Perfectbooks provides bookkeeping services to Denver businesses from a certified bookkeeper based right next door in Aurora: monthly bookkeeping, cleanup and catch-up, payroll and tax prep on QuickBooks, Xero or Digits. You get one local bookkeeper who knows Colorado and Denver’s own payroll and tax rules, starting with a free one-hour consultation.
Payroll and tax rules that only apply here
The local items your Denver books have to account for. Rates as of October 2026.
Why Denver bookkeeping isn’t the same as anywhere else
A national bookkeeping service can post your transactions. What it often misses is the layer of city and state rules that sits on top of a Denver business’s books.
The Denver “head tax”
The Occupational Privilege Tax has an employee part withheld from pay and a business part the employer owes for each employee and owner. Both need to land in the right liability accounts and match what gets filed.
City-run sales and use tax
Denver administers its own sales and use tax instead of leaving it to the state, and it publishes its own guide for general contractors and subcontractors. Collected tax belongs in a liability account until it’s paid, not in your income.
Colorado FAMLI
Paid family and medical leave premiums come out of wages every pay period, with different rules for businesses under 10 employees. Payroll and the books both have to treat them the same way.
I’m a bookkeeper, not a tax advisor. My job is to make sure these amounts are recorded correctly and reconcile, so your payroll provider, your CPA and the city all see the same numbers.
Bookkeeping services for Denver, from monthly books to cleanup
Pick what you need now. Most businesses start with one of these and add more as they grow.
Monthly bookkeeping
Transactions posted, accounts reconciled and three monthly reports, priced per transaction.
QuickBooks bookkeepingConstruction and trades
Job costing, retainage, change orders and 1099 subs, from someone who’s worked inside the trades.
Construction bookkeepingCleanup and catch-up
Months or years behind, rebuilt from your statements and brought current.
Cleanup and catch-upPayroll and tax prep
Payroll prepared on your software, plus individual tax returns built on clean books.
Ask about payrollRunning a Denver business on books you don’t trust?
One free hour gets you an honest read on where the books stand and what it would take to fix them.
Get my books looked atBuilt for owner-run Denver businesses
Most of the businesses I’m built for are run by the person doing the work: contractors and trades, service businesses, consultants and freelancers on 1099s, and CPAs who’d rather hand off the monthly books for their clients. None of them have time to sit in QuickBooks at night, and all of them need numbers they can trust.
Downtown or out in the suburbs, it makes no difference, because the work happens virtually. Statements, questions and reports move online, and when it helps to talk it through, a phone call is one click away.
Based in Aurora instead? See bookkeeping in Aurora.
Across Denver and the metro
A local Denver bookkeeper or a national online service?
Both can keep the books. The differences show up in who’s doing the work and how well they know the rules where you operate.
| What matters | Perfectbooks | Typical national online service | Doing it yourself |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who does your books | One certified bookkeeper | Often a rotating team | You, after hours |
| Denver and Colorado rules | Known locally | Varies | Up to you to learn |
| Software | QuickBooks, Xero or Digits, your choice | Varies by provider | Whatever you set up |
| Contractor books | Job costing and retainage | Often general only | Rarely set up |
| Messy or behind books | Cleanup, however far behind | Varies, sometimes declined | Hard to fix alone |
| Pricing | Per transaction, quoted up front | Monthly tiers | Your time |
A month of Denver bookkeeping, step by step
Good bookkeeping services in Denver look a lot like good bookkeeping anywhere, with a few local lines added. Every month, the same routine runs in the same order, so nothing gets skipped when the business is busy.
The local items are the ones generic services tend to get wrong. Payroll withholdings for the Occupational Privilege Tax and FAMLI sit in liability accounts until they’re paid, and city sales tax you’ve collected never belongs in your income. When those are recorded right, the balance sheet tells the truth and your CPA isn’t untangling it in April.
Several metro cities, Denver and Aurora among them, collect their own sales tax, so a business selling in more than one city can owe more than one return. The books keep each city’s tax separate, and filing stays with you, your software or your CPA.
The monthly close
What happens in your books every month.
Signs your Denver business needs a bookkeeper
Most owners wait longer than they should. If two or more of these sound familiar, handing off the books will probably save you money as well as time.
You hired your first employee
Payroll brings federal, Colorado, FAMLI and, in Denver, OPT withholdings. One missed liability turns into a notice.
Your CPA keeps asking questions
If tax time means weeks of back-and-forth, the books aren’t doing their job the rest of the year.
You can’t say what you made last month
Without reconciled books, profit is a feeling, and decisions about hiring or pricing are guesses.
You’re months behind
The fastest fix is a cleanup now, before the next deadline makes it urgent. See cleanup and catch-up.
What do bookkeeping services cost in Denver?
Monthly bookkeeping is priced per transaction, so you pay for the business you actually have, and you get an exact price on the free consultation.
Bookkeeping Essentials
Posting, reconciliations, journal entries, chart of accounts upkeep and three monthly reports.
Full-Service Bookkeeping
Monthly bookkeeping, fully handled. We’ll go through exactly what’s included on your consultation.
Cleanup and Catch-Up
For books that are behind or tangled, scoped up front so you know the number first.
Payroll is your software’s cost plus $50 and $5 per employee. Tax returns start at $50 for a simple return, $75 with one or two schedules, and from $100 for more complex ones. See the full price list.
Getting started from anywhere in Denver
Free consultation
An hour by phone or video on your business, your software and where the books stand. You leave with a clear price.
Access and review
You invite me to your software, or we set one up together, and I review what’s there.
Clean up if needed
Anything behind or off gets fixed first, so monthly work starts from solid ground.
Monthly, every month
Books current, accounts reconciled and reports in your hands, with Denver and Colorado items recorded correctly.
Born and raised in the metro, and still here
I’m Holly Kuehn. I was born and raised in Aurora, I’ve studied accounting since 1994, and I spent my career inside construction-based businesses, in flooring, plumbing, painting and cabinets. That’s where I learned how owner-run businesses really handle their books, and how quickly they fall behind when work gets busy.
Today I’m a certified bookkeeper, fully insured, certified in QuickBooks, Xero and Digits, and a member of COCPA. Every client is handled personally, by me. More about Holly.
Tell me about your Denver business
A few details are enough. I read every request myself and reply personally to set a time, usually with a couple of options that work.
No obligation
If Perfectbooks isn’t the right fit, I’ll tell you.
An exact price
You know the cost before any work begins.
Behind is fixable
Months or years, it can be caught up.
Bookkeeping in Denver, answered
How much do bookkeeping services cost in Denver?
With Perfectbooks, monthly bookkeeping is $0.75 per transaction for Essentials or $1.00 for Full-Service, and cleanup is $50 an hour. A business with 150 transactions a month on Essentials pays about $112.50. You get an exact price on the free consultation.
Are bookkeepers cheaper than accountants?
Usually, yes. A bookkeeper keeps the books current all year, and a CPA handles tax planning and business returns, typically at a higher rate. Most small Denver businesses use both: clean monthly books from a bookkeeper make the CPA’s part faster and cheaper.
How do I find a good bookkeeper in Denver?
Look for someone certified, insured and certified in the software you use, who can explain their pricing up front and has worked with businesses like yours. Ask how they handle Denver’s Occupational Privilege Tax and city sales tax in the books. If the answer is vague, keep looking.
Does my Denver bookkeeper need to be in Denver?
Not physically. I’m based next door in Aurora and work virtually, so location matters less than knowing the local rules. You get someone who understands Denver and Colorado without paying for an office downtown.
Do you handle Denver’s Occupational Privilege Tax in the books?
Yes. The employee part withheld from pay and the business part owed per employee and owner are recorded to the right liability accounts and reconciled to what’s filed. Filing itself runs through your payroll provider or your CPA, and I make sure the books match.
Do you work with Denver contractors?
Yes, that’s my specialty. I’ve spent my career inside construction-based businesses. See construction bookkeeping for job costing, retainage and 1099 subs.
I just moved my business into Denver. What changes in the books?
Mostly the local items: if you have employees working in Denver, the Occupational Privilege Tax starts showing up in payroll, and if you sell taxable goods or services, Denver’s own sales tax gets its own liability account. Registration and filing questions go to your CPA or the city, and I make sure the books reflect the change from the first month.
Do you also work with businesses in Aurora?
Yes, Aurora is home. Perfectbooks is based there, and the same services are available across the whole metro. See bookkeeping in Aurora.
A local bookkeeper for your Denver business
Tell me where the books stand. I’ll reply personally to set up a time, and you’ll come away knowing exactly what they need and what it will cost.
Free one-hour consultation, wherever your books stand today.