeepers, not your CPA.The books hand off clean for tax, and we stay in our lane.
- Plain-English notes with every report.If you need a translator for your own numbers, something's wrong.
— Plain answer
What's in monthly bookkeeping.
Six jobs, every month, on a date you can circle. That's it — no mystery line items.
01
Categorize
Details01
Every transaction sorted to the right account — not a guess, a rule you can see.
02
Reconcile
Details02
Bank and card accounts matched to the penny, so the books equal reality.
03
Month-end close
Details03
A dated close each month. You know exactly when the books are final.
04
Financial statements
Details04
P&L, balance sheet, cash flow — in plain English, not accountant-speak.
05
Resolve issues
Details05
Odd transactions flagged and chased down, not buried in "ask my client."
06
CPA-ready file
Details06
Everything organized so tax time is a handoff, not a scramble.
— The honest comparison
Outsourced, in-house, or DIY?
All three are real choices. Here's the straight version, including when not to hire us.
DIY in a spreadsheet
Your time
Right if you're pre-revenue with a handful of transactions. Wrong the month you can't answer "did we make money?" without a weekend of sorting.
An in-house bookkeeper
$3,000–$5,000/mo
With salary, benefits, and overhead. Makes sense at real transaction volume — overkill for most small businesses.
Outsourced / virtual bookkeeping
$300–$900/mo
By volume, published below. Same clean, CPA-ready books — without a hire.
Simple test: if bookkeeping eats more than an afternoon a month, outsourcing pays for itself in the time back alone.
— Cleared up
Bookkeeping vs accounting — what's the difference?
People use the words interchangeably; they're not the same job. You usually need both, at different moments.
What we do
Bookkeeping
The monthly record: categorize, reconcile, close, report. It keeps your numbers true all year so nothing's a surprise.
Your CPA
Accounting & tax
The yearly interpretation: tax strategy, returns, filings. Your CPA does their best work when the books are already clean.
We don't file your taxes — we make the file your CPA files from. Clean books mean a cheaper, calmer tax season.
— Behind on the books?
Scope my catch-up Catch-up and cleanup.
Months behind, or inherited a mess? Common, and fixable. We bring the books current before monthly service starts — no lecture.
— The service lines
Five ways this gets bought.
Most clients take the monthly close and add from here. Each is scoped and priced on its own, and combining any two applies the automatic 10% discount.
Monthly bookkeeping
The recurring close — categorised, reconciled, and delivered on a date you can circle.
Catch-up bookkeeping
Months or years behind, reconstructed to a position your accountant can file from.
QuickBooks & Xero setup
A chart of accounts built for your business, feeds mapped properly, historical mess corrected.
AP & AR management
Invoices out on time, receivables chased properly, payables run on a schedule.
Financial reporting
Margin by line, cash runway, and the short list of numbers that change decisions.
— What it costs
Priced by scope band — set before work starts.
Your free growth plan scopes the work and fixes the exact price in writing before anything begins — no hourly meter, no surprise line items, and the number doesn't move after that. Combine services and the discount is automatic:
0% off
Any two services together — applied to both.
0% off
Three or more services together — applied across all of them.
The full pricing model — published bands, terms, and how ranges work — is on the price list.
— Fair questions
Asked by every smart buyer.
The major platforms — QuickBooks, Xero, and the ecosystem around them. If you're already on something, we work in it; if you're starting fresh, your plan recommends the fit and the setup is part of the scope.
No — we complement them. We keep the books clean and current all year; your CPA handles tax strategy and filing. They get organized, reconciled books instead of a shoebox, which typically makes their work faster and their bill smaller.
We've yet to meet too bad — but we scope catch-up honestly before touching it, in writing, so you know the size of the cleanup before you commit. No discovering the "real" scope three invoices in.
Published here: $300–$900/mo, priced by transaction volume and number of accounts, fixed in your plan before work starts. Market-wide it's $150–$900/mo for small businesses; an in-house bookkeeper runs $3,000–$5,000/mo all-in. Flat-rate, no hourly surprises.
Six things, every month: categorization, reconciliation, a dated month-end close, financial statements in plain English, issue resolution, and a CPA-ready file. Payroll and sales-tax filing are add-ons, priced separately so you only pay for what you use.
— Adjacent practices
Often bought together.
Launch your business
Starting up? Books wired at formation cost little and save the year-end scramble.
AI automation strategy
The first step of the Operate bundle — books, staffing, and AI strategy together, 15% off.
Hire without the headache
The other half of a calm back office — sourcing and screening run for you.
Know what AI is worth to you
A ranked read on where AI would actually save you money — including where it would not.
Eight practices, one firm, one relationship owner — see all eight. Any two services together save 10%, three or more save 15%.
— From the resources desk
Read before you decide.
Starting from zero? Bookkeeping basics for new businesses covers what to put in place before you need a bookkeeper — and what you need one for. Educational, not advice.
End of file · SS-WEB-10
Get your free growth plan.
A working session on your goals, then a written plan with the exact scope, price, and sequence we'd recommend — free, and yours to keep whether or not you hire us.
Flat, published pricing. You own everything. No lock-in.