Tomball business behind on the books? Start here

There is no point where it is too late. Whether you are three months or two years behind, the process is the same: gather the bank and card statements, sort every transaction into the right category, and reconcile each account to its statement balance. The catch-up bookkeeping page walks through each stage.

The sooner you start, the less has to be rebuilt from memory.

Lachezar works through the months in order, so you can see progress as it happens. If a tax deadline is close, the months that matter for that return can be done first. Expect a short list of questions about transactions the statements alone cannot explain.

Lachezar Velev handles the day-to-day bookkeeping. He holds a BBA in Accounting from the University of Houston, and his focus is reconciliations, financial records, reporting and spotting signs of financial fraud. Blaga then reviews the results from the tax side, so the books are ready for the return when filing season arrives. His fraud detection background matters here: unexplained transfers or duplicate payments stand out during reconciliation.

Having a bookkeeper and an Enrolled Agent in one office means your file is not passed between firms. When the books raise a tax question, such as how to record an owner draw or a work vehicle, the answer comes from the person who will file the return.

Start with bank and card statements, since nearly everything else can be rebuilt from them. Then add:

• loan statements and any equipment financing
• payroll reports, if you have employees
• sales records from your register, invoicing app or payment processor, including monthly processor reports that show fees and refunds a bank deposit hides
• your last filed business return

Missing statements can usually be downloaded from your bank. Send what you have now and the rest as you find it. Receipts help later, but statements are the foundation.

A messy QuickBooks file is often cleaned up rather than replaced. Typical problems are duplicate transactions, accounts that were never reconciled, and personal spending mixed in with business costs. See QuickBooks help for what a cleanup involves. If you use another program or spreadsheets instead, the same cleanup steps apply.

The aim is a file you can trust: every bank account reconciled, categories that make sense for your type of business, and reports you can actually read. After that, keeping it current takes far less effort each month.

Because the business return is built from the books. Without reconciled numbers, a return is either late or a guess, and a late one can be costly. For partnership returns due after December 31, 2025, the IRS charges $255 per partner for each month late, for up to 12 months (IRS failure to file penalty). Once the books are current, the firm can prepare your business tax return straight from them.

Current books pay off outside tax season too. Lenders, buyers and partners ask for financial statements, and reliable numbers show you which parts of the business really make money.