Focused QuickBooks cleanup: one contained issue, fixed.
Focused cleanup is the entry tier of our QuickBooks cleanup work — a single, well-defined problem fixed to CPA-ready, typically a $1,200 to under $3,000 fixed fee. A reconciliation that won’t tie, an undeposited-funds pileup, a bad bank-feed import, one account that’s off, a single period miscategorized. One issue, scoped in writing before any work begins. If the books are months behind or the problem spans years, that’s our Standard or Complex tier instead — this page helps you tell which you need.
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 focused QuickBooks cleanup fixes one contained, well-defined problem in your books to a CPA-ready state — for example a single broken reconciliation, an undeposited-funds pileup, a bad bank-feed import, one account that won’t tie, or a single period that was miscategorized.
It’s the smallest of our three cleanup tiers, typically a $1,200 to under $3,000 fixed fee, and it suits books that are otherwise current with one isolated issue. When several issues stack up or you’re months behind, that’s a Standard cleanup ($3,000 to under $7,500); multi-year, structural, or multi-entity messes are a Complex cleanup ($7,500–$15,000+).
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The kinds of single problems a focused cleanup fixes.
Each of these is one contained issue in books that are otherwise current — the sweet spot for a focused fixed-fee fix. Listed in the order to check them.
Most common · A single broken reconciliation
One account stopped tying to its statement — usually a single month where a transaction was deleted, edited after the fact, or double-entered, throwing the cleared balance off. We find the break, correct it, and re-reconcile until that month and the running balance tie again.
Common · An undeposited-funds pileup
Payments recorded but never “deposited” in QuickBooks stack up in Undeposited Funds, inflating that account and making the bank never quite match. We clear the pileup by matching the held payments to their real bank deposits, so income and the bank balance line up.
Common · A bad bank-feed import
A feed that doubled a batch of transactions, dropped a date range, or imported everything into the wrong register. We remove the genuine duplicates without deleting real transactions, recover anything missing, and re-categorize what landed wrong — then confirm the register matches the bank.
Frequent · One account that won’t tie
A single balance-sheet account — a credit card, a loan, a clearing account — that no longer matches its real-world balance. We trace the discrepancy to its source, correct the entries behind it, and verify the account ties to its statement or payoff figure.
Frequent · A single period miscategorized
One month or quarter where transactions were posted to the wrong accounts — expenses as owner draws, transfers booked as income, that sort of thing. We re-map that period to the correct chart-of-accounts categories so the reports for it read true.
Occasional · One isolated data or setup error
A single contained slip — a duplicated vendor or customer skewing reports, a wrong opening balance on one account, a sales-tax item set up incorrectly for one period. Contained enough to name, scope, and fix on its own without touching the rest of the file.
How a focused cleanup runs.
Six steps, in order. It starts with a free file review and a written fixed fee — you never agree to open-ended hours, and nothing is touched before the scope is signed.
- 1
Free file review
Before anything is quoted, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor opens the file and confirms the problem really is a single contained issue — not the tip of a months-behind mess. If it’s bigger, we say so and point you to the right tier. The review costs nothing and carries no obligation.
- 2
Written fixed-fee scope
We put the one issue, exactly what we’ll do, and the fixed price in writing — typically $1,200 to under $3,000 for a focused cleanup. You approve it before any work begins. No open-ended hourly billing and no surprises mid-job.
- 3
Fix the one issue
We do the actual correction — clearing the undeposited-funds pileup, removing the duplicate import, re-mapping the miscategorized period, or whatever the scoped issue is — working only on that problem and leaving the already-clean parts of the file untouched.
- 4
Reconcile and verify
We re-run the affected reconciliation or report and confirm it ties: the account matches its statement, the balances are right, and the numbers behind the fix hold up. A focused cleanup isn’t done until the one issue is provably resolved.
- 5
CPA-ready handoff
We hand the file back in a state your accountant can work from directly — the issue closed, the affected accounts tied, and a short note on what was corrected.
- 6
Optional monthly bookkeeping
If you’d rather the books never drift again, we can set up ongoing monthly bookkeeping so issues get caught and reconciled as they happen instead of piling up into the next cleanup. Entirely optional — the focused fix stands on its own.
Three signs your problem is a focused fix.
It’s one issue, and you can name it
You can point to a single, specific problem — “this account won’t reconcile,” “undeposited funds is huge,” “the feed doubled March.” A problem you can name in one sentence is usually a focused fix. If you can’t — if it’s “everything’s a mess” — that points to Standard.
The rest of the books are current
Outside the one issue, the file is up to date and reconciled through recent months. A single isolated problem in otherwise-current books is the textbook focused cleanup. If you’re months behind across the board, that’s a Standard cleanup ($3,000 to under $7,500).
It’s one period and one entity
The problem lives in a single period and a single company file — not spread across multiple years, and not tangled across several entities or a structural setup error. Multi-year, structural, or multi-entity issues are a Complex cleanup ($7,500–$15,000+), not a focused one.
A QuickBooks ProAdvisor fixes the one issue — to CPA-ready.
A focused cleanup is precision work, not a rebuild. A QuickBooks ProAdvisor holding the Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 isolates the single issue, fixes it against a written fixed-fee scope, re-runs the affected reconciliation or report until it ties, and verifies the books are ready to hand to your accountant — without disturbing the parts of the file that are already clean. You see the scope and the price before any work starts, and nothing turns into open-ended billing.
What people ask about focused cleanups.
Is this Intuit’s official QuickBooks support, and do you file my taxes?
No on both. TechBrot is a bookkeeping and advisory firm — and we do not file taxes. For an Intuit account, login, password, subscription, or billing issue, contact Intuit directly; we can’t access your Intuit account. What we do is the bookkeeping work inside your own books: we fix the one issue and get it CPA-ready, and your CPA files the return.
What exactly is a focused cleanup?
It’s the smallest of our three cleanup tiers — fixing one contained, well-defined problem in your books to a CPA-ready state for a fixed fee, typically $1,200 to under $3,000. Examples include a single broken reconciliation, an undeposited-funds pileup, a bad bank-feed import, one account that won’t tie, or one period that was miscategorized. It suits books that are otherwise current with a single isolated issue.
How much does a focused cleanup cost?
Typically $1,200 to under $3,000 as a fixed fee, quoted in writing after a free file review and approved before any work begins. There’s no open-ended hourly billing. If the review shows the file needs more — a Standard cleanup is $3,000 to under $7,500, a Complex one $7,500–$15,000+ — we tell you that up front rather than starting focused and surprising you. To talk through your file, speak with an advisor at (877) 751-5575.
How do I know if my problem is focused, Standard, or Complex?
If you can name one specific issue and the rest of the books are current, it’s usually focused. If several issues are stacked up or you’re months behind across the board, that’s Standard ($3,000 to under $7,500). If the mess spans multiple years, multiple entities, or a structural setup problem, that’s Complex ($7,500–$15,000+). The free file review settles it — we’d rather scope you correctly than oversell a tier.
How long does a focused cleanup take?
Because a focused cleanup is one contained issue, it’s the fastest tier — often a matter of days once the written scope is approved and we have file access. The free file review comes first and is quick; the fix itself depends on the specific issue, but it won’t drag the way a months-behind cleanup can. We confirm timing in the written scope.
What does “CPA-ready” actually mean here?
It means the one issue is corrected, the affected accounts reconcile and tie to their statements, and the file is in a state your accountant can pick up and work from directly — with a short note on what we changed. We don’t file your taxes; we get the books to the point where your CPA can, from clean numbers.
What if the “one issue” turns out to be bigger once you look?
Then we tell you before doing any work. The free file review exists exactly to catch that — if what looked like a single reconciliation problem is really months of unreconciled activity, we’ll scope it as a Standard or Complex cleanup and quote that instead. You always see the real scope and the fixed price in writing before you approve anything.
Can you set up bookkeeping so this doesn’t happen again?
Yes, optionally. After a focused cleanup we can set up ongoing monthly bookkeeping so issues are caught and reconciled as they occur rather than piling up into the next cleanup. It’s entirely optional — the focused fix stands on its own — but it’s the surest way to keep the books CPA-ready year-round.
Start with a free file review — then a written fixed fee.
Before anyone quotes you, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor looks at the file for free and tells you whether it’s a focused fix or something larger. A focused cleanup is typically a $1,200 to under $3,000 fixed fee; if the file is months behind it’s a Standard cleanup ($3,000 to under $7,500), and multi-year or multi-entity work is Complex ($7,500–$15,000+). Either way you get a written scope and price before any work begins.
Tell us what’s wrong with the books. We’ll tell you whether cleanup, catch-up or monthly bookkeeping fits.
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