A QuickBooks file you can trust again
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- You
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- Blaga Veleva, EA
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- QuickBooks help
Tax & Business Solutions helps Houston small businesses set up QuickBooks, clean up a file that no longer matches the bank, learn the software, and answer the everyday questions that stall owners. Bookkeeper Lachezar Velev fixes and reconciles the file. Blaga Veleva, EA and Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, makes sure the categories line up with your tax return.
Who can clean up my QuickBooks file?
Lachezar Velev, the firm's bookkeeper, does the clean-up. He has a BBA in Accounting from the University of Houston and years of practice reconciling accounts and keeping financial records accurate. A clean-up starts by comparing every bank and card account in QuickBooks to the real statements, month by month, until the two agree. Then the duplicates, missing entries and miscategorized transactions get fixed.
If the file is so far behind that it is really a rebuild, that becomes catch-up bookkeeping.
What are the usual problems in a messy file?
- Bank feeds accepted without review, so transactions land in the wrong category or twice.
- Accounts that have not been reconciled for months, or were "reconciled" with a forced adjustment.
- Owner draws or loans recorded as expenses.
- Undeposited funds that pile up because payments were never matched to deposits.
- A chart of accounts with dozens of overlapping categories.
- Opening balances that never matched the prior year's return.
Each one quietly distorts your profit, and with it your tax return.
How should QuickBooks be set up for a new business?
Around how the tax return reads, with as few accounts as the business really needs. That means a chart of accounts that maps cleanly to the lines of your return, bank and card feeds connected with rules that you review, and a routine for reconciling each month. Blaga, an Enrolled Agent, checks that the categories match the business return or the Schedule C for a sole proprietor. Set up right, year end becomes a review instead of a rescue.
Can you just answer a few QuickBooks questions?
Yes. Not every owner wants the firm to keep the books. Some want to do it themselves and need someone to call when a reconciliation will not balance, a sales tax entry looks odd, or a loan payment needs splitting between principal and interest. The old site offered answers to QuickBooks questions for years; that help continues. Bring the question to a free consultation or ask when you call.
If you want to run the file yourself for good, ask about QuickBooks training. You learn the routine on your own file: reconciling each account, categorizing transactions and reading your profit and loss statement.
Why does a clean file matter at tax time?
Because the IRS sees your return, not your intentions. A file that overstates expenses can lead to questions; one that understates them means you pay more tax than you owe. The IRS says your records should support the items you report and that you may use "any recordkeeping system" that clearly shows income and expenses (IRS recordkeeping). A reconciled QuickBooks file does exactly that, and it gives tax planning real numbers to work from.
What happens after the clean-up?
You choose how the file is kept from then on. Some owners take it back with a short checklist and a monthly reconciliation habit. Others hand the routine to the firm as ongoing bookkeeping, so Lachezar closes each month and Blaga sees a finished year at tax time. Either way, the file is handed back reconciled, with a short note on what was changed and why, so you can see the starting point for yourself.
Questions people ask
Q1Who can clean up my QuickBooks file in Houston?
Tax & Business Solutions on FM 1960 West does QuickBooks clean-up for small businesses. Lachezar Velev reconciles and corrects the file, and Blaga Veleva, EA, checks that it supports the tax return. You can share access remotely; you do not have to bring a computer in.
Q2Do you hold a QuickBooks credential?
Yes. Blaga Veleva is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, a certification from Intuit, the company that makes QuickBooks. She is also an Enrolled Agent, so the person who checks your file is the person who prepares the tax return from it.
Q3Can you fix QuickBooks Online and Desktop files?
Mention which version you use during the free consultation. The clean-up method is the same either way: reconcile each account to its statements, then correct what does not match.
Q4My reconciliation is off by a small amount. Does it matter?
Yes. A small difference can hide a larger error that partly cancels out. Finding the exact cause is part of a proper clean-up, rather than posting a plug entry to force it to balance.
Q5Can you set up QuickBooks for a brand-new business?
Yes. A new file is the easiest time to get it right. The setup covers a chart of accounts that maps to your tax return, connected bank and card accounts with reviewed rules, and a short monthly routine. If your company is also new, the business formation pages cover the state filings and EIN that come first, so the file starts from the company's real opening date.