Banking migration
Found historical data and Mercury current transactions needed to be imported, categorized, reconciled, and tied into one bookkeeping workflow.
Case Study · Professional Services / SaaS Consultancy
From split banking records to PE-ready financial reporting.
A practical QuickBooks Online migration and cleanup framework for a small B2B SaaS consultancy moving from Found to Mercury, with contractor payments, retainer revenue, and low-volume operating expenses organized for clean monthly reporting.
The client problem
The business model is simple, but the records were fragmented: historical activity lived inside Found’s built-in accounting export, current banking moved to Mercury, and the owner needed a clean accounting system that could support monthly management reporting and future diligence review.
Professional-services chart of accounts
The chart needed to separate retainer revenue, project revenue, contractor costs, software tools, professional fees, owner draws, and reimbursable costs.
PE-readiness lens
The cleanup had to flag diligence concerns such as inconsistent revenue classification, unclear contractor payments, mixed personal expenses, and unreconciled balances.
Migration and cleanup workflow
The engagement is structured as a fixed-price cleanup sprint with an optional monthly maintenance layer after the books are stabilized.
Phase 1
System setup and COA design
Set up QuickBooks Online, connect Mercury, create a consulting-focused chart of accounts, and confirm opening balance treatment.
Phase 2
Historical import and categorization
Import Found exports and Mercury activity, map vendors, normalize categories, and build recurring rules for common SaaS tools and contractor payments.
Phase 3
Reconciliation and review
Reconcile each month, review balance sheet accounts, identify uncategorized or duplicate transactions, and document items needing owner clarification.
Phase 4
Reporting and diligence notes
Deliver a clean P&L, balance sheet, open item list, and short summary of cleanup actions, risks, and recommended monthly controls.
Visual cleanup outputs
The final deliverable should be easy for a remote founder to review asynchronously: what changed, what still needs answers, and whether the books are ready for recurring monthly close.
Historical Cleanup Status12–24 month migration
Expense Review by CategoryFounder-ready summary
| Category | Amount | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Contractor Services | $38,420 | Mapped |
| Software & Tools | $9,860 | Mapped |
| Professional Fees | $4,775 | Mapped |
| Owner / Mixed Use | $1,240 | Clarify |
QuickBooks Reconciliation View
Mercury CheckingBalanced
Statement ending balance$42,186.44
Difference$0.00
Reviewed transactions186
Management P&L Snapshot
Retainer Revenue$91,500
Project Revenue$42,750
Contractor Costs($38,420)
Operating Margin61.2%
* Sample figures are illustrative and used to demonstrate the reporting format.
Optional monthly maintenance model
After the migration, the same workflow can turn into a light-touch monthly close process designed for async communication and minimal founder hand-holding.
Monthly close checklist
- Import and categorize Mercury transactions
- Reconcile bank and clearing accounts
- Review contractor payment coding
- Confirm owner draw or mixed-use activity
Brief founder summary
- Revenue, margin, and expense movement
- Open questions requiring owner input
- Cash position and trailing operating expense view
- Clean notes for future diligence review
Communication style
- Async-first Upwork updates
- Clear open-item list
- Video call only when needed
- No unnecessary meetings or hand-holding
Clean books without turning the founder into the bookkeeper.
This case study is designed to show a simple, credible cleanup path: migrate the data, reconcile the accounts, classify the business model correctly, and leave the owner with reliable monthly reporting.