Home - PlainlyBooked

WHO'S ACTUALLY DOING THE WORK

A QuickBooks-certified bookkeeper who actually knows your business

Hi, I'm Johnathan. I'm the one who actually looks at your books every month, not a name on a website. I spent 8 years in the Navy handling logistics and financials, which is where I first learned that when the numbers are wrong, everything downstream breaks. I bring that same discipline to bookkeeping now, backed by QuickBooks ProAdvisor Level 1 and Level 2 certification, plus Intuit Bookkeeping Trained. The software side isn't a guessing game for me, and I keep that training current as the platform changes.

But the credentials are really just proof of something simpler: I take this seriously, and I want your numbers to be something you can actually trust and understand, not something you just have to hope is right.

HOW IT WORKS

From "let's talk" to books you can trust

Book a free consultation

A 30-minute call about your business and your books. No documents needed to get started.

We scope your books

Your rate is based on your actual transaction volume, not a guess or a generic tier.

Connect your accounts

Invite us as your accountant in QuickBooks Online, or we help you get set up if you're not on it yet. Books behind? We scope a one-time catch-up or clean-up project first, before ongoing work starts.

Ongoing monthly work begins

Weekly categorization, monthly reconciliation, and a report that explains what actually happened, delivered on a predictable schedule.

WHAT IT'S ACTUALLY COSTING YOU

Put a number on your time

Drag the slider to roughly how many hours a week you spend on your own books. The math below updates as you go, with every step shown and nothing hidden.

Hours per week on your own books7

1 hr7 hrs (average owner)15+ hrs

Hours per week 7

× 52 weeks in a year

= Hours spent per year 364

× $50/hour (a conservative estimate of what your time is worth)

= Value of your time this year $18,200

− PlainlyBooked, flat rate (12 × $400/mo)

= What you keep, plus the hours back $12,200

Most owners' time is worth more than $50/hour once you factor in what else they could be doing with it. This is a conservative starting point, not a ceiling.

Get started

BOOKKEEPING SERVICES BY INDUSTRY

Every business tracks money differently. Yours should too.

A restaurant, an online store, and a contractor don't lose money the same way, so treating their books the same way misses exactly the part that matters to each one. Whether you're just starting out or already established, the plan scales with you.

RESTAURANT BOOKKEEPING

Restaurants & Food Service

Thin margins live or die on food cost percentage, tip reporting, and staff turnover in payroll. We track cost of goods sold by category, not just total spend, so you can see exactly where the margin is leaking.

E-COMMERCE BOOKKEEPING

E-Commerce & Online Retail

Multi-channel sales tax, platform fees, and inventory costs get tangled fast across Shopify, Amazon, and Etsy. We reconcile each channel separately, so your real margin per platform is visible instead of buried in one number.

CONTRACTOR BOOKKEEPING

Contractors & Trades

Job costing, tracking what a project actually cost in materials and labor versus what it billed, is where most contractors are flying blind. We track profitability job by job, not just business-wide.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BOOKKEEPING

Consultants & Professional Services

Irregular invoicing and quarterly estimated taxes catch service-based businesses off guard every year. We keep your books current so tax time is a formality, not a surprise.

RETAIL BOOKKEEPING

Retail & Local Shops

Shrinkage and seasonal cash flow swings are easy to miss without a monthly look at the numbers. We build reporting that flags both before they turn into a real problem.

DON'T SEE YOUR INDUSTRY?

Small Businesses, Generally

Categorization, reconciliation, and a report you can actually read: that core process fits most small businesses. If yours isn't listed here, just ask on the call.

FREE DOWNLOAD

Not ready to talk yet? Grab our free Monthly Books Checklist.

The 12 monthly tasks every small business should never skip, built for businesses nationwide, from single-owner shops to established companies.

Profit and margin checkpoints to protect your bottom line
Sales-tax reminders built in
A simple month-end close routine we use with clients

Check your inbox!

Your checklist is on its way, attached and linked in the email. Don't see it in a few minutes? Check your spam or promotions folder, just in case.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

What's costing you now, and what you get instead

Debit: What's Costing You

Credit: What You Get

Hours spent on manual data entry every week

Weekly transaction categorization, done for you

Accounts that haven't been reconciled in months

Monthly reconciliation across every account

A P&L you can't actually interpret

A monthly report, plus a live financial dashboard, included at no extra cost

Tax season panic and scrambled records

Tax-ready records, handed to your CPA year-round

Invoices sent late because bookkeeping falls behind

A direct line to ask questions, not a support ticket

Potential thousands of dollars in clean-up fees if the books fall further behind

A heads-up long before things get bad enough to need a costly clean-up

COMMON QUESTIONS

Bookkeeping questions, answered plainly

How much does PlainlyBooked cost?

Plans start at $400 a month. Every business runs its books differently, so instead of a fixed rate card, we work out your exact rate together during your consultation, based on what your business actually needs. Pricing is always flat and monthly, so you know the cost upfront instead of watching an hourly bill add up. You're never billed by the hour.

What's the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?

A bookkeeper records and organizes your day-to-day transactions, reconciles accounts, and puts together reports. An accountant or CPA handles tax filing, tax strategy, and bigger-picture financial planning. Most small businesses end up using both, working together.

Do I need to already have QuickBooks set up?

No. If you're already on QuickBooks Online with your accounts connected, things move quickly once you invite PlainlyBooked as your bookkeeper, since most of your transactions are already visible through the bank feed. If you're not set up yet, that's part of onboarding, not something you need to arrange first.

My books are months behind. Can you fix that, or do I need to already be caught up?

That's exactly the kind of situation we handle. If your books are behind, we scope a one-time catch-up or clean-up project first, priced separately from your ongoing monthly rate, so there's no surprise cost. Once you're current, monthly bookkeeping keeps it that way going forward.

Do I need to send any documents before the first call?

No. Booking a time includes a few quick questions as part of scheduling, so the call is useful, with no bank statements or receipts required upfront. Any documents actually needed come after the call, once it's clear what's useful for your specific situation.

Is my financial data secure?

Yes. Documents and account access are handled through secure channels, and every engagement is backed by professional liability insurance.

Do you offer Bill Pay or Accounts Payable support?

Yes, as optional add-ons alongside core bookkeeping. Bill Pay is $10 per invoice, covering us scheduling and executing the actual payment. Accounts Payable management is $5 per invoice, covering coding and tracking bills for your approval.

Can I get bookkeeping services remotely if I'm not local?

Yes. PlainlyBooked is 100% virtual. Everything runs through cloud software like QuickBooks Online, so there's no need to be local or meet in person. We're based in Seattle and the surrounding Puget Sound area, and clients are served in all 50 states.

Which industries does PlainlyBooked work with?

Clients commonly come from restaurants, e-commerce and retail, contractors and trades, and professional services, though the core process fits most small to medium-sized businesses.

Do you offer any discounts?

Yes. Veteran-owned businesses get 10% off their monthly rate. We also offer savings for longer agreements: 5% off for a 6-month commitment, 10% off for 12 months, and 15% off for 24 months, plus a 10% referral discount for 6 months when someone you refer becomes a client. Full details are on the pricing page, and any discount gets confirmed during your consultation.

Your books should tell you what's actually working, not just what happened.