Clean Books,
Supervised by a CPA.

Bookkeeping at Pocket CPA is CPA-supervised monthly bookkeeping and catch-up bookkeeping for business owners. The service includes transaction categorization, bank and credit card reconciliation, a documented monthly close, profit and loss and balance sheet preparation, and a year-end package that flows directly into tax preparation. Work is performed in-house and reviewed by a licensed Certified Public Accountant. QuickBooks Online supported.

What This Service Includes

Bookkeeping is the foundation every other piece of business finance is built on. The tax return, the lender package, the buyer's due diligence, the owner's monthly decisions — they all depend on the same set of books. At Pocket CPA, bookkeeping is treated as a discipline, not a back-office data-entry function. Every month closes the same way, gets reviewed the same way, and produces records that hold up under scrutiny.

Every monthly bookkeeping engagement includes the following:

• Transaction categorization — every bank, credit card, and merchant transaction reviewed and assigned to the correct account in a clear, consistent chart of accounts.
• Bank and credit card reconciliation — every account reconciled monthly to the statement balance. No unresolved discrepancies carried forward.
• Owner transaction review — owner draws, distributions, contributions, and personal expenses paid from business accounts identified and coded correctly, not absorbed as expenses.
• Loan and liability tracking — loan proceeds, principal payments, and interest tracked properly on the balance sheet. Loan activity is not treated as income or expense.
• Payroll integration — wages, payroll taxes, and employer contributions posted from payroll reports and reconciled to the bank.
• Monthly close — a documented close process performed every month, not at year-end.
• Profit and loss statement — month-to-date and year-to-date P&L delivered after every close.
• Balance sheet — assets, liabilities, and equity maintained accurately and reconciled to source records.
• Year-end package — at year-end, a complete package is prepared and handed directly to tax preparation. No re-entry, no re-categorization, no rework.
• CPA supervision — every engagement is supervised by a licensed Certified Public Accountant, with reviews scheduled at logical intervals throughout the year.

Monthly Bookkeeping vs. Catch-Up Bookkeeping

The two engagements look different, are priced differently, and address different problems. Most clients need one or the other first, then settle into the monthly rhythm.

Who We Work With

Pocket CPA bookkeeping is built for business owners who have moved past the spreadsheet stage and want their books to hold up under scrutiny — whether from a CPA reviewing a return, a lender reviewing financials, or a buyer reviewing the business.

Common Client Profiles

The Pocket CPA Standard

Three things never change, regardless of engagement size or industry.

CPA-Supervised — Every Engagement

Every bookkeeping engagement at Pocket CPA is supervised by a licensed Certified Public Accountant. The day-to-day work is performed by an experienced bookkeeping team, but the file is reviewed by the CPA — not just at year-end, but at logical intervals throughout the year. The review discipline is what catches the issues that affect the return before they become expensive to fix.

In-House, Never Offshore

Your bank logins, your QuickBooks file, your payroll reports — none of it is routed offshore to reduce costs. The team working on your books is the team you can reach by email or phone, in your time zone, during your business hours.

Responsive by Design

Questions get specific, informed answers within one business day. Monthly reports are delivered on a predictable schedule. You will always know what was closed, what is still in progress, and where any open items stand. We do not go quiet between closes.

The Monthly Close Process

The reason books drift from clean to problematic is almost always the same: the close process is inconsistent. At Pocket CPA, every month closes the same way, in the same order, with the same review steps. The discipline is the work.

1. Categorize All Transactions

   Every bank, credit card, merchant, and loan transaction from the month is reviewed and assigned to the correct account in the chart of accounts. Automated bank-feed categorization is not trusted by default — every entry is reviewed by a human before close. Anything ambiguous is flagged and resolved with the client, not left as "uncategorized" or "ask my accountant" indefinitely.

2. Reconcile Every Account

   Each bank and credit card account is reconciled to the statement balance for the month. Discrepancies are investigated and resolved before the close moves forward. Loan accounts are reconciled to lender statements. Unreconciled balances are not allowed to roll forward.

3. Review Owner Transactions

   Owner draws, distributions, contributions, and any personal expenses run through business accounts are reviewed and categorized correctly. Owner draws are not coded as professional fees, contractor payments, or general expenses — a common error that overstates deductions and understates profit.

4. Reconcile Payroll and Loan Activity

   Payroll posting is reconciled to the payroll provider's reports. Loan principal and interest are separated correctly — principal reduces the liability, interest is the deductible portion. Loan proceeds are recorded as liability, not income.

5. Run and Review Financial Statements

   The month's P&L and balance sheet are produced and reviewed for anything unusual: revenue swings that need explanation, expense categories that look off, balance sheet items that do not move as expected. Issues are flagged in writing, not allowed to wait six months for tax season.

6. Document and Deliver

   The closed month's P&L and balance sheet are delivered to the client along with a brief note covering anything material flagged during review. The close is logged. Documentation is filed. The month is closed in the system so prior-period entries cannot be silently changed.

How Pocket CPA Compares

The gap between unsupervised contract bookkeeping and CPA-supervised bookkeeping does not show up every month. It shows up at year-end, when the books either flow cleanly into a tax return or trigger hours of cleanup at CPA rates before the return can even be started.

Common Bookkeeping Issues We Catch

The same recordkeeping errors appear in business books again and again, regardless of industry. They are the issues that create CPA cleanup time, missed deductions, IRS notices, and balance sheets that do not reconcile. Pocket CPA's monthly process is designed to surface and correct them when they happen, not at year-end.

Owner Draws Coded as Expenses

When an owner transfer to a personal account is recorded as a professional fee, contractor payment, or general expense, it inflates deductions and understates profit. This is one of the most common errors carried forward from unsupervised bookkeeping. Every owner transaction is reviewed and coded as a distribution or contribution, not an expense.

Loans Misposted as Income or Expense

Loan proceeds are not income — they are a liability. Loan principal payments are not deductible — only the interest portion is. Misposting loan activity produces errors on both the P&L and the balance sheet. We track loan activity correctly from the first transaction.

Mixing Business and Personal in Business Accounts

When personal charges appear in business accounts, they need to be reclassified before they can flow into the return. Done monthly, this is a small task. Done annually, it is a slow, expensive sort during tax season. We address it at close, not at filing.

Uncategorized Transactions Left to Accumulate

The "uncategorized" or "ask my accountant" bucket in QuickBooks is the visible evidence of a bookkeeping process that defers decisions. Every month, we resolve every flagged transaction before close. The bucket does not roll forward.

Bank Balance That Does Not Match Accounting Balance

If your bank balance and your accounting balance do not match, your books are wrong — and you do not know by how much or in which direction. Monthly reconciliation, with discrepancies resolved before close, prevents the drift that leads to filing from a guess.

Missing 1099 Tracking

Contractor and vendor payments that require 1099-NEC issuance need to be tracked throughout the year, not reconstructed in January. We tag 1099-eligible payments at the time of entry so year-end issuance is a process, not a scramble.

Sales Tax Posted to the Wrong Account

Sales tax collected from customers is a liability, not revenue. Recording it as revenue overstates income and confuses the P&L. We post sales tax correctly and reconcile to filed returns.

Balance Sheet That Does Not Reconcile

A balance sheet that does not reconcile is the most visible sign of recordkeeping that is not being maintained. On entity returns, the balance sheet is required to reconcile to the books — discrepancies signal weak records to the IRS. We maintain the balance sheet monthly so year-end reconciliation is confirmed, not constructed.

What We Need to Get Started

Bookkeeping intake is straightforward. The cleaner the access at the start, the faster the work moves and the lower the total cost.

Standard Intake

• QuickBooks Online access — added as an accountant user to your existing file, or set up from scratch if you do not yet have one.
• Bank and credit card statements — for every business account, twelve months back at intake.
• Prior-year tax return — to verify carryforward balances on the balance sheet.
• Payroll provider access — if applicable, read-only access to pull monthly reports.
• Merchant processor access — if applicable (Stripe, Square, PayPal, etc.) for sales reconciliation.
• Loan documents — for any business loans or lines of credit, including amortization schedule.
• Sales tax filings — if applicable, copies of returns filed for the current year.

Additional for Catch-Up Engagements

• Current QuickBooks file — even if disorganized, the file in its current state is the starting point.
• All prior bank and credit card statements — for every period being reconstructed.
• Prior bookkeeper records — if a prior bookkeeper was involved, their working papers if available.
• Any prior unfiled returns or extensions — to understand the open tax periods.

Fees and Timeline

Pocket CPA provides a written fee quote before any work begins. Monthly bookkeeping is priced as a flat monthly fee, not hourly. Catch-up is scoped as a fixed-fee project. There are no surprise charges added after the engagement is underway.

What Drives the Monthly Fee

Typical Timeline

Catch-up timelines depend on scope. A single year of catch-up is typically two to four weeks. Multiple years take longer and are sequenced from most recent to oldest, prioritizing the most recent open tax year. Timeline is communicated in writing at the start of the engagement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who handles my bookkeeping at Pocket CPA?

Bookkeeping at Pocket CPA is performed in-house and supervised by a licensed Certified Public Accountant. Work is never sent offshore. The team handling your monthly close is the same team that reviews your books before tax preparation begins.

What does monthly bookkeeping include?

Monthly bookkeeping at Pocket CPA includes transaction categorization, bank and credit card reconciliation for every account, monthly profit and loss statement and balance sheet, owner transaction review, and a documented monthly close. At year-end, a complete package is prepared and handed directly to the tax preparation engagement.

What is catch-up bookkeeping?

Catch-up bookkeeping is the process of reconstructing and correcting a business's records to bring them current. It is a one-time engagement, scoped and quoted separately from monthly bookkeeping. Catch-up is required when books are behind, unreconciled, or contain material categorization errors carried forward from prior periods.

Does Pocket CPA use QuickBooks Online?

Yes. Pocket CPA primarily works in QuickBooks Online, including managing the file, configuring the chart of accounts, and maintaining bank feeds. We can also work with Xero and other major platforms when a client is already established on them. We do not require a software change at intake.

How much does monthly bookkeeping cost at Pocket CPA?

Monthly bookkeeping is priced based on transaction volume, number of accounts, payroll complexity, and any specialty work required, such as inventory or job costing. Pocket CPA provides a written monthly fee quote before any work begins. Pricing is a flat monthly fee, not hourly.

How quickly are books closed each month?

Monthly close at Pocket CPA is targeted within fifteen business days of the prior month's end, assuming bank feeds and source documents are accessible. Clients receive the closed P&L and balance sheet with a brief note of anything material to flag, so the financial picture is current rather than retrospective.

Do I need bookkeeping if I already have a tax preparer?

A tax preparer prepares the return from whatever data the books produce. If the books are disorganized, the preparer either spends hours cleaning them at CPA rates before filing, files from incomplete data, or both. Monthly bookkeeping prevents that scramble and produces an accurate return at lower total cost.

Can Pocket CPA take over bookkeeping mid-year?

Yes. Mid-year transitions are routine. Pocket CPA reviews the current state of the books, identifies any cleanup required, scopes that work separately, and then transitions to a monthly cadence. The handoff from a prior bookkeeper or contract preparer is documented and coordinated.

What if my books are years behind?

Catch-up bookkeeping for multiple years is a regular part of the practice. The engagement is scoped year by year, prioritizing the most recent open tax year. Once books are current, monthly bookkeeping begins. Catch-up is more expensive than staying current month to month, but far less expensive than filing on inaccurate data.

How is Pocket CPA bookkeeping different from a contract bookkeeper?

A contract bookkeeper records transactions. A CPA-supervised bookkeeping engagement records transactions and reviews them for issues that affect the tax return: owner transactions miscoded as expenses, loans treated as income, missing 1099 obligations, balance sheet items that will not reconcile at year-end. The review discipline is the difference.

Will my bookkeeping be coordinated with my tax return?

Yes. When Pocket CPA handles both bookkeeping and tax preparation, the year-end books are reviewed and ready for return preparation without a separate handoff. Categorization decisions made throughout the year are made with the return in mind, which eliminates the most common source of cleanup time and surprise tax season fees. See our business tax preparation service for how the two engagements integrate.

Can Pocket CPA do bookkeeping without doing my taxes?

Yes. Bookkeeping can be a standalone engagement. Many clients begin with bookkeeping only and transition to combined tax preparation later. The reverse is also common — tax clients adding monthly bookkeeping after a tax season that revealed how much cleanup time the prior books required.

Is my data secure?

Yes. Documents are exchanged through a secure client portal, not by email. Bank logins are added as accountant users where possible, with read-only access where applicable. No client data is routed offshore or shared with third-party preparers.

Last reviewed by Mandeep Sandhu, CPA · May 2026 · Pocket CPA, Columbia, Maryland