Monthly bookkeeping checklist
The month-end sequence — every bank and card account reconciled, bills and invoices current, payroll tied out — in the order that catches errors earliest.
OpenIllinois
Illinois monthly bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping that closes the books every month.
A real monthly close for Illinois businesses — reconciliation, sales tax reconciled by jurisdiction (the 6.25% state rate plus local rates), Illinois net income kept current for the PPRT, and CPA-ready statements — in your own QuickBooks® file, by your TechBrot team. Fixed-fee, all 102 counties.
Monthly bookkeeping: $500–$2,500+ a monthWhat sets the price
If your file needs our paid diagnostic first, its fee is credited in full against the cleanup. Either way, you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
State rule
Illinois rule: effective August 1, 2026, the NITA (formerly RTA) tax rate rose 0.25% in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties; sales there need the new combined rate in QuickBooks so the liability ties to the ST-1. Source: IDOR Informational Bulletin FY 2026-34.
§ The short version
Illinois monthly bookkeeping is a real close every month: accounts reconciled, sales tax reconciled by jurisdiction against the ST-1, Illinois net income kept current for the PPRT, and CPA-ready statements in your own QuickBooks file. It runs $500–$2,500+/mo on a written fixed-fee scope; a file that is behind gets a one-time cleanup first.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification,
§ 01 · Why monthly beats annual in Illinois
Three Illinois facts a monthly close keeps clean.
Closing every month keeps the sales tax, the PPRT, and Chicago’s cloud tax accurate year-round — not reconstructed under deadline.
Monthly
A close every month, not a scramble at filing
Monthly bookkeeping means the books are reconciled and closed each month — so the combined sales tax, the PPRT net income, and Chicago’s cloud-tax figures are right all year, not reconstructed at filing time.6.25% + local
Sales tax reconciled every month, by jurisdiction
Illinois combined sales tax (6.25% state plus county, home-rule and transit taxes by location; the transit portion rose 0.25 points in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties on August 1, 2026) is reconciled monthly so each IDOR ST-1 ties and nothing is owed by surprise.PPRT
Illinois net income kept current
The Personal Property Replacement Tax is computed from Illinois net income — a monthly close keeps that figure current and supportable, for C-corps (2.5%) and pass-throughs (1.5%) alike. Your CPA computes and files.§ 02 · What a monthly close covers in Illinois
A real close, every month, by one dedicated team.
Scoped to your business and delivered in your own QuickBooks file by your TechBrot team.
01
Monthly reconciliation & close
Every account reconciled and the month closed — clean categorization to an Illinois-correct chart of accounts.Bookkeeping services
02
Sales tax reconciled monthly
Combined sales tax (the 6.25% state rate plus local rates) reconciled each month so every IDOR ST-1 ties and nothing is owed by surprise.Sales tax help
03
PPRT net income kept current
Illinois net income kept current monthly so your CPA can compute and support the PPRT accurately.Replacement tax help
04
CPA-ready statements
P&L, balance sheet, and cash-flow delivered every month in a format your CPA can file from directly.Financial statements
05
Cleanup first, if needed
Behind by months? A one-time cleanup brings the file current before the monthly cadence begins.QuickBooks cleanup
06
Advisory, when ready
Once the close is reliable, fractional-CFO advisory on the global team — forecasting and PPRT/PTE planning.Fractional CFO
§ 03 · Virtual and remote
A virtual bookkeeper for Illinois: how remote monthly bookkeeping works
“Virtual” is how the monthly close on this page is delivered, not a lighter version of it. The work happens in your own QuickBooks Online or hosted Desktop file: bank and card data arrive through read-only feeds, receipts and statements go to a shared folder you own, and questions are handled by email and video call. You are the primary admin of your own QuickBooks file and can see every user and the audit log. Your books are prepared by a senior bookkeeper who works in your software, or by a signed specialist practice when your books need one. Every close is reviewed before it reaches you.
Two Illinois obligations run through every remote close:
- Sales tax. The state rate is 6.25 percent on general merchandise (Illinois Department of Revenue), and local taxes change the combined rate by location: effective August 1, 2026, the NITA (formerly RTA) rate rose 0.25% in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties. QuickBooks carries the combined rate for each location, and each month the liability is reconciled so the ST-1 ties to the books.
- Payroll. The Illinois income tax withholding rate is 4.95% (IL-700-T), Form IL-941 is due quarterly even when nothing was withheld, and IDES wage reports and unemployment contributions are due in the month after each calendar quarter, on April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31 (IDES). Each month the payroll liability accounts are tied to your provider’s reports so both quarterly filings agree with the books.
TechBrot does not prepare or file tax returns; we work with your CPA or EA. Your jurisdiction changes the sales-tax rate in the file, not the service.
§ 04 · The scope
What we do — and what we don’t.
What TechBrot does
- Reconcile every account and close the books each month
- Maintain an Illinois-correct chart of accounts and clean categorization
- Reconcile combined sales tax monthly by jurisdiction so each ST-1 ties
- Keep Illinois net income current for the PPRT
- Handle Chicago’s lease/cloud tax monthly where it applies
- Deliver CPA-ready monthly financial statements
What your CPA does
- File Illinois income tax, the PPRT, or sales tax
- File Chicago city taxes or the PTE election
- Represent you before the Illinois Department of Revenue or the City of Chicago
- Provide legal or tax advice
- Step 1
Free file review
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor reviews your QuickBooks file and Illinois situation at no cost. - Step 2
Written fixed-fee scope
Within 3 business days you get a written scope and fixed monthly fee. No hourly billing. - Step 3
Cleanup, if needed
If the file is behind, we bring it current to a CPA-ready standard before the monthly cadence begins. - Step 4
Monthly close
Your senior bookkeeper reconciles, closes, and hands CPA-ready statements to your CPA every month.
§ 06 · The advisory line
Automation handles the data entry. We handle the judgment.
The case for a monthly close in Illinois is simple: the combined sales tax, the PPRT, and Chicago’s cloud tax are only as accurate as the books behind them. Close every month and all of it stays right — close once a year and you’re reconstructing the Illinois net income and the Chicago exposure under deadline.
Start with a reliable monthly close, then extend — when you’re ready — into fractional-CFO advisory including PPRT/PTE planning, in coordination with your CPA.
§ 07 · Around this page
Around Illinois.
Illinois QuickBooks ProAdvisor & bookkeeping
The state page: services, industries, cities and the Illinois tax terms in one place.Monthly bookkeeping, nationally
The national engagement this page is the Illinois version of — same scope, same written fixed fee.Also in Illinois
Illinois cities
Not sure where your file stands? Start with the free QuickBooks file review · how Illinois compares: state-by-state tax quirks.
§ 08 · Around the engagement
Before you engage anyone.
Bookkeeping cost calculator
An estimate of the monthly fee from your transaction volume, accounts, and payroll — the same inputs a written scope uses.
Open§ 09 · Common questions
Illinois monthly bookkeeping questions.
What does Illinois monthly bookkeeping include?
A real close of your books every month — reconciliation, clean categorization to an Illinois-correct chart of accounts, combined sales tax reconciled by jurisdiction (the 6.25% state rate plus local rates), Illinois net income kept current for the PPRT, Chicago’s lease/cloud tax handled where it applies, and CPA-ready statements — in your own QuickBooks file, prepared by a senior bookkeeper who works in your software, or by a signed specialist practice when your books need one.
Why does a monthly close matter for Illinois businesses?
Because the combined sales tax, the Personal Property Replacement Tax (computed from Illinois net income), and Chicago’s lease/cloud tax are all computed from your books. Closing every month keeps those figures accurate all year, so filing is a non-event — instead of reconstructing a year of records, the Illinois net income, and the Chicago exposure under deadline pressure.
Do you work in my existing QuickBooks file?
Yes — your file, your data, in QuickBooks Online or hosted Desktop, with a senior bookkeeper assigned to your file, and every close reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor before it reaches you. We can set up or migrate the file if needed.
What if my books are months behind?
We scope a one-time cleanup to bring the file current to a CPA-ready standard first, then start the monthly close so it stays current. Both are fixed-fee against a written scope.
How much does Illinois monthly bookkeeping cost?
Fixed-fee against a written scope, never hourly. Monthly bookkeeping runs $500–$2,500+/mo by volume and accounts; a one-time bookkeeping cleanup beforehand runs $1,200–$15,000+. Exact fee in writing within 3 business days of a free discovery call and the file information needed to quote.
What does a virtual bookkeeper do in Illinois?
The same monthly close described on this page, delivered remotely: reconciliation, clean categorization, sales tax set up at the combined rate for each location and reconciled to the ST-1, Illinois net income kept current for the PPRT, Chicago’s lease/cloud tax kept separate where it applies, payroll liabilities tied to the IL-941 and the IDES reports, and CPA-ready statements, all in your own QuickBooks file. Your books are prepared by a senior bookkeeper who works in your software, or by a signed specialist practice when your books need one, with every close reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor before it reaches you.
Does remote bookkeeping really work for Illinois businesses?
Yes. The work is done inside your QuickBooks file, so none of it needs an on-site visit: the combined sales-tax rate is configured by location in QuickBooks, the Personal Property Replacement Tax is computed by your CPA from the Illinois net income the books produce, Chicago’s lease/cloud tax is tracked in its own liability account, and documents arrive through bank feeds and a shared folder you own.
Checked against the Illinois Department of Revenue and the City of Chicago Department of Finance.
Illinois businesses start here