The cost of catch-up bookkeeping depends on a few key factors, but most small businesses should expect somewhere between $300 and $1,000 or more per month of backlog. A contractor who is six months behind with one bank account and moderate activity is a very different project than one who is two years behind with multiple accounts, credit cards, and dozens of subcontractor payments each month.

The biggest drivers of cost are how far behind the books are and how many transactions need to be categorized and reconciled. A plumber with 50 transactions a month who fell behind for a quarter is a straightforward project. A general contractor running $80,000 or more in monthly expenses across several accounts who hasn’t touched the books in two years is a much larger lift. Transaction volume matters more than the calendar time because that’s what determines the actual work involved.

The state of your existing records also affects pricing. If you’ve been saving receipts, have organized bank statements, and maybe even started categorizing some things in QuickBooks before falling behind, the cleanup goes faster. If there are no records at all and everything needs to be pulled from bank feeds and reconstructed, that adds time. Missing records for cash transactions create gaps that require more effort to sort through.

Most bookkeepers and firms price catch-up work as a flat project fee rather than hourly. This is better for you because you know the total cost upfront. At TradeBuilt, catch-up bookkeeping is project-priced after reviewing the scope of what needs to be done. That means we look at the number of months behind, the number of accounts, and the general complexity before quoting a number.

For contractors and trade businesses specifically, catch-up work tends to run on the higher end because the transactions are more involved. You have material purchases, subcontractor payments, equipment costs, job deposits, and progress billings that all need to be recorded correctly. Getting these right matters because they directly affect your tax return and what deductions you can claim.

The real cost of staying behind is usually worse than the cost of catching up. Missed deductions at tax time, penalties for late or inaccurate filings, and the inability to answer basic questions about how your business is doing financially all add up. Many of the trade businesses we work with as a Long Beach bookkeeper come to us right before tax season in a scramble. Getting caught up earlier in the year gives you cleaner financials, a smoother tax filing, and a starting point for keeping the books current going forward.

If you’re behind and wondering what it would cost to get current, the best step is to reach out with a rough idea of how many months you’re behind and how many bank and credit card accounts are involved. That’s usually enough to give you a realistic estimate.