Clean Up QuickBooks Before Taxes (Step-by-Step)
Tax prep with messy books wastes your accountant's time and your money. A 30-minute cleanup pass now prevents last-minute surprises later. Upload your QuickBooks file and we'll surface every issue your CPA would flag — with step-by-step fixes.
Most files we scan in Q4–Q1 contain something like this:
Numbers shown are typical findings. Your actual results depend on your file.
- Stripe-secured payment
- No QuickBooks login required
- One-time $29 — no subscription
- 30-day refund guarantee
Why clean up before sending to your CPA
Accountants charge by the hour. Every duplicate, miscategorization, or unapplied payment they untangle is billable time — usually $150–$400 per hour.
A cleanup pass before you hand over the file converts those hours into a one-time $29 report, plus a few hours of your own work fixing what's flagged.
What CPAs flag most often
Duplicate transactions
Inflated expenses or revenue that throw off Schedule C, P&L, and tax estimates. The single most common cleanup item.
Learn moreUncategorized income and expenses
Transactions in 'Ask My Accountant' or 'Uncategorized' have to be sorted before any return can be filed. CPAs charge their full hourly rate to do this.
Learn moreUnapplied customer payments
Inflated A/R and confused revenue recognition. Affects accrual-basis returns and 1099 thresholds.
Learn moreStuck Undeposited Funds
Cash recorded twice — once in the holding account, once at the bank. Distorts cash basis returns and reconciliation.
Learn moreOpening Balance Equity with a balance
A non-zero OBE means setup wasn't finished. CPAs have to investigate where the balance should actually live before closing the year.
Learn moreVendor naming inconsistencies
Spend split across duplicate vendor profiles ('Amazon', 'amazon.com', 'Amazon LLC') can cause you to miss the $600 1099 reporting threshold.
Recommended cleanup order
- 1
Reconcile every bank and credit card account through year-end.
- 2
Run the cleanup scan to find duplicates, unapplied payments, and uncategorized entries.
- 3
Fix each finding using the step-by-step instructions provided.
- 4
Re-run reports (P&L, Balance Sheet) to sanity-check the numbers.
- 5
Send to your CPA with notes on anything you couldn't resolve.
Don't pay your CPA to find these.
Run a cleanup scan first — surface everything they'd flag, fix it yourself, and save the billable hours.
When to do this
Best time to clean up:
- December — before year-end close, while transactions are fresh
- January — before sending books to your CPA
- February–March — if you're behind, before the filing rush
- Any time you're switching accountants or bookkeepers
Earlier is better. Cleanup gets harder the longer issues sit.
Simple pricing
- Full scan of your General Ledger
- Every issue grouped and prioritized
- Step-by-step fix instructions for each finding
- CSV export of all flagged transactions
- 30-day refund if it doesn't help
No subscription. No QuickBooks login required.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to give you my QuickBooks login?+
No. You export your General Ledger as a CSV from QuickBooks and upload that file. We never see, touch, or connect to your QuickBooks account.
What does $29 actually get me?+
A full report that lists every duplicate, unapplied payment, undeposited-funds issue, OBE balance, and uncategorized transaction we found in your file — plus step-by-step instructions to fix each one in QuickBooks. CSV export included.
Will this fix my QuickBooks for me?+
No — the fixes happen inside your QuickBooks account, by you. We tell you exactly what to click and where, but we don't make changes to your books.
What if it doesn't find anything useful?+
We offer a 30-day refund. If the report didn't help, email us and we'll refund the $29.
Is this affiliated with Intuit or QuickBooks?+
No. This is an independent tool built to help small businesses and bookkeepers clean up their QuickBooks files faster. QuickBooks is a trademark of Intuit Inc.
Get your QuickBooks ready for tax season.
Upload your file and get a complete cleanup checklist before sending it to your CPA.
$29 per report. One-time. No subscription.
Related guides
This tool helps you identify and fix common QuickBooks issues. It does not replace professional accounting advice.