Cleanup vs monthly bookkeeping
How to tell whether the file needs a one-time cleanup, ongoing bookkeeping, or the cleanup first — and the cost logic of each order.
OpenTexas
Texas cleanup and catch-up bookkeeping
Months — or years — behind on the books? We’ll catch you up.
A QuickBooks® ProAdvisor reconstructs a Texas file that’s fallen behind — categorizing the backlog, rebuilding the 8.25% sales-tax and margin-tax figures, and reconstructing the fixed-asset schedule — until the books are current and CPA-ready. Fixed-fee, all 254 counties.
Catch-up bookkeeping: $2,000–$20,000+What 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
Texas rule: the annual franchise tax report is due May 15; catch-up rebuilds the revenue, cost of goods sold and compensation figures for each missing year so your CPA can compute it from reconciled books. Source: Texas Comptroller, franchise tax.
§ The short version
Texas catch-up bookkeeping brings months or years of untouched transactions current for a fixed fee of $2,000–$20,000+. We reconcile each bank and credit-card account to source statements, investigate unmatched balances, document corrections and hand over a period-by-period exception register, then rebuild each missing year’s figures for the May 15 franchise tax report.
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 a Texas backlog is more than messy
Three Texas deadlines a backlog puts at risk.
Falling behind in Texas isn’t just untidy — these three obligations keep running whether the books are current or not.
8.25%
Uncollected sales tax piles up while behind
Every month the books sit untouched, sales-tax periods come and go — and a return that doesn’t tie compounds. Catch-up reconstructs the 8.25% liability by location so your CPA can address any prior-period exposure.Margin
The franchise-tax deadline doesn’t wait
The Texas Franchise (“margin”) tax is generally due in May whether your books are current or not. Catch-up rebuilds revenue, COGS, and compensation so your CPA can compute the margin on time.BPP
Rebuilding the fixed-asset history
A behind file usually never tracked fixed assets — so the business personal property rendition has nothing to render from. Catch-up reconstructs the schedule from the records. Valuation stays with your CPA.§ 02 · What catch-up bookkeeping covers
From a backlog to current and CPA-ready.
We reconstruct the books period by period until the file is caught up — with the Texas figures rebuilt.
01
The backlog categorized
Every untouched transaction across the missing months or years categorized to a Texas-correct chart of accounts.Bookkeeping services
02
Sales-tax figures rebuilt
The 8.25% sales-tax liability reconstructed by location so your CPA can address any prior-period exposure.Sales tax help
03
Margin-tax figures reconstructed
Revenue, COGS, and compensation rebuilt so your CPA can compute the franchise (margin) tax for the missing years.Franchise tax help
04
Fixed-asset schedule rebuilt
Equipment and furniture reconstructed into a schedule so the business personal property rendition has something to render from.QuickBooks cleanup
05
Every account reconciled
Bank, credit-card, and loan accounts reconciled across the caught-up periods so the file actually ties.Reconciliation
06
Stays current after
Move into monthly bookkeeping with the same preparer so the backlog never builds again.Monthly bookkeeping
07
Reconciliations that will not tie
A reconciliation that won’t tie usually traces to a few causes: transactions entered but never cleared, duplicate bank-feed entries, a wrong beginning balance, items dated in the wrong period, or undeposited funds hiding deposits. Catch-up fixes the cause at the source instead of parking the difference in a discrepancy account, then ties the sales-tax liability to the Comptroller return by location and the loan and clearing accounts to their statements.Why reconciliations fail
§ 03 · The scope
What we do — and what we don’t.
What TechBrot does
- Categorize months or years of backlog to a Texas-correct chart of accounts
- Reconstruct the 8.25% sales-tax liability by location
- Rebuild revenue, COGS, and compensation for the margin tax
- Reconstruct the fixed-asset schedule for the BPP rendition
- Reconcile bank, credit-card, and loan accounts across the caught-up periods
- Hand a current, CPA-ready file to your CPA
What your CPA does
- File the Texas franchise (margin) tax or sales-tax returns
- File or amend prior-period returns or the BPP rendition
- Represent you before the Texas Comptroller
- Provide legal or tax advice
- Step 1
Free file review
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor reviews how far behind the file is and what catch-up requires. - Step 2
Written fixed-fee scope
A written scope and fixed fee within 3 business days, with the timeline and periods listed. - Step 3
Reconstruct period by period
We categorize the backlog, rebuild the Texas figures, and reconcile each period back to clean. - Step 4
Current & CPA-ready
A current, reconciled file handed to your CPA — or straight into monthly bookkeeping so it stays current.
§ 05 · The advisory line
Automation handles the data entry. We handle the judgment.
A Texas bookkeeping backlog is a quiet liability: the franchise-tax deadline still lands in May, sales-tax periods keep closing, and the BPP rendition still comes due — all while the records to support them don’t exist yet. Catch-up reconstructs the work so your CPA can file accurately for the missing years.
Once you’re current, the same preparer keeps it that way in monthly bookkeeping — so you never need a second catch-up.
§ 06 · Around this page
Around Texas.
Texas QuickBooks ProAdvisor & bookkeeping
The state page: services, industries, cities and the Texas tax terms in one place.Cleanup & catch-up bookkeeping, nationally
The national engagement this page is the Texas version of — same scope, same written fixed fee.Not sure where your file stands? Start with the free QuickBooks file review · how Texas compares: state-by-state tax quirks.
§ 07 · Around the engagement
Before you engage anyone.
QuickBooks cleanup cost estimator
A scope-based estimate for a focused, standard, or complex cleanup from your months behind, number of accounts, and transaction volume.
Open§ 08 · Common questions
Texas catch-up bookkeeping questions.
What does Texas catch-up bookkeeping include?
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor categorizes months or years of untouched transactions to a Texas-correct chart of accounts, reconstructs the 8.25% sales-tax liability by location and the revenue/COGS/compensation behind the franchise (margin) tax, rebuilds the fixed-asset schedule for the BPP rendition, and reconciles every account — until the file is current and CPA-ready.
How is catch-up bookkeeping different from a QuickBooks cleanup?
A QuickBooks cleanup fixes how the file is configured — sales-tax setup, duplicate entries, the chart of accounts. Catch-up bookkeeping reconstructs the missing work itself: the months or years of transactions that were never recorded. They’re complementary, and many behind Texas files need both — we scope whichever (or both) the file needs.
How many years behind can you catch up?
Any distance — from a few months to several years. The further behind, the larger the scope and timeline; a multi-year Texas file is reconstructed the same way, period by period, back to current and CPA-ready. We confirm the exact periods and timeline during a free file review.
Will catching up create a tax bill?
Catch-up itself doesn’t create tax — it produces the accurate records your CPA needs to determine what was actually owed for the missing periods. If prior-period sales tax or franchise tax was under-reported, your CPA addresses the filing; we make sure the books behind it are right.
How much does Texas catch-up bookkeeping cost?
Fixed-fee against a written scope, never hourly — typically $2,000–$20,000+ depending on how many months or years are behind and the transaction volume. You get the exact fee in writing within 3 business days of a free file review.
Do you file my back taxes after catching up?
No. TechBrot is a bookkeeping and advisory firm — we reconstruct the books to CPA-ready and coordinate with your CPA, who files or amends the franchise (margin) tax, sales tax, and federal returns.
My sales-tax liability never matches my return. Can you fix that?
Usually, yes. That mismatch tends to mean sales tax was set to a single rate instead of the combined rate by location (6.25% state plus up to 2% local), or the liability account was never reconciled to what was filed. We reconcile the liability to the Comptroller returns period by period, so the books show what was over- or under-remitted, and correct the prior periods as part of the cleanup; your CPA addresses any prior-period filing.
How often should I reconcile my QuickBooks accounts?
Monthly. Reconciling every month surfaces errors and missing transactions while they are still easy to trace, and keeps the May franchise-tax report and the BPP rendition from catching you reconstructing a year of records under deadline. After catch-up, monthly bookkeeping keeps every account reconciled each month.
Checked against the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.