What CleanupOwl Finds

CleanupOwl scans your QuickBooks for common bookkeeping mistakes that can cost you money, cause tax problems, or make your financial reports unreliable.

Why This Matters for Your Business

Even small bookkeeping errors can add up to big problems:

  • Tax time stress: Messy books mean scrambling before filing deadlines
  • Missed deductions: Uncategorized expenses = money left on the table
  • Cash flow surprises: Duplicates and errors hide your true financial picture
  • Expensive fixes: The longer issues sit, the more they cost to clean up

Issues We Detect

Duplicate Transactions

Payments or expenses entered twice, which throw off your actual cash position.

Example: A $500 office supply purchase showing up twice means your expenses look $500 higher than they really are.

Impact: Overstated expenses, incorrect profit numbers

Uncategorized Expenses

Transactions sitting in "Uncategorized" or "Ask My Accountant" that need proper categories.

Example: That $2,000 charge from last month that's still in Uncategorized? It could be a business expense you're missing on your taxes.

Impact: Missed tax deductions, unclear spending

Bank Reconciliation Issues

Transactions that don't match between your bank and QuickBooks.

Example: A check you wrote months ago that never cleared—it's still showing as an expense but the money is still in your account.

Impact: Incorrect cash balance, bounced checks

Vendor & Customer Problems

Duplicate vendors, missing information, or inactive records cluttering your lists.

Example: The same vendor entered as "Amazon," "AMAZON," and "Amazon.com" makes it hard to see total spending.

Impact: Messy reports, 1099 filing issues

Account Setup Issues

Accounts that are misconfigured, duplicated, or have unusual balances.

Example: An expense account with a negative balance often means something was posted incorrectly.

Impact: Confusing reports, audit red flags

Journal Entry Problems

Manual adjustments that may be incorrect or need review.

Example: A journal entry that directly changed Retained Earnings—this usually shouldn't happen and needs investigation.

Impact: Financial statement errors, compliance issues

How to Run a Scan

Running a scan takes just a few clicks:

  1. 1

    Go to your dashboard

    Find the company card for the QuickBooks you want to scan.

  2. 2

    Click "Run Cleanup Scan"

    Choose how many years of data to analyze (2 years is a good starting point).

  3. 3

    Wait 2-5 minutes

    You'll see a progress bar as we analyze your data. You can keep using QuickBooks normally.

  4. 4

    Review your results

    See exactly what issues we found, organized by type and priority.

How Often Should I Scan?

  • Monthly: Catch issues before they pile up
  • Quarterly: Good for businesses with steady bookkeeping
  • Before tax time: Make sure everything is clean for your accountant
  • After cleanup: Verify that fixes were applied correctly

💡 Pro Tip

Your first scan might find a lot of issues—that's normal! Focus on the high-priority items first. Once you clean those up, future scans will be much shorter and easier to manage.