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A green checkmark doesn’t mean the books are right.
A reconciled account does not, by itself, establish that the underlying transactions and balances have been fully reviewed.
A useful diagnostic examines the accounting file, makes the findings clear and identifies what still needs an answer.
BrokenBooks gives QBO cleanup firms a structured diagnostic already built in. Your team reviews the books and answers the questions; the system generates the findings, report and cleanup plan from that assessment.
Follow the built-in process. Review the results. Carry the findings into the work that follows.
A structured diagnostic, already built in.
Start with the QBO reports and work through the guided review. The questions, review areas, evidence handling and report structure are part of the software, not a blank framework your firm has to design.
Your answers drive the diagnostic outputs. The professional evaluates the evidence and reviews the results before sharing conclusions or recommending work.
What is a bookkeeping diagnostic?
A bookkeeping diagnostic is a structured review of an accounting file that helps inform decisions about cleanup scope.
The reviewer examines the books to understand:
- Which areas appear supported by the available evidence.
- Which issues require further investigation.
- What information is missing.
- What needs client clarification.
- What corrective work may be required.
Reviewing a Profit & Loss or confirming that accounts reconcile can contribute to that process, but neither provides a complete understanding of the file on its own.
The diagnostic brings the findings, supporting evidence, and unresolved questions together so the firm has a documented basis for deciding what happens next.
Give the review a consistent structure.
BrokenBooks guides the reviewer through a structured assessment of the QuickBooks Online file, with applicable review areas shaped by the file and engagement.
As the bookkeeper answers the questions, findings, supporting information and unresolved issues become part of the assessment.
A common structure helps reviewers follow the same process across engagements. It also gives senior reviewers clearer documentation to evaluate.
The framework supports the review. The professional determines what the evidence means.
Choose the review that fits the engagement.
Not every QuickBooks Online file needs the same level of review.
The two review offerings are Comprehensive Diagnostic and Financial Reliability Review. Both use the built-in diagnostic framework to bring the findings and supporting context together.
Choose the appropriate review for the question your firm needs to answer, then evaluate the results against the available evidence.
The accounting file’s complexity and the professional judgment needed to assess it remain part of that decision.
A report built from the review, not written separately.
Completing the assessment should not leave your team with another report to assemble from scattered notes.
BrokenBooks generates the diagnostic report and cleanup plan from the recorded answers. Your team checks those outputs alongside the evidence and unresolved questions.
The review brings together:
- Diagnostic findings.
- Supporting evidence.
- Reviewer determinations and their reasoning.
- Unresolved items.
- Client clarification questions.
- Potential cleanup work.
That structure gives the firm a consistent way to explain the findings and a starting point for the work it recommends.
Keep client context connected to the diagnostic.
Your firm uses the structured intake and customizes supported wording and instructions. The client’s answers stay with the engagement.
As the diagnostic progresses, the reviewer may identify additional questions that cannot be answered from the QuickBooks Online file alone.
Those clarification questions and the client’s responses stay connected to the engagement and the accounting issue that prompted them.
That helps the reviewer continue the investigation with the relevant context available.
Unknown is a valid review state.
A diagnostic should make uncertainty visible.
If the available evidence does not support a conclusion, the reviewer needs a way to document what remains unknown and what would help resolve it.
That may mean asking the client a question, requesting supporting information, or identifying an issue that needs further investigation.
Recording uncertainty keeps an unresolved item from being mistaken for a completed review or a supported conclusion.
A consistent process includes documenting when you do not yet have enough information to decide.
Keep professional judgment with the bookkeeper.
BrokenBooks does not make the accounting decision for the reviewer.
The bookkeeper evaluates the evidence, interprets the client’s answers, and determines what the findings mean for the engagement.
The software generates structured outputs from the assessment and keeps the supporting context available for professional review.
For firms, this helps make the diagnostic process repeatable while keeping training, supervision, and final review with the professionals responsible for the work.
Use the diagnostic to inform what happens next.
The diagnostic should help the professional decide what the file needs next.
Documented findings provide a basis for identifying potential corrective work, understanding unresolved dependencies, deciding whether more investigation is needed, evaluating onboarding risk, preparing for tax work, or determining whether a deeper review is warranted.
BrokenBooks carries the assessment into the connected engagement:
Cleanup scope → pricing → proposal → client approval → cleanup execution
As approved cleanup moves into execution, BrokenBooks creates tasks and posts client questions to the portal. Your team performs and reviews the accounting work, rather than manually building every task and request from the report.
Built for bookkeeping and accounting professionals.
BrokenBooks is designed for bookkeepers, accountants, cleanup specialists, bookkeeping firms, and accounting firms that need a structured way to review QuickBooks Online files.
Use the assessment to understand a new client’s books, identify potential cleanup work or examine financial reliability before deciding what comes next.
For individuals and teams, it provides a common framework for conducting, documenting, and reviewing work consistently while professional judgment remains with the reviewer.
Want BrokenBooks updates?
Prelaunch. In use at For The Love of Bookkeepers, with client-portal testing underway. Not yet available to other firms.
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Built by Candice Thompson, founder of For The Love of Bookkeepers LLC
Built for the people who fix the books. QuickBooks Online diagnostic and cleanup workflow software.
