Results
What you get
- Reconciled monthly bookkeeping in DATEV
- A list of all corrections with reasons based on the receipts
- Monthly reports for the period covered
- Orderly handover to your tax advisor or a tax advisor we work with
Services · Catch-up bookkeeping and switching
Get your bookkeeping up to date
Months or years not posted, posted incorrectly, or your advisor suddenly gone? We bring your bookkeeping up to date: organized, traceable, and at a fixed price. The tax advisor prepares any missing financial statements and corrected tax returns.
Starting point
Typical situations
Unposted months
Receipts and bank statements remain unposted, some for years.
Mail from the tax office
The tax office is chasing In the advance VAT return, Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung, a business reports VAT minus input VAT to the tax office monthly or quarterly. or tax returns, or has made an estimated assessment.
Posted, but incorrectly
Bank accounts don’t match, Open items are invoices to customers or from suppliers that have not yet been paid in full. are incorrect, and the VAT doesn’t add up.
Your bookkeeper has left
The previous bookkeeper has left and didn’t hand over the books properly.
Reliable figures are required
The bank, investor, or buyer wants reliable figures, and soon.
Rebuilding
The The chart of accounts is the list of all accounts a business posts to, usually based on SKR03 or SKR04. no longer fits the business and needs to be completely restructured.
Procedure
Here’s how we proceed
Backlog check
We review bank accounts and existing accounting records to identify what is missing or has been posted incorrectly. We forward correspondence from the tax office to your tax advisor without reviewing it. You’ll receive a brief report listing the open months, accounts, and receipts.
Plan and fixed price
You receive a timeline based on urgency and a fixed price per month posted.
Upload documents once
You upload bank statements, receipts, and existing DATEV data to the client portal. We’ll request anything missing in batches, not one receipt at a time.
Post entries and reconcile
We post month by month and reconcile bank, cash, and open items, with every correction flagged and justified. Corrections in years with completed financial statements are posted only as directed by the tax advisor. Closing and opening entries are not included; the tax advisor handles those.
Closing with the tax advisor
The tax advisor prepares any missing or corrected advance VAT returns, The annual financial statements close a fiscal year with a balance sheet and a profit and loss account; smaller businesses determine their profit with a cash-basis income statement instead., and tax returns, and handles communication with the tax office.
Staying organized
Afterward, we keep your books every month or hand them over to your team in good order.
Price
What it costs
After the backlog check, you’ll receive a fixed price for each month we catch up. For corrections to existing entries, we set out the price in your quote. All prices are net, plus VAT.
One year usually takes two to four weeks once we have all the bank statements.
Switching
Switch bookkeepers without interruption
For the switch, all we need from you is a signature. We’ll request the data and DATEV records from your previous advisor and continue posting entries seamlessly.
Online quote and contract
You’ll answer a short questionnaire and sign digitally.
Authorization to request data
The authorization is already part of your contract documents. You end the contract with your previous advisor yourself, using a short sample letter we provide.
We’ll retrieve the data
We request the chart of accounts, balances, open items, and the DATEV records. For payroll, we also obtain the figures for the current year.
Reconcile opening balances
We’ll check whether the bank balances, open items, and account balances match up, and point out anything that stands out.
Continue posting
From the agreed month, we handle your bookkeeping, with no gaps in bookkeeping or payroll.
When to switch?
The easiest time is at the start of a new month or quarter. It’s also possible to switch in the middle of the year. If your previous advisor has months of unprocessed records, we’ll process them as part of our catch-up bookkeeping.
What switching costs
We’ll include the cost of taking over from your previous advisor in your quote.
Any outstanding invoices with your previous advisor should be settled beforehand; otherwise, the handover may be delayed.
Questions
Frequently asked questions about catch-up bookkeeping and switching
Is a bookkeeping firm allowed to post entries for past years?
Yes. Catching up means recording current business transactions, expressly without closing and opening entries. The tax advisor handles those entries, financial statements, and tax returns.
Do I need every receipt?
No. We start with the bank statements and only request receipts that are actually missing for the bookkeeping.
The tax office has issued an estimated assessment. What now?
We’ll enter the actual figures and forward the notice to the tax advisor without reviewing it. On this basis, the tax advisor considers an objection or an amended return.
Can I continue posting entries myself afterward?
Yes. We’ll provide you with the chart of accounts, posting rules, and a brief orientation.
Do I have to end my contract with my tax advisor?
Only for the tasks we’re taking over. If you’d like to keep your tax advisor for financial statements and tax returns, we’ll work with them.
How long does the transition take?
Usually one to three weeks, depending on how quickly your previous advisor releases the data.
What if the previous advisor doesn’t respond?
We’ll send them a written reminder. Until the data arrives, we’ll continue posting entries based on your bank statements. Your tax advisor will clarify which tax deadlines are approaching.
Read more
Related
Ongoing bookkeeping
After the catch-up, we continue your bookkeeping every month, custom pricing on request.
Learn moreConstruction and trades
Progress payments, retentions, and subcontractors, caught up job by job.
Learn moreGuide · Catching up on years of bookkeeping: step by step
From the backlog check to the handover to the tax advisor, without mountains of paper.
Learn moreContact
Let’s talk about your bookkeeping.
During our initial consultation, we’ll determine what your business needs. Afterward, you’ll receive a binding quote via email.
- Office
- Gerhofstraße 1–3
20354 Hamburg