Losing access to your bookkeeping system can mean lost financial records, missing reports, and a messy handoff to your CPA. If you are facing the Botkeeper Bookkeeping shutdown, your job is to export your data, save your supporting documents, and move your books into a platform you control. This post gives you a calm, step by step plan to protect your records and restart with a reliable, human-led bookkeeper.
Botkeeper Bookkeeping Closure: What it Means for Your Records
If your books lived inside Botkeeper, your risk is simple. If access ends, you may not be able to pull reports, reconciliations, or attachments later.
Botkeeper Bookkeeping users should treat February 2026 like a hard deadline, even if the exact cutoff for your account is unclear. Confirm timing directly with Botkeeper support.
For background on the closure, read the source here: https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2026/02/09/botkeeper-is-closing-its-doors/177677/.
Botkeeper Bookkeeping Data Export Checklist (Do This First)
Do the export before you shop for a new provider. You cannot rebuild what you did not save.
Export and download:
- Bank and credit card transactions: CSV for each account, full history you can access
- General ledger: detailed transaction report by account
- Reconciliation reports: monthly bank rec reports, including any notes or exceptions
- Chart of accounts: your account list and any custom categories
- Vendor list and customer list: names, contact info, payment history if available
- Invoices and bills: open and paid, plus any aging reports you can pull
- Financial statements: Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow by year and by month
- Attachments: receipts, invoices, and any files stored inside the system
Save your Botkeeper Bookkeeping export in two places. Use a local folder and a cloud folder.
Name files by month and account, for example: 2025-11 Bank Rec Checking.pdf or 2024 P&L by Month.pdf. That naming will save hours later.
Move Off Botkeeper Bookkeeping: Software and Setup Steps
You need two things, a bookkeeping platform you control and a person who will verify the numbers.
Step 1: Pick your platform. Most small businesses choose QuickBooks Online or Xero. Your CPA probably has a preference, confirm with your CPA.
Step 2: Rebuild your chart of accounts. Match your old structure where it makes sense, but do not copy bad categories just because they exist.
Step 3: Connect bank feeds and apps. Make a list of every connected bank account, credit card, payment processor, and payroll tool.
Step 4: Import history carefully. Your Botkeeper Bookkeeping export can usually be imported in pieces, but it still needs review. Do not assume the imported file equals correct books.
Step 5: Reconcile month by month. A new system is only trustworthy when your bank recs match the bank statements.
Why Botkeeper Bookkeeping Migrations Need Cleanup (Even if Reports Look Fine)
Automated coding can be fine for basic businesses, but it often misses context.
Here are the issues we see most after a Botkeeper Bookkeeping handoff:
- Expenses coded to the wrong category, which distorts your Profit and Loss
- Owner payments mixed with business expenses
- Duplicate transactions from bank feed resets
- Unreconciled months, which makes cash and credit card balances unreliable
- Uncategorized transactions left to pile up
A human-led cleanup is not about perfection. It is about getting your bank and credit card accounts reconciled, then making your reports usable.
Practical Example: Cost, Hours, and Fixes After Botkeeper Bookkeeping
Here is a realistic cleanup scenario.
You run a consulting business doing about $35,000 per month in revenue. You move off Botkeeper Bookkeeping after 18 months and you want clean books for the last 12 months.
A typical first month of work looks like this:
- Categorization review: 40 to 60 transactions reclassified, about 5 to 7 hours
- Reconciliation catch-up: 3 months not fully reconciled, about 3 to 5 hours
- Duplicate and missing items: remove duplicates totaling $2,000 to $4,000, fix one missing payment around $1,200, about 1 to 2 hours
- Reporting reset: deliver a correct Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet, about 1 to 2 hours
Total: 10 to 16 hours in the first month.
At common cleanup rates, that is often $1,200 to $2,400 depending on volume and complexity. Ongoing monthly bookkeeping is usually lower once the foundation is fixed.
Botkeeper Bookkeeping Closure: Your Next Action Plan for This Week
Keep it simple. The goal is no data loss and no gap in your bookkeeping.
- Today: Export everything using the checklist, save it in two places
- Tomorrow: Download statements from your banks and credit cards for the last 12 to 24 months
- This week: Choose your next platform, QuickBooks Online or Xero, and open the account
- This week: Interview two bookkeeping providers, ask how they handle reconciliations and cleanup after automated systems
- By Friday: Start onboarding with your chosen provider and share your Botkeeper Bookkeeping export
If you want a second set of eyes, you can book a short bookkeeping review with Books LA: https://www.booksla.com/contact
Why Books LA is a Human-Led Alternative to Botkeeper Bookkeeping
You need accurate books, not just categorized transactions.
Books LA is human-led. A certified bookkeeper reviews your work, reconciles accounts, and fixes the issues that automated systems tend to leave behind.
We work in your QuickBooks Online or Xero file, so you own your data. If you ever switch providers, your books move with you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first after the Botkeeper Bookkeeping closure?
Export your Botkeeper Bookkeeping data and attachments first, then save them in two places.
How long will a cleanup take after leaving Botkeeper Bookkeeping?
Many small businesses need 10 to 20 hours for the first pass, then a normal monthly cadence after that.
Can I just start fresh and ignore the old records?
Do not, you will lose history needed for taxes, loans, and comparisons. Confirm record retention needs with your CPA.
Should I use QuickBooks Online or Xero next?
Either works, pick the one your CPA prefers and that fits your workflows. QuickBooks Online is common in the US, Xero is strong for many service businesses.
What if my exported reports do not match my bank balances?
That usually means unreconciled months or duplicates. A bookkeeper can reconcile month by month and correct the differences.
Do I need a human bookkeeper if I used automation before?
If you want reliable reports, yes, especially during the transition. Automation can assist, but a person should verify coding and reconciliations.
