Danielson Bookkeeping & Consulting: Services, Costs and How It Works

What is Danielson Bookkeeping & Consulting?

Danielson Bookkeeping & Consulting is a small, owner-led bookkeeping practice in Kuna, Idaho, in the Treasure Valley. Its own one-line description is "accurate, reliable bookkeeping for churches and small businesses," delivered with "deep financial, business and technology experience."

The practice has two halves, and the website is built around them:

• Churches and ministries. This is where most of the site's detail sits. The work covers designated and restricted funds, giving records, year-end contribution statements, pastoral compensation and housing allowances, budgets, and reports for boards made up of volunteers.
• Small businesses. Monthly bookkeeping and reconciliations, financial reports, budgeting, QuickBooks work, and what the site calls "financial process improvement": fixing the habits that keep making the books messy.

The firm's reasoning, stated on its About page, is that most churches and small businesses "can't justify a full-time CFO or controller, yet they deal with real financial complexity." The practice says it exists to bring financial and systems thinking to organizations that need it and are unlikely to have it in-house.

It is a bookkeeping practice, not a CPA firm. The site says plainly that Carey Danielson is not a CPA, an enrolled agent or an attorney, and that the firm does not prepare tax returns, give tax or legal advice, or perform audits or reviews. It keeps the records and works with whichever CPA or adviser the client chooses.

The website also carries a large library of free guides: 31 church guides, 4 QuickBooks guides and 4 small-business guides when we checked, plus industry pages and comparison lists. Each guide is marked as general information, not tax, legal or investment advice.

Who runs it?

The practice is run by Carey Danielson, whom the site describes as a "bookkeeper and financial consultant." The About page sets out his background as two separate careers:

• 20+ years of hands-on bookkeeping and financial management, "much of it with churches": designated funds, giving records, church payroll, budgeting, and reports for pastors, boards and finance committees.
• 30+ years across business, consulting, technology and systems. The site says this shapes how the books are done: "not just recording transactions accurately, but improving the processes that produce them."

The two figures describe different things and the site keeps them apart: the 20+ years is bookkeeping, the 30+ years is the broader business and systems career.

The site lists two credentials: an MBA in business administration, and the QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor certification. It explains that ProAdvisor certifications are issued by Intuit, the maker of QuickBooks, and that the Advanced level builds on the core QuickBooks Online certification and covers more complex setups and features. Its terms page adds that the firm is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Intuit beyond holding that certification. We did not find a public listing to check these credentials against, so they are reported here as the company states them.

No other staff are named on the site. The pages consistently say "Carey will follow up" and "Carey will reply," so expect to deal with Carey directly.

Is Danielson Bookkeeping legit? What you can check

People ask this before handing anyone their bank logins. Here is what the business publishes and what you can confirm for yourself:

• A named owner with a stated background. The site names Carey Danielson, his MBA, his QuickBooks certification and his years of experience. Ask for references from a church or business like yours.
• A clear statement of limits. Every page repeats a "What we don't provide" box: no tax preparation or planning, no audits or attest work, no legal advice, no investment or retirement advice. A bookkeeper who says what is out of scope is easier to hold to what is in scope.
• Written scope before any work. The site says "No work begins without it," and that the scope covers what is included, what isn't, the schedule and the fee.
• Published data practices. The How We Work page lists named user access, least access needed, secure document exchange and access removal at the end of an engagement. It also says "No system is completely risk-free," rather than promising perfect security.
• A privacy policy and terms of use, both dated 14 September 2026, which explain what the contact form collects and confirm that using the site does not create a client relationship.

The firm's own guide on bookkeepers and CPAs points out that bookkeeping "is not a licensed profession in the way public accounting is." That makes experience and references the thing to check. The site does not publish client testimonials or review figures, so ask for references during your consultation.

Church bookkeeping services, one by one

The church service page says everything below "can be combined into one monthly engagement or taken on as a defined project."

Fund accounting. The site explains three kinds of church money. General funds are unrestricted gifts directed by leadership through the budget. Restricted funds carry a purpose set by the donor. Designated funds are amounts leadership has chosen to set aside, which leadership can usually change. Because churches often call every earmarked gift "designated," part of the setup is agreeing in writing which funds are which. The listed work includes:

• A written list of every fund, its type, and who may change or close it
• A chart of accounts and fund tracking set up so reports stay readable
• Gifts recorded to the correct fund at deposit, "not reconstructed at year end"
• Spending coded to the fund it came from
• A monthly fund balance summary: opening balance, gifts, spending, closing balance
• Fund balances that tie to total cash and the balance sheet every month
• Help planning how completed or over-subscribed funds are handled, for leadership to decide

The site notes that decisions about redirecting a donor-restricted gift belong to church leadership and may call for the church's attorney; the bookkeeping records what was decided.

Giving records. The site points to where giving records usually go wrong: online platforms deposit batches net of fees, volunteers count cash and checks, and designations get written in memo lines. Its listed work is recording gifts by giver and fund, reconciling the giving software or church management records to bank deposits each month, recording processing fees separately so gross giving is reported correctly, preparing year-end statements from reconciled records, and handling giver information "with limited, named access." It says the church's CPA confirms the final statement wording, and the bookkeeping makes sure the figures are right.

Working with the treasurer. The site says an outside bookkeeper "doesn't replace your treasurer." The treasurer and finance committee keep oversight; the bookkeeper does the day-to-day recording. It describes that separation as a sensible internal control, especially for small churches with few volunteers, and says clearly that it is not an audit or any form of assurance work.

Does it handle church payroll and housing allowances?

Yes. The church payroll page lists:

• Payroll processing for pastors and church staff
• Pastoral compensation set up to match leadership's approved compensation package
• Housing allowances recorded as designated by the church, with the written designation (for example, board minutes) kept on file
• Accountable reimbursement records for ministry expenses
• Payroll costs reported against the budget each month

Two limits are stated. First, the site says "exactly which payroll filings are included is confirmed in writing during your consultation, before any payroll work begins," so ask about filings specifically. Second, advice on how much housing allowance to designate, a pastor's personal tax return, and questions about a minister's tax status stay with the church's CPA or tax adviser. The firm sets payroll up to follow those decisions. The site points readers to IRS Publication 517 for the rules on ministers.

Small business bookkeeping

For businesses, the site lists six services:

• Monthly bookkeeping: income and expenses recorded and categorized consistently every month.
• Bank and account reconciliation: every bank, credit card and loan account reconciled to its statement.
• Financial reporting: profit and loss, balance sheet and "the few numbers you actually watch," explained in plain language.
• Budgeting and planning: a budget and monthly comparisons, "so surprises show up early."
• QuickBooks setup and cleanup (see below).
• Financial systems and special projects: software transitions, reporting setup and one-off projects.

The part the site stresses most is process. It says books usually get messy for a reason: "receipts that never reach anyone, a bank feed nobody reviews, invoicing done three different ways." The improvements it lists are a reliable way to capture receipts and bills, a chart of accounts that matches how the owner thinks about the business, written month-end steps, reports built once and delivered the same way each month, and clear handoffs to the CPA at year end.

Industries it covers

The site has a page for each of 14 trades, each focused on "the part of the books that goes wrong first." It also says that if your industry is not listed, "it does not mean we cannot help."

Example: contractors. The construction page lists monthly work such as coding every bill, receipt and card charge to its job, allocating crew hours to jobs, recording customer deposits and progress billings against the contract rather than as income on arrival, tracking retainage as a receivable, and tracking subcontractor payments against W-9s so the year's 1099 figures are ready in January. It says the 1099 information returns themselves are filed by your tax preparer, and that certified payroll and prevailing wage filings are a specialist area it coordinates on rather than takes on.

Example: nonprofits. The nonprofit page adds grant tracking against each grant's own budget and period, allocation of costs across program, administration and fundraising, recording in-kind gifts where they can be reasonably valued, and board-ready statements.

QuickBooks setup, cleanup and training

QuickBooks work is offered on its own or as part of a bookkeeping engagement. The site lists five kinds:

• New setup: a chart of accounts designed around how the church or business works, class or location tracking where it helps, products and services, sales tax where it applies, and the monthly reports you'll use.
• Cleanup and catch-up: cleanup fixes records that exist but are wrong (duplicates, miscategorized transactions, unreconciled accounts, old open invoices). Catch-up fills in periods where nothing was recorded. "Most files need some of each, so every project starts with a review and a written scope."
• Migration: from spreadsheets, another accounting system or QuickBooks Desktop to QuickBooks Online, with opening balances checked against statements.
• Training and documentation: hands-on training for staff or volunteers, plus short written procedures for weekly and monthly tasks.
• Custom reporting: saved reports for owners, boards and finance committees, including budget-versus-actual and, for churches, fund balance reports.

Can a church use QuickBooks? The site's answer is yes, with careful setup. It says QuickBooks "isn't purpose-built fund accounting software," but a consistent chart of accounts, class or location tracking for funds and disciplined monthly reporting let many churches track funds reliably in it.

Before a cleanup, the firm's cleanup guide suggests gathering bank, credit card and loan statements for the affected periods, payroll reports, any prior-year statements or returns your CPA prepared, and QuickBooks access set up as a separate user. It notes that cleanup does not include filing or amending tax returns; if corrected books change figures your CPA already used, the CPA advises on next steps.

What it does not do

This is stated on nearly every page, so it is worth knowing up front. Danielson Bookkeeping & Consulting does not provide:

• Tax preparation or tax planning
• Audits, reviews or attest work
• Legal advice
• Investment or retirement advice

The site says it works alongside your CPA, attorney or adviser and keeps the records organized "so they can do their part efficiently." If you don't have a CPA yet, plan to find one separately for tax returns, and an independent CPA if a lender, denomination or board asks for reviewed or audited statements.

How much does Danielson Bookkeeping cost?

Prices are not published. The site says it "does not quote from a price list." After a consultation and a records review, you receive a written scope stating what is included, what isn't, the schedule and the fee, agreed before work starts. The contact page says there is no obligation.

The site lists what moves the fee:

• Transaction volume: deposits, payments, card charges and reimbursements in a typical month.
• Number of accounts and funds: each bank, card and loan account is reconciled monthly, and each church fund is another balance to track.
• Payroll: whether it is included, how many people are paid, and whether a pastor's compensation and housing allowance must be set up.
• Giving-record work: recording gifts by giver and preparing statements, or receiving totals from someone else.
• Condition of the books: current and reconciled, or months behind. The firm's cost guide calls this "the largest variable."
• Reporting needs and software.

Its church cost guide describes three common pricing models (hourly, a fixed monthly fee for a defined list of work, and a project fee for one-time jobs such as a cleanup or migration) and notes that cleanup is usually quoted separately from the monthly fee. That guide is general; it does not say which model this firm uses for your engagement, so ask.

Payment methods, financing and hours are not published. Ask during the consultation.

What happens step by step

1. Send the consultation form. You give your name, church or business name, an email or phone number (at least one is required), organization type, current software and a short description. The form asks you not to include account numbers, passwords or other sensitive details.
2. Carey replies to set up a consultation.
3. Consultation: a conversation about your organization, your current bookkeeping, software, and what leadership needs to see.
4. Records review: a look at your books and statements to see how current and accurate they are.
5. Written scope: what's included, what isn't, the schedule and the fee, agreed in writing before work starts. The terms page says a client relationship begins only when a written scope is agreed.
6. Onboarding: access is set up and any cleanup is completed.
7. Monthly rhythm: reconciled books and reports on an agreed monthly date.

The firm's scope-of-work guide suggests that a good scope sets two monthly dates (when the client sends documents, and when the bookkeeper delivers reports), names the reports, describes access, states that the books belong to the client, and says how either side ends the arrangement. Those are useful things to check in any proposal you receive, including this one.

How your financial data is handled

The How We Work page lists these practices:

• Named access, not shared logins: a separate user in your accounting software and bank wherever the software allows.
• Least access needed: limited to what the engagement requires, view-only where that is enough.
• Secure document exchange: statements and payroll documents shared through secure file sharing or the accounting software rather than ordinary email where possible.
• Cloud accounting software: books kept in established cloud platforms rather than files on one computer.
• Access removed at the end: handed back and removed when the engagement ends.

The site adds that "no system is completely risk-free" and that these practices are reviewed with each client at the start and adjusted to the organization's own policies. For churches, it also offers help thinking through who counts, deposits, approves and reviews, so the person recording transactions isn't the person approving or spending them.

On the website itself, the privacy policy says contact form details are used only to reply and are never sold, that the site uses no advertising cookies, and that one first-party cookie records how you reached the site (kept for 90 days in your browser) and is sent with any form you submit.

Where is it, and does it work remotely?

The practice is based in Kuna, Idaho. No street address is published. In-person service covers Boise, Meridian, Nampa, Kuna, Eagle, Caldwell, Star and surrounding communities in Ada and Canyon counties; the site says "Not sure whether you're in range? Just ask."

The service area page says in-person meetings help most for initial consultations, onboarding, training staff or volunteers on QuickBooks, and presenting reports to a church board or finance committee. Day-to-day bookkeeping, reconciliations and monthly reporting are handled online, which is how the firm works with churches and businesses outside the Treasure Valley, including outside Idaho.

How it compares with other options

These are general categories, not named firms. The right choice depends on your size, budget and how much help you need beyond the books.

Who it suits, and who should look elsewhere

Questions to ask before you hire

• Which bank, card and loan accounts, and how many funds, does your quote assume?
• Is the fee hourly, fixed monthly, a project fee, or a mix? What is billed separately?
• Is cleanup or catch-up of past months quoted separately, and on what basis?
• Exactly which payroll tasks and payroll filings are included?
• Are year-end contribution statements included?
• Which reports will we get each month, on what date, and who receives them?
• What do you need from us each month, and by when?
• How will you access our bank and accounting software, and who at our end keeps administrator rights?
• Will Carey do the work personally?
• Can you share references from a church or business our size?
• How does either side end the engagement, and how are records handed back?
• Will you meet our board or finance committee in person to walk through the reports?

How to get started

1. Gather the basics: your current software, how many bank and card accounts you have, roughly how current the books are, and (for churches) a list of your funds.
2. Fill in the consultation form on the contact page. Give an email or phone number, and keep account numbers and passwords out of the message.
3. Carey replies to arrange a consultation, in person in the Treasure Valley or remotely.
4. Share records for the review when asked, using the secure method agreed.
5. Read the written scope and quote, compare it with the questions above, and decide. There is no obligation.

Visit Danielson Bookkeeping & Consulting

Terms you'll see on the site

• Fund accounting: keeping each pot of money (general, restricted, designated) tracked separately so its balance can be shown at any time.
• Restricted fund: money whose purpose was set by the donor.
• Designated fund: money church leadership chose to set aside; leadership can usually change it.
• Fund balance report: opening balance, gifts, spending and closing balance for each fund.
• Contribution statement: the written acknowledgment a church sends givers; the site points to IRS Publication 1771 for what it should contain.
• Housing allowance: part of a minister's pay that the church designates in writing in advance.
• Accountable plan: a reimbursement setup where expenses are documented with business purpose and receipts.
• Reconciliation: matching the books to the bank, card or loan statement. The site stresses that accepting bank feed suggestions is not the same thing.
• Cleanup vs catch-up: cleanup fixes wrong records; catch-up fills in missing periods.
• Attest work: audits and reviews performed by an independent CPA, which this firm does not do.
• ProAdvisor: Intuit's certification program for QuickBooks professionals.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All pages checked on 22 October 2026.

1. Home page
2. About Carey Danielson
3. Church bookkeeping
4. Fund accounting and designated funds
5. Church payroll and pastoral compensation
6. Giving records and contribution statements
7. Small business bookkeeping
8. Industries we serve
9. Construction and trades
10. Nonprofits and ministries
11. QuickBooks services
12. How we work
13. Service area
14. FAQ
15. Contact
16. Privacy policy
17. Terms of use
18. Resources (guide library)
19. What church bookkeeping costs, and what drives the fee
20. What a church bookkeeping scope of work should spell out
21. Bookkeeper, CPA or auditor: who does what for a church
22. QuickBooks cleanup vs catch-up bookkeeping
23. Local or remote church bookkeeper