📍 Kalispell, MT · Serving all of Montana

Bookkeeping Services in Kalispell & the Flathead Valley

Monthly bookkeeping, QuickBooks Online setup and cleanup, and catch-up work for small businesses that want clean books and a price they know up front. Flat monthly fee, never hourly — run by an operator who has actually built and managed businesses, not just recorded them.

Bookkeeping that keeps you current, tax-ready, and informed

Most owners don't fall behind on their books because they don't care — they fall behind because they're busy running the business. AJM Consulting handles the bookkeeping every month so your numbers stay accurate, your CPA gets clean records at tax time, and you always know where the business stands.

Here's what a month with us actually looks like. We record and categorize every transaction as it comes through your bank feeds, so nothing sits in limbo. We reconcile every bank and credit-card account against statements, which is how errors, duplicate charges, and missed income get caught instead of buried. We keep an eye on your payables and receivables so you know what's owed to you and what's coming due. Then we close the month and send you three reports — a profit & loss, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement — with a plain-language read on what they say. Not a data dump. An answer to the question every owner actually has: how is the business doing?

What's included

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Transaction Recording

Every transaction recorded and categorized correctly each month, so nothing piles up and nothing gets miscoded.

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Account Reconciliation

Every bank and credit-card account reconciled against statements monthly — the checkpoint that keeps books honest.

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Payables & Receivables

Bills and invoices tracked so you know who owes you, what you owe, and when it's due.

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Month-End Close

A real close every month — reviewed, reconciled, and locked down so your history stays reliable.

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Plain-Language Reports

P&L, balance sheet, and cash-flow reports delivered with an explanation you can actually use to make decisions.

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QuickBooks Setup & Cleanup

QuickBooks Online configured right from day one — or straightened out if it's drifted into a mess.

How getting started works

Onboarding is deliberately simple. It starts with a free 30-minute consultation — a real conversation about your business, how money moves through it, and what shape your books are in. From there we quote a flat monthly fee based on your transaction volume and the accounts we'll reconcile, so you know the exact price before you commit to anything. Next comes setup: if you're new to QuickBooks Online we build your file properly — chart of accounts, bank feeds, opening balances — and if you already have one, we review it and fix what needs fixing. Then we settle into the monthly rhythm: transactions handled, accounts reconciled, reports delivered, questions answered.

Behind on your books? Start with catch-up and cleanup.

If your books are three months behind — or three years — you're not the first, and it's fixable. Catch-up bookkeeping is one of the most common ways clients start with us. We assess the backlog, quote a flat fee for the cleanup project, and then work through it: categorizing every transaction, reconciling every account back to statements, and correcting entries that were coded wrong along the way. The result is a clean, current set of books your CPA can file from. Once you're caught up, most clients move onto monthly service so the backlog never comes back.

QuickBooks Online, set up right

We work primarily in QuickBooks Online, and a surprising amount of our cleanup work traces back to files that were set up wrong from the start — a chart of accounts that doesn't match the business, bank feeds connected but never reconciled, old transactions duplicated or left uncategorized. Whether you need a brand-new QBO file built correctly or an existing one untangled, we handle it, and we document how things are organized so the file makes sense to you and your accountant, not just to us.

Flat monthly pricing — never hourly

We don't bill by the hour, ever. Hourly bookkeeping punishes you for asking questions and makes every month a surprise. Instead, we scope a flat monthly fee based on two things: your transaction volume and the number of accounts we reconcile. You'll know the number up front, after the free consultation and before any commitment, and it stays the number unless your business meaningfully changes. Call with a question in the middle of the month — the price doesn't move.

Who we serve

Our founder spent years with hands-on experience in construction, roofing, and business management, so we're especially at home with trades and field businesses — see our contractor bookkeeping page for job-costing and the rest. We also work extensively with restaurants and hospitality businesses, short-term and vacation rental owners, and real estate professionals and property managers. And if your business doesn't fit one of those buckets — retail, professional services, nonprofits, you name it — the fundamentals of good bookkeeping are the same, and so is our process.

Where we serve

We're based in Kalispell and work in person with businesses across the Flathead Valley — including Whitefish, Columbia Falls, Bigfork, Lakeside & Somers, and Polson. Because everything runs through QuickBooks Online and secure cloud tools, we also provide remote bookkeeping across Montana — same service, same monthly rhythm, wherever you are in the state.

Why AJM

A bookkeeper who has run a business, not just recorded one

Plenty of services can categorize transactions. What matters is whether the person doing it understands what the numbers mean in the field — why a slow-paying customer strangles cash flow, what a thin margin on one job does to the whole quarter, how payroll and materials timing collide. Our founder built that understanding the hard way, managing construction and roofing operations before ever opening a set of books for someone else. That operator's perspective shapes how we categorize, how we report, and what we flag for you.

It also shapes how we communicate. You work directly with us — not a rotating team or a ticket queue — and the reports you get each month come with an explanation in plain English. Bookkeeping should reduce the noise in your head, not add a new source of it.

Questions

Bookkeeping services FAQs

What's included in monthly bookkeeping?
Every month we record and categorize your transactions, reconcile every bank and credit-card account, keep payables and receivables current, and close out the month. You get a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow report — explained in plain language, not just handed over. If something in the numbers needs your attention, we tell you.
How much do your bookkeeping services cost?
We charge a flat monthly fee, never an hourly rate. The fee is based on your transaction volume and the number of accounts we reconcile, and we scope it during a free 30-minute consultation — so you know the exact price before you commit to anything. The number doesn't change month to month unless your business does.
Do I need a bookkeeper or an accountant?
They're different jobs. A bookkeeper keeps your financial records current and accurate all year — recording transactions, reconciling accounts, and producing monthly reports. A CPA or accountant typically handles tax filing and tax strategy. We're the bookkeeping side: we keep your books tax-ready year-round and work alongside your CPA so tax season is a handoff, not a scramble.
My books are months (or years) behind. Can you clean them up?
Yes — catch-up and cleanup work is a core part of what we do. We'll review where things stand, quote a flat fee for the catch-up project, then work through the backlog: categorizing transactions, reconciling every account, and fixing what's miscoded. Once you're current, we can keep you there with a simple monthly service.
Do you only work with QuickBooks?
We work primarily in QuickBooks Online — it's what we recommend for most small businesses because it's cloud-based, widely supported by CPAs, and connects cleanly to banks and payment processors. If you're on different software, bring it up in the consultation and we'll talk through whether it makes sense to work in your current system or move to QuickBooks Online.
Do you work in person or remotely?
Both. We're based in Kalispell and meet local clients in person across the Flathead Valley. Because the day-to-day work runs through QuickBooks Online and secure document sharing, we also serve clients fully remotely anywhere in Montana. Plenty of local clients do an in-person kickoff and then let the monthly work happen remotely.
Service area

Bookkeeping across the Flathead Valley & Montana

Based in Kalispell, serving small businesses throughout the valley and all of Montana — in person locally and remotely statewide.

Ready to get your books handled?

Free 30-minute consultation. No pressure, no commitment — just a real conversation about your business, your books, and a flat monthly price you'll know before you decide anything.