Xero cleanup for files that are wrong, behind, or co-mingled.
Led by a Xero Certified Advisor. We reconcile the file, correct what was miscoded, and deliver books your CPA can file from.
Most projects in 2–6 weeks · Scoped and priced before any work starts
What does a Xero cleanup fix, and what does it cost?
A Xero cleanup is a one-time project that takes a Xero file and makes it accurate: bank accounts reconciled to their statements, duplicate statement lines removed, misfiled transactions corrected, conversion balances tied out, and tax-ready financial statements delivered to you and your CPA.
Poised Books does this work remotely for small businesses nationwide, led personally by Elizabeth Olsen, a Xero Certified Advisor. Cleanup is billed hourly against a written estimate you approve, with a $2,500 minimum. Most projects land between $3,500 and $7,000 and finish in two to six weeks. Nothing starts until you agree to the estimate, and if your file turns out bigger than we scoped, we stop and ask you before going over it.
What a Xero cleanup fixes.
These are the problems that standard Xero features create or leave behind, and what happens to each one.
Bank statement lines nobody reconciled
In Xero, reconciling means matching every imported statement line to a transaction in the books, or creating the transaction as you go. Lines left unmatched are money the books have not accounted for. We work through them account by account, oldest first, until Xero’s statement balance matches the real bank balance.Duplicate statement lines
Xero notes that duplicates can occur when a statement is imported by hand and also arrives through a bank feed. A balance that differs from the real bank balance is the usual sign. We run Xero’s Duplicate Statement Lines report, confirm each pair against the actual statement, and delete the extra line, or the whole statement when it was imported twice.Payments booked as spend or receive money
When a customer payment is matched to a receive money transaction instead of the invoice, the invoice keeps showing as awaiting payment and the income can be counted twice. We find the statement line, remove the stray transaction, and reconcile the line to the invoice or bill payment where it belongs.Invoices and bills stuck open
Items that were paid long ago but never marked paid sit in awaiting payment and overdue lists, and they inflate receivables and payables. Each one is checked against the bank and either matched to its payment or corrected.Bank rules that misfile transactions
Xero lets you create spend money, receive money, and transfer rules, and the order they sit in decides which one applies. A broad rule near the top can quietly code transactions to the wrong account for years. We review the rules, tighten or retire the bad ones, and fix what they already misfiled.Conversion balances that do not tie out
A file moved to Xero from another system starts from conversion balances. If debits and credits did not match when they were saved, Xero parks the difference in a Historical Adjustment account. Foreign currency items and an unspecified inventory account can leave a balance there too. We trace it, correct the conversion balances or post a manual journal, and clear it.Foreign currency invoices and bills
Xero calculates unrealised gains and losses on foreign currency invoices and bills until they are paid. Open items dated before a conversion can leave odd balances behind. We check that they are valued and cleared correctly.Tracking categories used inconsistently
Tracking categories split results by department, location, or project, but only when each transaction carries a tracking option. We check that coverage is consistent and recode the transactions that were missed, so the Tracking Summary report can be trusted.Transfers, owner draws, and personal charges
Money moving between your own accounts is not income or expense, owner draws and contributions belong in equity, and personal purchases on the business card come out of expenses. We reclassify them so the P&L reflects the business.A chart of accounts that has drifted
Duplicate accounts, vague names, and categories that no longer fit are merged and renamed, and large batches of transactions are recoded in bulk rather than one at a time.
Every Xero behavior described here comes from Xero’s own help documentation, including its guides to reconciling a bank account, duplicate statement lines, incorrectly reconciled lines, and the Historical Adjustment account.
How we work in your Xero file.
No shared passwords, and nothing leaves your organisation.
You invite us, on our own login
In Xero, an owner adds a user from the organisation’s Settings, and the invite goes to that person’s email address. Xero says adding users, including your accountant, is free. We never ask for your password, and you can remove our access at any time.The work stays in your file
Everything happens inside your own Xero organisation. A role with full access can reconcile, run the reconciliation reports, enter manual journals, edit transactions in bulk, and work with conversion balances, which is what a cleanup needs.Lock dates protect finished periods
Once a period is reconciled and approved, a lock date stops further changes to transactions in that period. It is Xero’s own safeguard against cleaned-up history being edited by accident, and it can be changed or removed at any time.
Moving between platforms, or choosing one? Our QuickBooks versus Xero comparison covers when each fits. Not sure what shape your file is in? The free health check gives a quick read.
What you have at the end.
Every account reconciled
All bank and credit card accounts reconciled through the current month, with Xero’s balances matching the real statements.Tax-ready financial statements
A Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow statement you and your CPA can work from without guessing.A walkthrough of what we found
A live walkthrough of the clean file, an explanation of what was wrong, and documentation of the judgment calls made along the way.CPA handoff
Reports sent directly to your CPA, their questions answered, and any adjustments they request made. Included at no extra charge.30 days of support
Questions, additional reports, or CPA coordination, included at no extra cost for 30 days after delivery.
The full sequence from first call to handoff is on how a cleanup runs. Behind but not wrong, with months simply unrecorded? Catch-up bookkeeping may be the faster, lower-cost fit.
Billed hourly, with no surprise invoices.
Cleanup is billed hourly against a written estimate you approve, with a $2,500 minimum. Most projects land between $3,500 and $7,000, depending on the condition of your file, transaction volume, and how many accounts are involved. The estimate is agreed in writing before any work starts.
If your file turns out bigger than we scoped, we stop and ask you before going over the estimate.
Curious where you’d land? Estimate your cleanup cost in under a minute, no email required.
What shapes the price
- Time period
- How many months or years need attention.
- Transaction volume
- More transactions means more work to review and categorize.
- Number of accounts
- Each bank account, credit card, and payment processor adds reconciliation work.
- Current file condition
- Starting from scratch differs from cleaning up an existing file with partial data.
Common questions about Xero cleanup.
Every cleanup starts with a free call.
We’ll look at your Xero file with you and tell you what it will take.
No obligation. No credit card.