Catch-up bookkeeping is where small-business owners overpay most, because almost nobody publishes what it costs. We checked 23 firms that offer it, read each one’s own pricing page, and scored them on the same five factors as our bookkeeping ranking.
Catch-up (also called cleanup or back bookkeeping) means bringing months or years of overdue books current: categorising transactions, reconciling every account against statements, and producing financials your accountant can file from. The price question that matters is how a firm charges for it: per month behind, a fixed project fee, or hourly.
How to check our working
Every customer rating links to the review page it came from, and every price links to the provider’s own pricing page. All of it was read on 5 October 2026. Every provider goes through the same formula. If something has moved, follow the link and tell us so we can update it.
The short version
- Highest score: Merritt Bookkeeping, which publishes $200 per month behind ($100 for months needing little work) and holds 4.9 on both Google and Yelp.
- Published per-month prices cluster at $200–$300 per month of backlog: Merritt $200, Ketchup Bookkeeping $240, Xendoo from $295.
- Fixed quote up front: OneBooks quotes the whole project before starting, typically $300–$9,000, and publishes timelines by backlog size.
- Fastest stated turnaround: RemoteBooksOnline claims up to 12 months cleaned up within about 7 days, from $150 a month.
- “Free” catch-up has strings: Bench waives it only with an annual plan, and your books live in Bench’s own platform rather than QuickBooks or Xero.
- 10 of 23 publish no catch-up price at all. Get the number in writing before you compare monthly fees.
What to know before you buy
- Per-month-behind pricing is the most transparent model, and published rates cluster around $200-$300 per month of backlog (Merritt $200/month, Ketchup Bookkeeping $240/month, Xendoo 'from $295/month'). Source: merrittbookkeeping.com
- 'Free' catch-up usually means a commitment: Bench waives catch-up only with an annual plan, and books more than a year behind get a custom quote. Source: bench.co
- Check the cleanup window. Intuit's Experts cleanup covers only the period from your last tax filing to the month you subscribe, and takes about 30 days after documents are received. Source: quickbooks.intuit.com
- Some firms price catch-up as a multiple of the ongoing fee and tie it to a contract: SmartBooks estimates 0.25x-0.50x of the monthly fee per month behind, under a one-year auto-renewing term. Source: smartbooks.com
- Turnaround claims vary widely, from about 7 days for up to 12 months (RemoteBooksOnline) to 2-4 weeks per year of backlog (inDinero). Source: www.indinero.com
- Catch-up is also marketed by tax-resolution firms and to people with IRS problems (Bench's catch-up page is branded 'Bench Retro' for back-tax issues; Semper Tax Relief bundles it with IRS negotiation), so buyers should get the bookkeeping fee quoted separately. Source: www.bench.co
How we scored them
The same five factors and weights as our bookkeeping ranking: review evidence 30%, pricing transparency 25%, data portability 20%, stability 15%, scope and honesty 10%.
- Customer rating is each platform’s rating multiplied by its review count, summed, and divided by the total count. Review evidence then scales it by volume (full strength at 150 reviews), subtracts points when platforms with 5+ reviews disagree by more than a star, and adjusts for BBB grade.
- Pricing transparency: 5 for a full public rate card including one-off costs, down to 1 for quote only.
- Data portability for catch-up bookkeeping: 5 if the catch-up is done in your own QuickBooks Online or Xero file, which you keep; 3 if it uses that software but the firm controls the subscription; 1 for a proprietary ledger with limited export.
- Stability: years trading, ownership changes, layoffs and shutdowns, each with a source.
- Scope and honesty: whether the provider says plainly what is included, who does the work, what any guarantee covers and how the contract ends.
- Where a provider does not disclose something we need to score a factor, it gets 2 for that factor.
Where this ranking is weak
- For firms that sell several services (Fusion CPA, Bookkeeper360, Xendoo and others), the customer rating covers the whole firm, not catch-up work alone. Few reviews say which service they are about.
- Ketchup Bookkeeping, Accounting Ketchup and Intuit’s cleanup service have no verifiable ratings, so they score zero on review evidence. That means unverified, not bad.
- Four of the five factors (70% of the weight) are our judgement against published definitions. The factor scores are all in the table, so you can disagree with a specific one.
- Ratings and prices are a snapshot from 5 October 2026. Prices in this market change often; the links take you to the current page.
The full score table
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| # | Provider | Total | Reviews 30% | Price 25% | Port. 20% | Stab. 15% | Scope 10% | Customer rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Merritt Bookkeeping service firm | 4.46 | 4.7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4.9 (195) |
| 2 | Xendoo service firm | 4.01 | 4.2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4.7 (179) |
| 3 | Maxim Liberty Bookkeeping Services service firm | 3.98 | 4.6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5.0 (80) |
| 4 | OneBooks service firm | 3.40 | 3.7 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5.0 (18) |
| 5 | Bookkeeper360 service firm | 3.27 | 2.7 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4.6 (270) |
| 6 | RemoteBooksOnline service firm | 3.24 | 4.3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4.7 (791) |
| 7 | SmartBooks service firm | 3.21 | 3.7 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5.0 (22) |
| 8 | Complete Controller service firm | 2.98 | 2.1 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4.2 (15) |
| 9 | Fusion CPA service firm | 2.96 | 4.7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4.9 (188) |
| 10 | CapForge service firm | 2.87 | 4.4 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4.8 (190) |
| 11 | Ignite Spot service firm | 2.73 | 3.9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4.7 (84) |
| 12 | Fincent software+service | 2.72 | 2.7 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4.5 (17) |
| 13 | BooksTime service firm | 2.58 | 4.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4.8 (91) |
| 14 | inDinero service firm | 2.53 | 1.9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4.2 (55) |
| 15 | Ketchup Bookkeeping service firm | 2.50 | 0.0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | — |
| 16 | Fondo software+service | 2.49 | 2.5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4.5 (10) |
| 17 | Intuit QuickBooks Experts Cleanup (formerly QuickBooks Live) software+service | 2.40 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 | — |
| 18 | Accounting Ketchup software+service | 2.35 | 0.0 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | — |
| 19 | Semper Tax Relief service firm | 2.32 | 3.9 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4.6 (121) |
| 20 | Bench (Employer.com) software+service | 2.30 | 3.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4.2 (1,354) |
| 21 | Collective software+service | 2.27 | 3.2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4.3 (500) |
| 22 | 1-800Accountant service firm | 2.07 | 2.1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 4.3 (18,187) |
| 23 | Bookkeeping Express (BKE) service firm | 1.28 | 0.1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3.3 (3) |
The top 10, in detail
Merritt Bookkeeping
Cheapest transparent per-month catch-up in QuickBooks
- Price
- Ongoing $250/mo flat (no tiers, no contract); catch-up $200 per month behind (20% off) to create/bring a QuickBooks file current, or $100 per month for mostly complete months (under 20 transactions). (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Unverified (US) · founded 2012
- Customer rating
- 4.9/5 from 195 reviews: Google 4.9/5 (134) · Yelp 4.9/5 (58) · G2 4/5 (2) · Trustpilot 3.7/5 (1) · BBB grade A+. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Catch-up is priced per month behind: $200/month to build or bring a QuickBooks file current, $100/month for months that need only minor work.
- Regular service is a single $250/month plan with no tiers and no contract.
- Offers a refund if not satisfied within the first 3 months.
- No published catch-up turnaround time.
Portability. Books kept in QuickBooks; site says 'No proprietary systems… a format you can take with you if you leave.' Whether the QBO subscription is in the client's name is not stated.
Stability. Operating since at least 2012 (copyright notice); owner-run (Perry Paolini & Jordan Merritt); no ownership changes found.
Scope. Clear that work is done by people, not AI; no contracts; 3-month money-back guarantee. Does not state catch-up turnaround or whether catch-up requires ongoing service.
Xendoo
Catch-up followed by ongoing Xero/QBO bookkeeping
- Price
- Catch-up 'starting at $295/month'; ongoing plans $355, $625 and $895/mo (annual billing); no onboarding/setup fees. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA · founded 2016
- Customer rating
- 4.7/5 from 179 reviews: Google 4.7/5 (177) · G2 5/5 (1) · BBB customer reviews 1/5 (1) · BBB grade A+, accredited, 1 complaint. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Catch-up is advertised from $295/month, but per-month-behind rates are not published.
- The catch-up page describes ongoing monthly maintenance as the step after catch-up.
- Client owns the QBO/Xero subscription; leaving costs a $50 Xero transfer fee.
- Offers a 'Loan Ready' rapid catch-up for funding deadlines (no timeframe stated).
Portability. FAQ: 'You own the software… The accounting software subscription and financial records are yours'; $50 fee to transfer a Xero file on cancellation.
Stability. Founded 2016 (CB Insights); about $7.7M in venture funding; Inc. 5000 listing 2026.
Scope. All bookkeepers and accountants US-based 'under one roof'; no annual contract, 30-day cancellation notice. Catch-up page frames catch-up as leading into ongoing monthly service.
Maxim Liberty Bookkeeping Services
Lowest hourly rate for catch-up
- Price
- From $75/mo for 5 hours, $150/mo for 10 hours, $300/mo for 20 hours; extra hours $15/hr; $900 retainer deposit. Its homepage separately advertises $7.50–$10/hr. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Unverified · founded 2005
- Customer rating
- 5.0/5 from 80 reviews: Google 5/5 (56) · Clutch 5/5 (14) · G2 5/5 (6) · BBB customer reviews 5/5 (4) · BBB grade A+, accredited. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Hourly rates of $7.50-$10.00 are well below other US-facing firms.
- States catch-up is included in all plans, whether months or years behind.
- Offers a 100% money-back guarantee on the first payment.
Portability. Works in the client's existing software (QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, Wave, Sage); subscription ownership not stated.
Stability. Claims operation 'since 2005'; ownership history not independently checked.
Scope. Does not disclose staff location or credentials, which matters at $7.50-$10/hr; no turnaround or minimums stated.
OneBooks
US-staffed QuickBooks Online catch-up with stated timelines
- Price
- Fixed quote before work starts; most catch-up projects fall between $300 and $9,000; backlogs over 3 years quoted on request. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Wyckoff, NJ, USA · founded 2016
- Customer rating
- 5.0/5 from 18 reviews: Google 5/5 (18).
- Publishes timelines by backlog: several weeks for 1-3 months, 1-2 months for 1-2 years, 2-3 months for 2-3 years.
- Catch-up does not require ongoing service; clients can maintain the cleaned books themselves.
- Works exclusively in QuickBooks Online with US-based staff.
Portability. All catch-up work is done in QuickBooks Online; site does not say whose subscription is used.
Stability. Founded 2016 per its own site; no ownership changes found.
Scope. States all work is by US-based staff and reviewed by a Certified ProAdvisor; ongoing service optional; gives timelines by backlog size. Payment terms and rush fees not stated.
Bookkeeper360
Cleanup as on-ramp to QBO/Xero monthly service
- Price
- 'Onboarding & Prior Bookkeeping' from $1,000 per project; ongoing from $399/mo (monthly) or $599/mo (weekly). (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- US (city unverified) · founded 2012
- Customer rating
- 4.6/5 from 270 reviews: Google 4.7/5 (234) · Yelp 4.5/5 (21) · Trustpilot 2.7/5 (6) · G2 3.8/5 (5) · Capterra 3.3/5 (3) · BBB customer reviews 1/5 (1) · BBB grade A+. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Prior-period cleanup is sold as a project starting at $1,000.
- The project includes chart of accounts setup and app integrations, not only catch-up.
- Trustpilot reviewers complain of billing disputes and slow setup (small sample).
Portability. Works in QuickBooks Online or Xero; who holds the subscription not stated.
Stability. Operating since 2012 per its own site; no ownership changes found.
Scope. US-based team; project scope listed (chart of accounts, cleanup, integrations); contract terms not disclosed; catch-up presented as a step before the monthly engagement.
RemoteBooksOnline
Fast flat-rate catch-up with software included
- Price
- Catch-up from $150/month, flat-rate by months and transaction volume; ongoing $150-$375/mo or dedicated bookkeeper $25-$35/hr; QuickBooks/Xero subscription included. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Knoxville, TN, USA
- Customer rating
- 4.7/5 from 791 reviews: Google 4.7/5 (521) · Trustpilot 4.7/5 (194) · BBB customer reviews 4.88/5 (76) · BBB grade A+, accredited, 1 complaint. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Pricing page claims up to 12 months cleaned and reconciled within 7 days.
- Catch-up priced flat by number of months and transaction volume, from $150/month.
- Accounting software subscription is bundled into the fee.
Portability. Monthly rates include the QuickBooks or Xero subscription, which suggests the firm provides the subscription; file ownership on exit not stated.
Stability. Founding year not disclosed on its site; claims 5,000+ clients.
Scope. No contracts or hourly fees; staff described as 'US-accounting trained' but location not disclosed; ongoing service recommended but not required after catch-up.
SmartBooks
Established firms wanting catch-up plus outsourced accounting
- Price
- Monthly fees not published; per its terms, catch-up beyond two weeks is estimated at 0.25x-0.50x the monthly fee for each month of prior accounting, or a fixed/hourly estimate agreed in advance. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Acton, MA, USA · founded 2009
- Customer rating
- 5.0/5 from 22 reviews: Google 5/5 (21) · G2 4/5 (1) · BBB grade A+. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Catch-up is priced as a multiple (0.25x-0.50x) of the monthly fee per month behind.
- Implementation pricing includes only limited prior-period catch-up.
- Requires a one-year auto-renewing contract, with an early termination fee of twice the monthly fee.
Portability. Terms promise to transition third-party systems to client access/billing/ownership on termination, implying the firm may hold subscriptions during service.
Stability. Operating since 2009 per its site; ownership history not independently checked.
Scope. Terms are explicit: one-year initial term with auto-renewal, 30-day notice, early termination fee of twice the monthly fee.
Complete Controller
Catch-up with QBO hosting and full rate card
- Price
- Plans $165-$2,780/mo with setup fees $1,050-$2,250; custom work $75/hr; catch-up offered but no catch-up-specific price published. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Austin, TX, USA · founded 2007
- Customer rating
- 4.2/5 from 15 reviews: Yelp 3.9/5 (11) · Google 5/5 (4) · BBB grade A+. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Catch-up and cleanup are offered, but the published setup fees ($1,050-$2,250) and $75/hr rate are the only one-off prices shown.
- QuickBooks Online is bundled into the plan rather than being the client's own subscription.
- No long-term contract; 30-day notice to leave.
Portability. QuickBooks Online (Plus/Advanced) is included and 'hosted by Complete Controller under license from Intuit'; client ownership on exit not stated.
Stability. Claims service since 2007 (homepage copyright says 2008); ownership history not independently checked.
Scope. Clear tiered plans and add-ons; 30-day notice, no long-term contract; catch-up mentioned on city pages but not priced.
Fusion CPA
CPA-led cleanup for QBO/NetSuite companies
- Price
- Cleanup is project-based and quoted separately; ongoing QuickBooks bookkeeping from $399/mo, controller from $1,365/mo, NetSuite from $2,500/mo. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- San Juan, Puerto Rico (offices in Atlanta, Park City, Tampa) · founded 2011
- Customer rating
- 4.9/5 from 188 reviews: Google 4.9/5 (159) · Yelp 4.8/5 (29) · BBB grade NR. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Offers 'Bookkeeping Cleanup & Catch-Up' as a dedicated, separately quoted project.
- Publishes price ranges for every ongoing tier, so post-cleanup costs are predictable.
- CPA firm, so cleanup can tie into prior-year filing fixes.
Portability. Works in QuickBooks Online, Xero and NetSuite; subscription ownership not stated.
Stability. Founded 2011 by Trevor McCandless, CPA.
Scope. Detailed public ranges for ongoing work; cleanup scope and timing not published.
CapForge
Bundled bookkeeping, tax and cleanup for e-commerce
- Price
- No catch-up price published; bundles from $650, $1,095 and $1,395/mo; month-to-month after 90 days. (pricing page)
- Type
- service firm
- Headquarters
- Carlsbad, CA, USA · founded 2013
- Customer rating
- 4.8/5 from 190 reviews: Google 4.8/5 (168) · Yelp 4.5/5 (22). Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service.
- Ongoing plans require 90 days before going month-to-month.
- Client testimonials describe multi-year cleanups, but no catch-up service page or price exists.
Portability. Mentions QuickBooks Online and Desktop; ownership not stated.
Stability. Founded ~2013 (inferred from site metadata).
Scope. Clear tier table and 90-day minimum, but catch-up is not described as a service.
Ranks 11 to 23
| # | Provider | Score | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Ignite Spot | 2.73 | Bookkeeping minimum is $625/month, so cleanup is aimed at larger clients. Price: No catch-up price published; bookkeeping is a percentage of annual revenue with a $625/mo minimum; no contracts. 4.7/5 from 84 reviews: Google 4.7/5 (83) · Yelp 5/5 (1) · BBB grade A+. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 12 | Fincent | 2.72 | States clean books in under 21 days, and an average of 30 days for one year of books. Price: Catch-up from $299/month (20% discount advertised); ongoing $55, $189 and $389/mo; pricing page lists catch-up as an add-on only on Advanced/Custom plans. 4.5/5 from 17 reviews: Capterra 4.4/5 (14) · G2 5/5 (3). Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 13 | BooksTime | 2.58 | Catch-up is a one-time 'Special Project' with an individual quote. Price: Catch-up/cleanup quoted individually per project; ongoing Essentials $295/mo (annual) or $320/mo (monthly); CFO consulting $300/hr. 4.8/5 from 91 reviews: Google 4.8/5 (82) · Trustpilot 4.3/5 (8) · BBB customer reviews 5/5 (1) · BBB grade A+, accredited. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 14 | inDinero | 2.53 | States most backlogs take 2-4 weeks per year of books to clean up. Price: Catch-up at a fixed price quoted at consultation; ongoing from $750/mo (Essential) and $1,250/mo (Growth). 4.2/5 from 55 reviews: G2 3.9/5 (33) · Clutch 4.9/5 (20) · Google 3/5 (2) · BBB grade A+. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 15 | Ketchup Bookkeeping | 2.50 | Charges $240 per month of backlog at standard volume, quoted free within 24 hours. Price: $240 per month of backlog at standard volume (1-3 accounts, under 300 transactions/month); heavier volume quoted before payment; no hourly billing. No verified ratings found. |
| 16 | Fondo | 2.49 | Catch-up for historical books starts at $950 and does not require an ongoing plan. Price: Catch-up add-on 'as low as $950' and sold standalone; ongoing $399/mo (promo, regular $499), quarterly from $1,198, annual from $950/yr; TaxPass $1,450/yr. 4.5/5 from 10 reviews: G2 4.5/5 (10). Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 17 | Intuit QuickBooks Experts Cleanup (formerly QuickBooks Live) | 2.40 | Cleanup takes about 30 days after Intuit receives everything it needs. Price: Not published: cleanup is a one-time flat fee quoted at consultation; a QuickBooks Online subscription ($35-$235/mo) is required. No verified ratings found. |
| 18 | Accounting Ketchup | 2.35 | Positions itself as AI-powered catch-up for QuickBooks Online only. Price: Reported as from $69 per month of cleanup with no subscription (homepage title and BetaList listing); not read on the provider's own pricing page. No verified ratings found. |
| 19 | Semper Tax Relief | 2.32 | A tax-resolution firm that 'integrates bookkeeping with tax problem resolution'. Price: Not published 4.6/5 from 121 reviews: Google 4.6/5 (121). |
| 20 | Bench (Employer.com) | 2.30 | Catch-up is free with an annual plan; more than a year behind gets a custom flat quote. Price: Plans $199, $399 and $649/mo (20% off yearly); catch-up free with an annual plan; more than one year behind gets a custom flat quote; up to 12-month interest-free payment plans. 4.2/5 from 1,354 reviews: Trustpilot 4.2/5 (1,354). |
| 21 | Collective | 2.27 | Catch-up is only available as an add-on to the S Corp membership. Price: Bookkeeping catch-up is an add-on to the S Corp plan ($348/mo) with no published price; LLC plan $199/mo. 4.3/5 from 500 reviews: Trustpilot 4.3/5 (425) · G2 4.5/5 (69) · Google 2.7/5 (3) · BBB customer reviews 1/5 (3) · BBB grade A+, accredited, 7 complaints. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 22 | 1-800Accountant | 2.07 | Catch-up is an add-on to annual-billed packages, priced only at consultation. Price: Catch-up listed as a core package add-on with no published price; Business Complete with bookkeeping $469/mo billed annually. 4.3/5 from 18,187 reviews: Trustpilot 4.4/5 (12,937) · Google 4.3/5 (3,797) · BBB customer reviews 3.81/5 (1,408) · Clutch 4.5/5 (31) · G2 2.8/5 (14) · BBB grade A-, 591 complaints. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
| 23 | Bookkeeping Express (BKE) | 1.28 | Homepage lists cleanup and catch-up as services alongside monthly bookkeeping. Price: Cleanup/catch-up offered but not priced; ongoing Essential $250/mo with a published add-on menu ($25-$150/mo each). 3.3/5 from 3 reviews: Clutch 3.3/5 (3) · BBB grade B-, 1 complaint. Ratings cover the whole firm, not only this service. |
Scored on 5 October 2026. Found a price or rating that has moved? Tell us and we will check it and show the change.