Debra H.

I am a US Citizen located in the state of Alabama who is working with small to mid size businesses. I help businesses get their finances caught up, cleaned up, and organized, then set them up to stay that way. Whether you're behind on reconciliations, dealing with miscategorized transactions, untangling a messy chart of accounts, or trying to get books diligence-ready for tax season or investors, I bring both the technical skill and the financial background to do it right the first time. I'm a QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor with Gold status and currently work as a QuickBooks Expert Advisor with Intuit, where I help small businesses every day with cleanups, reconciliations, revenue recognition issues (including Stripe/PayPal integrations), AP/AR catch-up, 1099 setup, and QuickBooks Time/job costing configuration. I also run my own bookkeeping and tax consultancy, working directly with clients across industries including nonprofits, subscription/SaaS businesses, and construction. Beyond cleanup and maintenance, I work with small to mid-size businesses on the layer above the books — financial analysis and reporting that actually informs decisions, and strategic financial guidance on the questions owners are usually facing alongside the bookkeeping: is this pricing sustainable, where is margin eroding, what does cash flow look like over the next quarter, is the business ready to show clean financials to a lender, investor, or partner during diligence. I don't just close out a period — I help you understand what the numbers are telling you. What sets me apart is the depth behind the bookkeeping. I hold an MBA in Finance from Columbia University, I'm completing a Bachelor's in Accounting (expected December 2026), and I've been approved to sit for the CPA exam. Alongside that, I bring over 20 years of project management experience, including a decade as a senior management consultant managing scope, schedule, and cost on large, complex projects - a career that I have retired from. Recently, I spent four years working directly with a construction company with their financials and books. I also spent over a decade developing and teaching project management and business analysis curriculum at Stanford and the University of Washington, so clear documentation and process handoff are second nature to me, not an afterthought. Where I add the most value: QuickBooks Online cleanup and catch-up — reconciliations, chart of accounts rebuilds, transaction correction Financial analysis and reporting — turning QuickBooks data into reports owners and stakeholders can actually use Strategic financial advisory — margin, pricing, cash flow, and diligence readiness for small to mid-size businesses Revenue recognition and payment-processor integrations (Stripe, PayPal) — fixing net-vs-gross recording, payout timing, and fee splits Job costing and QuickBooks Time setup — cost code structures, mobile time tracking, project-based reporting AP/AR management and vendor/1099 organization Nonprofit bookkeeping — fund/program tracking, board-ready reporting Sustainable, documented processes clients can maintain themselves I take a straightforward approach: I tell you what's wrong, fix it, document what I did and why, and leave you with a process you can actually follow, not a black box only I can maintain. If something needs your judgment call rather than my assumption, I'll flag it rather than guess. Let's talk about what your business needs.