For accounting firms
Overflow cleanup projects
Overflow cleanup projects give UK practices a fixed-scope way to clear backlog books: months of unreconciled records worked in order, a written adjustments log for every correction, and a handoff package your practice can present under its own name, priced before the project starts.
Engagement tracker
Illustrative client · August 2026
GBP
- Client file access set up under your firm's nameDone
- Monthly books prepared to your review standardDone
- Review notes cleared and loggedIn progress
- Reports sent to your partner for sign-offNext
- Year-end workpapers staged for your preparerNext
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Where backlog actually comes from
A newly acquired client list, a sole trader whose books have sat untouched for two tax years, or a January that leaves cleanup queued behind live Self Assessment filings: each of these piles up work that pulls against time your practice needs for current clients. A fixed-scope project takes that pile off your billable staff's desk entirely.
Agreeing the scope before touching a ledger
Before anything starts, we walk the backlog with your practice: how many months, which accounts, and which platform holds the records, whether that is Xero, QuickBooks Online, Sage or a box of paper receipts. That conversation sets a fixed price up front, so an unexpectedly messy set of books does not turn into a project with no end date.
Clearing the backlog in sequence
We work backward-chronologically, oldest period first, because each month's closing figures become the next month's opening figures and errors compound if skipped. As we go, we surface what the backlog was hiding: bank feeds that pulled the same transaction in twice, personal spending sitting in a business account, transfers coded as sales. Nothing gets corrected silently; every change lands in a log naming the period, the figure and the reason.
Keeping FRS 105 and MTD in view
Where a client qualifies as a micro-entity, meaning turnover no higher than £1 million and a balance sheet total no higher than £500,000 with a small average headcount, the cleanup targets FRS 105's lighter reporting rather than full FRS 102 detail. If the same client's records also need to satisfy Making Tax Digital's digital record-keeping standard, we bring the backlog up to that bar in the same pass rather than as a separate job later.
Handing it back
You get reconciled books, a profit and loss, a balance sheet for the period covered, and the correction log, all formatted to go out under your own name. Whether any previously filed return should be amended stays entirely with your practice's registered adviser.
What usually follows
Once the backlog clears, clients often roll straight into ongoing white-label bookkeeping or into a dedicated staff pod, so the same gap does not reopen a year later.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Overflow cleanup projects
How is pricing set for a UK backlog project?
We walk the backlog together first, agreeing months and accounts involved, and a fixed price follows before we start.
Can cleanup work run at the same time as January filings?
Yes, and many practices deliberately route it to us for that reason, so filing-season staff time is not split with backlog work.
Will you tell us if a past return needs amending?
We surface what the cleanup finds in the correction log; the decision to amend a filed return rests with your practice's registered adviser.
Does a cleanup respect micro-entity reporting limits?
Yes. Where a client sits under the current micro-entity turnover and balance-sheet limits, the work is scoped around FRS 105 rather than fuller FRS 102 detail.
How is an overflow project different from ongoing pod capacity?
An overflow project is scoped to a specific backlog or deadline with a defined end point, priced for that piece of work, whereas a pod is standing capacity billed on an ongoing basis. Practices sometimes start with an overflow project and move to a pod once the volume proves steady.
How is a cleanup project scoped?
We review the backlog with you, agree the number of months and accounts involved, and quote a fixed scope before starting.
Can this run alongside your dedicated pod work?
Yes. Firms often route one-off overflow through project work while a dedicated pod handles ongoing files.
How do we get started with overflow cleanup projects?
Getting started with overflow cleanup projects begins with a short review of your current records and software access. Once that is done we confirm scope and timing in writing, and ongoing work begins on the schedule agreed with you.
What if our records for overflow cleanup projects are not up to date?
If your records are behind, we scope a catch-up first so overflow cleanup projects starts from a clean, reconciled base. That catch-up is priced and timed separately from the ongoing engagement, so you always know what each part costs.
Related services
- For accounting firmsWhite-label bookkeepingMonthly bookkeeping produced under your firm's own name and templates, so your clients see your brand while our team handles sorting transactions into categories, reconciling and reporting behind it.
- For accounting firmsBusy season tax prep supportPreparation-support capacity for firms during filing season: source documents put in order, workpapers built and draft returns assembled for your credentialed preparers to review and sign.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.