For CPA firms · a referral partner, not a competitor
Your shoebox clients, handed back with clean, current books.
BooksCheck is a monthly books review service for small businesses. We keep your too-messy, too-small clients current all year — a one-pager every month, anomalies flagged, overdue invoices listed — so tax season starts from clean books instead of a grocery bag of receipts.
Start with an email introductionNo cost to your firm · Your clients subscribe directly · See what clients pay
We never answer a tax question. Anything that smells like one is flagged for you — that boundary is written into every engagement letter, on page 1.
BooksCheck — Monthly Review
Sample Café LLC (fictional) · September 2026 · Prepared October 7, 2026
| P&L summary | Sep 2026 | Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $24,300 | $22,100 |
| Cost of goods | $8,100 | $7,400 |
| Gross profit | $16,200 | $14,700 |
| Operating expenses | $11,900 | $11,200 |
| Net income | $4,300 | $3,500 |
Cash in $23,800 · cash out $20,900 · net +$2,900 · ending balance $18,400 — about 1.5 months of expenses.
Sample document — all names, numbers, and businesses are fictional, and the figures are illustrative. Real reviews use your actual books. This is a review, not bookkeeping or tax preparation — tax and compliance questions are flagged for your CPA.
The problem
The clients you turn away still need their taxes filed
AccountingWeb reported in September 2026 that about 60% of small firms had turned away new clients — and the clients a busy firm can’t take are usually the ones whose books aren’t current. AccountingWeb, September 25, 2026 — UK firms; directional, not a US figure
Full bookkeeping is more than those clients will buy, and your hours are worth more than their cleanup. What they’ll accept is a monthly review: someone keeping eyes on the books all year, at a founding rate under the cost of bookkeeping — with every tax question routed to you, in writing, while it’s still cheap to answer.
| Bench Bookkeeping Light | Full bookkeeping for your client, on Bench’s platform (revenue up to $250K/yr) — you lose sight of the books | from $199/mo |
|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Experts Full-Service | Full bookkeeping inside the client’s QuickBooks | from $300/mo |
| BooksCheck Plus | A monthly review layer — books stay the client’s, flags come to you, tax work stays yours | $129/mo · client pays |
Published starting prices as listed by each provider — Bench checked October 2026; QuickBooks Experts pricing retrieved September 2026. Full bookkeeping is a different, larger job than a monthly review. Modeled comparison of published rates, not a quote.
How it works
You introduce. We keep them current. You keep the tax work.
1
The introduction
One email from you. The client signs our engagement letter directly — scope and exclusions in plain language on page 1 — and grants read-only access to their QuickBooks and Stripe.
2
The monthly review
By the 7th, every month: P&L and cash-flow summaries, flagged anomalies, overdue invoices with drafted reminders. Drafted with AI assistance; every number human-verified against the source reports before delivery.
3
Flags come to you
Anything that looks like a tax question is written up as a flag for the client’s CPA — never answered by us, never decided by us. Your client forwards it; the judgment stays yours.
4
Tax season, from clean books
Twelve one-pagers, a year of flags already routed, no shoebox. The client’s books are current because someone looked at them every month.
The deliverable
Read the sample the way your client’s CPA would
A fictional café’s month in the exact format every client receives — labeled a sample because it is one. The discipline is the point: summaries tied to source reports, odd items flagged with plain-English reasons, and a closing line that sends tax questions to the CPA instead of answering them.
BooksCheck — Monthly Review
Sample Café LLC (fictional) · September 2026 · Prepared October 7, 2026
| P&L summary | Sep 2026 | Aug 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $24,300 | $22,100 |
| Cost of goods | $8,100 | $7,400 |
| Gross profit | $16,200 | $14,700 |
| Operating expenses | $11,900 | $11,200 |
| Net income | $4,300 | $3,500 |
Cash in $23,800 · cash out $20,900 · net +$2,900 · ending balance $18,400 — about 1.5 months of expenses.
Sample document — all names, numbers, and businesses are fictional, and the figures are illustrative. Real reviews use your actual books. This is a review, not bookkeeping or tax preparation — tax and compliance questions are flagged for your CPA.
The offer
The fence comes first — it’s why firms refer
Your risk in referring is scope creep: a reviewer who starts answering tax questions. Ours is fenced in the engagement letter, not just on this page.
What we never do
- Prepare or file taxes, or advise on them
- Decide what a client should deduct
- Run payroll, or represent anyone to the IRS
- Make payments or move client money, in any way
- Ask for a client’s password, or log in as them
- Call a review an examination of every transaction — it isn’t one
The engagement letter states the scope and exclusions in plain language on page 1 — including that a review is not an examination of the client’s records and carries no promise to detect every error.
What your referred clients receive
- Flags for your CPA — every month, a section of the one-pager written for you: the tax-shaped items, as questions
- The one-pager — P&L summary and cash-flow summary, delivered by the 7th, every number tied to a source report and human-checked
- Flagged odd expenses — spikes, uncategorized charges, duplicates, personal expenses mixed in, explained in plain English
- Overdue-invoice list — with payment reminders drafted for the client to send
- On Plus: trend notes and twice-monthly reminder drafts
- On Complete: a quarterly roll-up and receipt chasing until missing documentation is resolved
The checkable details
Limits and mechanics, before you refer anyone
A referral puts your name next to ours. Here is exactly where the service stops.
Limits, plainly
A review reads the records the client has. It is not an examination of every transaction, and it doesn’t promise to catch every error — every number on the page is tied to a source report and human-checked, and if a figure can’t be verified, it doesn’t ship. Catch-up beyond 3 months of unreconciled history is out of scope at every tier (quoted separately as a one-time project, minimum $150, or referred out).
What we are not
BooksCheck is a review service. It is not bookkeeping, not tax preparation, and not tax advice. We never file anything, never decide a deduction, and never touch client funds. That boundary is the product’s safety feature, not fine print.
What your clients receive
- One page per month: P&L summary, cash-flow summary, flagged anomalies with explanations, overdue-invoice list with drafted reminders, flags-for-your-CPA section
- Plus: month-over-month trend notes (3–5 lines), top 10 flags, reminder drafts twice a month, a 4-sentence check-in email
- Complete: quarterly roll-up by the 10th after quarter-end, receipt chasing, same-day support in business hours
Timelines
- One-pager delivered by the 7th of every month — or the month is free
- Email questions answered within 24 hours (same-day on Complete, business hours)
- Plus reminder drafts land mid-month and month-end
- Quarterly roll-up by the 10th after quarter-end (Complete)
What it runs on
The client’s QuickBooks Online, via a reports-only invite they control, and their Stripe, via a read-only connection. Client data is accessed read-only, kept in encrypted folders, and never sold or shared. We never hold client passwords.
Who stands behind it
Ruben “Chitico” Olaverria, Chicago, IL. He runs the verification pass and signs off every one-pager personally — the sign-off is logged per client, per month. Reach him at chiticohq+bookscheck@zohomail.com. Client payments are processed by Stripe; we never see card numbers.
Pricing
What your clients pay
Your clients pay these founding rates directly — your firm is never billed. Every tier starts with a free month, so a referred client risks nothing to see the first one-pager.
BooksCheck Basic
$99 /month
The one-pager, every month.
- Monthly one-pager delivered by the 7th: P&L and cash-flow summaries
- Top 5 odd expenses flagged, in plain English
- Overdue invoices listed, payment reminders drafted — you send them
- Email support, 24-hour response
BooksCheck Plus
$129 /month
The flagship — the tier we sell.
- Everything in Basic, plus:
- Month-over-month trend notes — what’s better, what’s worse
- Top 10 flagged anomalies
- Reminder drafts twice a month: mid-month nudge + month-end
- A monthly check-in email — your month in 4 sentences
BooksCheck Complete
$149 /month
Plus the quarter view and the chasing done for you.
- Everything in Plus, plus:
- Quarterly roll-up summary, by the 10th after quarter-end
- Receipt chasing — we follow up on missing documentation until it’s resolved
- Priority support, same-day response in business hours
Delivered by the 7th — or that month is free
Every one-pager passes a human verification pass before it ships. If that pass can’t finish by the 7th, we tell you the truth and it arrives the next day — and if we miss the 7th, that month costs you nothing — no form, no call, nothing to claim. Payments are processed by Stripe — we never see your card number.
Founding rate — locked for 12 months. Rate reviews happen once a year, with 30 days’ notice. First month free, because I can’t show you what it’s worth until I’ve seen your books. — Chitico Month-to-month after that: cancel anytime with 30 days’ notice and a prorated final month. No onboarding fee during the founding period. Your QuickBooks subscription stays yours — BooksCheck never resells it.
Questions
What firms ask before referring
Are you competing with my firm?
No — the service is deliberately the layer below yours. BooksCheck reviews and organizes; it doesn’t keep books, file anything, or advise on taxes. The tax questions our reviews surface are routed to you, in writing, every month.
Do you ever answer a tax question?
Never. A tax-shaped item becomes a “flag for your CPA” note — a question, not a recommendation. The engagement letter your client signs states that on page 1, and our delivery process screens every draft for anything that reads like tax advice before it ships.
What do I actually receive?
Nothing lands on your desk uninvited. Your client’s one-pager carries a flags section written to be forwarded to you; at year-end you receive a client whose books are current instead of reconstructed.
How does a referral start?
With one email introduction from you. The client signs our engagement letter directly, grants read-only access, and their first month is free. There’s no portal, no paperwork for your firm, and nothing to administer on your side.
What does it cost my firm?
Nothing. Clients subscribe at the rates above and pay BooksCheck directly through Stripe. Your firm is never billed for a referred client.
What if the review misses something?
The scope your client signs is plain about it: a review is not an examination of every transaction and carries no promise to detect every error. What it does promise is process — every number tied to a source report, every flag verified, a signed sign-off log per client per month.