Complex QuickBooks cleanup: multi-year, structural, multi-entity.
This is the top cleanup tier — the files that are years behind, structurally broken, or spread across multiple entities and states. Two or three-plus years unreconciled, opening-balance-equity and retained-earnings a mess, a file damaged enough to need rebuilding, multi-entity consolidation, or a botched multi-year migration. We rebuild it year by year and bring it CPA-ready — typically a $7,500–$15,000+ fixed fee once scoped.
What you can check before you sign
- Fixed fee, written first
- Your own QuickBooks file
- No hourly billing
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.
A complex QuickBooks cleanup is the top tier of cleanup work — reserved for files with multi-year backlogs, structural or data damage, or multi-entity / multi-state books that a focused or standard cleanup can’t safely handle.
Think two or three-plus years unreconciled, opening-balance-equity and retained-earnings that no longer make sense, a file corrupted enough to need rebuilding, several related entities that have to be consolidated, or a multi-year migration that landed wrong. It is a phased rebuild — reconstructed year by year, structural accounts corrected, entities consolidated as needed — ending in a CPA-ready handoff. Fixed-fee, typically $7,500–$15,000+ once we’ve scoped it in writing.
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.
What a complex cleanup addresses, in order.
These are the conditions that put a file in the complex tier. Most complex jobs combine several of them — which is exactly why they need a phased, written scope rather than an hourly guess.
Covers 01 · Multi-year backlogs (2–3+ years unreconciled)
The defining condition of the complex tier: books that are years, not months, behind — two, three, or more years of transactions never reconciled, categorized loosely or not at all, and never closed. Each unreconciled year compounds the next, so the fix has to rebuild forward, year by year, rather than patch a single period.
Covers 02 · Broken structural accounts (OBE, retained earnings)
When opening-balance-equity, retained earnings, or undeposited funds no longer reconcile to anything real, the foundation of the file is wrong — every report built on it is off. Correcting these is delicate, because they carry across years; getting them right is the difference between books that merely look clean and books a CPA can file from.
Covers 03 · File or data damage requiring a rebuild
Some files are damaged enough — corruption, list damage, or data integrity failures — that the right fix is to rebuild rather than repair in place. That can mean reconstructing periods from source documents and bank records. If the file won’t open or hold together at all, start with data recovery first; rebuild follows.
Covers 04 · Multi-entity / multi-state consolidation
Several related companies, or one business operating across states, whose books have to be untangled and consolidated so the entities tie to each other and to a single, defensible picture. Inter-company entries, eliminations, and consistent charts of accounts across entities make this materially harder than a single-company cleanup.
Covers 05 · A botched multi-year migration
A move between QuickBooks versions or platforms — or onto QuickBooks from another system — that spanned several years of history and landed wrong: missing balances, duplicated history, broken opening balances, or data that didn’t map. The data moved, but it moved incorrectly, and the only reliable fix is to reconstruct the affected years.
Also covered · Also: prior cleanups that didn’t hold
Files where an earlier cleanup — in-house or by another provider — addressed the surface but left the structural and multi-year problems underneath. We assess what actually reconciles, keep what’s sound, and rebuild only what needs it, against a written scope so you can see the line between the two.
How a complex cleanup runs.
Seven phases, in order. You see each year reconciled and signed off before the next begins — no black box, no surprise on the final invoice.
- 1
Free file review
We open and assess the file first — how many years are behind, what reconciles and what doesn’t, the state of the structural accounts, whether there’s data damage, and how many entities are involved. No charge, and no work begins until you’ve seen the scope. We look before we quote.
- 2
Detailed written fixed-fee scope (phased)
From the review we write a detailed, fixed-fee scope — typically $7,500–$15,000+ for a complex cleanup — broken into phases, usually by year. You see exactly what each phase covers and what it costs before anything starts, so there’s no open-ended hourly meter and no surprise invoice.
- 3
Rebuild and reconcile, year by year
We work the oldest affected year first and move forward: rebuilding or correcting transactions, reconciling each month to the bank and credit-card statements, and closing the year so it ties to the prior year before we touch the next. Each completed year is signed off before the next begins.
- 4
Fix the structural accounts
With the periods reconciled, we correct the foundational accounts — opening-balance-equity, retained earnings, undeposited funds, and any mis-set opening balances — so the equity section and the balance sheet actually reconcile across years rather than just within one.
- 5
Multi-entity / consolidation as needed
Where the engagement involves several entities or states, we standardize the charts of accounts, post inter-company entries and eliminations, and consolidate so the entities tie to each other and roll up into one defensible picture. Single-entity files skip this phase.
- 6
CPA-ready handoff
Once every period reconciles and the structural accounts are sound, we verify the file is CPA-ready and hand it over — coordinating directly with your CPA on any prior-period exposure so the rebuilt books support their filings.
- 7
Monthly to keep it clean
A rebuilt file stays clean only if it’s maintained. Most complex-cleanup clients move onto monthly bookkeeping afterward so the books never fall behind again — optional, scoped separately, and never required to get the cleanup done.
Three signs you’re in the complex tier.
You’re years, not months, behind
If you’re looking at two, three, or more years of unreconciled, uncategorized, or never-closed books — not a single drifted period — you’re in the complex tier. Multi-year backlogs compound, so they have to be rebuilt forward year by year rather than patched in one pass.
The structure itself is broken
Opening-balance-equity, retained earnings, or undeposited funds no longer reconcile; the balance sheet doesn’t tie across years; or the file is damaged enough to need rebuilding. When the foundation is wrong, every report on top of it is wrong — that’s structural, complex-tier work.
It’s multi-entity, multi-state, or a bad migration
Several related entities to consolidate, books spread across states, or a multi-year migration that landed wrong. Untangling and consolidating — or reconstructing migrated history — is materially harder than a single-company cleanup, and squarely in the complex tier.
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor rebuilds the file and coordinates with your CPA.
A complex cleanup is reconstruction, not touch-up. The work is rebuilding damaged or missing periods, re-establishing opening balances that actually reconcile, untangling opening-balance-equity and retained-earnings, consolidating related entities, and re-running reconciliation year by year until every period ties to the bank and to the prior year’s close. A QuickBooks ProAdvisor holding the Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 does that against a written, phased scope, and verifies the file is CPA-ready before handing it over. Where prior years are involved, we coordinate directly with your CPA on prior-period exposure — but we do not file or amend returns; that is your CPA’s work, and we keep that line clean.
What people ask about complex cleanups.
How much does a complex QuickBooks cleanup cost?
A complex cleanup is typically a $7,500–$15,000+ fixed fee, scoped in writing after a free file review. It sits above a standard cleanup ($3,000 to under $7,500) and a focused cleanup ($1,200 to under $3,000). The figure depends on how many years are behind, whether the file needs rebuilding, and how many entities have to be consolidated — so we scope it before we quote, and you see a phased fixed fee before any work begins.
How is this different from a standard cleanup?
A standard cleanup ($3,000 to under $7,500) fixes a contained problem — about a year of miscategorized transactions, a reconciliation that drifted, a chart of accounts to sort. A complex cleanup ($7,500–$15,000+) is structural: multiple years behind, foundational accounts that no longer reconcile, a damaged file that needs rebuilding, or multiple entities to consolidate. It’s a phased rebuild, year by year, rather than a single pass.
Do you file or amend my prior-year tax returns?
No — we do the bookkeeping cleanup; your CPA files and amends the returns. We rebuild the books so they’re CPA-ready and we coordinate directly with your CPA, but TechBrot does not file or amend tax returns. Cleaning up multiple years can surface prior-period issues — under-reported income, missed deductions, or returns that need amending; the assessment, the filings and any amended returns, and the responsibility for them, stay with your CPA.
Can you convert our books from cash to accrual?
Yes, as a scoped part of the cleanup. The free file review sets the conversion date with you and your CPA, usually the first day of a fiscal year, and the written fixed-fee scope lists what the conversion has to build at that date: open customer invoices and receivables, unpaid vendor bills and payables, accrued expenses, and any prepaid or deferred items, with the opening adjustment documented. How many periods are restated and how many accounts are involved set where the fee lands, and the conversion is phased like the rest of a complex cleanup. Whether to change the accounting method for tax, and any filing that change needs, is your CPA’s decision; we keep the books so they report cleanly on the basis you choose.
My file is corrupted or won’t open — can you still do a complex cleanup?
Often, yes — but recovery comes first. If the file is damaged or won’t open, we start with data recovery to get it stable and readable, then the complex cleanup rebuilds the years inside it. In some cases the cleanest path is to reconstruct from source documents and bank records; we’ll tell you which after the free file review.
Can you consolidate books for multiple entities or states?
Yes — multi-entity and multi-state consolidation is a core part of the complex tier. We standardize the charts of accounts across entities, post inter-company entries and eliminations, and consolidate so the entities tie to each other and roll up into one defensible picture. It’s scoped as part of the written fixed-fee, phased so you see each entity completed in turn.
How long does a complex cleanup take?
It depends on how many years are behind, whether the file needs rebuilding, and how many entities are involved — which is exactly what the free file review establishes. Because the work is phased year by year, you see steady, signed-off progress rather than waiting for one final delivery. The written scope sets the phases and the timeline before any work begins. To talk through a multi-year file, speak with an advisor at (877) 751-5575.
Start with a free file review — then a written, phased scope.
If your books are multiple years behind, the equity and retained-earnings accounts are a mess, the file is damaged, or you’re trying to consolidate several entities, this is a complex cleanup. It starts free: a ProAdvisor reviews the file, then writes a detailed fixed-fee scope — typically $7,500–$15,000+, phased so you see each year completed before the next. Written scope before any work begins. We do the cleanup; your CPA handles the tax filings.
Tell us what’s wrong with the books. We’ll tell you whether cleanup, catch-up or monthly bookkeeping fits.
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