Bookkeeping for Birmingham Mental Health Practices
Bookkeeping for private practice therapists, psychologists, prescribers, and group practices in Birmingham. Work directly with Aretha.
Bookkeeping for Birmingham Practices
A lot of Alabama’s mental health care runs through Birmingham. UAB, Children’s of Alabama, and the hospital systems around Southside train clinicians, employ clinicians, and eventually send a good number of them out to open practices of their own in Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover, Avondale, and Trussville. When that day comes, the clinical work is the part you already know cold. The books are the part nobody covered in grad school or nursing school.
I am Aretha Dirden, and I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse in mental health before I ever opened QuickBooks for a client. That means the terminology, the intake rhythm, and the way a practice actually runs on a busy Tuesday do not need explaining to me. Private practice bookkeeping is my whole focus now, for practices with 1 to 10 people, in Birmingham and across the country. You work with me directly, not with a rotating team.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Monthly Bookkeeping
Transactions categorized, bank and credit card accounts reconciled, and a monthly report you can read between sessions. If a number looks strange to you, call me and I will walk through it in plain language. Starting at $165 a month.
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Months or years of transactions recorded and reconciled when the books were never done. Miscategorized entries, duplicates, and unreconciled accounts corrected when the books were done wrong. No judgment either way.
Payroll and 1099s
Payroll and 1099s
For practices whose payroll system is already up and running, I process every pay period on time so staff and clinicians are paid right. At year end I prepare 1099s for associate clinicians, contract supervisors, and vendors.
Tax-Ready Books
Tax-Ready Books
I do not prepare returns. I keep the records clean, reconciled, and organized all year so your tax preparer has what they need in January instead of asking you for it in April.
Birmingham Practices I Work With
Practices here come in a lot of shapes. A solo counselor renting one room off Highway 31. A psychologist taking assessment referrals from the school districts and the medical center. A group practice with three associates and a front desk person. A prescriber seeing medication management visits back to back. ABA teams growing faster than their record keeping. Telehealth practices based in Birmingham that see clients in Tuscaloosa, Anniston, and the small counties where clinicians are scarce.
What almost every owner tells me they want is the same four things. Books up to date, financials ready for the tax preparer, a clear picture of the practice’s financial health, and an honest read on profitability. That is exactly what full-service monthly bookkeeping is built to give you. If that sounds like what your practice has been missing, book a consultation and tell me about it.
Therapists and Counselors
Therapists and Counselors
Session revenue reconciled from your EHR deposits to the bank, private pay and insurance payments arriving on their own separate rhythms, sliding scale and no-show patterns visible in the numbers, and business spending kept separate from personal.
Psychologists and Testing Practices
Psychologists and Testing Practices
Assessment work does not look like weekly therapy in the books. Multi-hour engagements, report writing time, testing materials, and mixed therapy and consulting income at different rates all get tracked so you can see which part of the practice earns what.
Prescribing Practices
Prescribing Practices
Birmingham’s medical institutions mean a lot of prescribers eventually go independent. Bookkeeping for psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatrists from someone who came out of nursing, with higher visit volume reconciled and practice costs tracked cleanly.
Group Practices
Group Practices
Associate compensation under splits or salaries recorded correctly, W-2 staff and 1099 contractors each handled properly, and reporting that shows margin per clinician so you know whether the next hire actually helps.
Questions About This Area
You're in California. Can you really keep the books for a practice in Birmingham?
Yes. All of my clients work with me remotely, and bookkeeping travels well. You send statements and give me access through secure tools, we talk by phone or video whenever you want to, and I do the work myself. Being two time zones apart has never gotten in the way.
What does this cost?
Full-service monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 a month. Payroll processing starts at $150 a month for practices whose payroll system is already running. Catch-up and clean-up work is quoted per engagement after I look at what exists, so you see the number before anything begins.
My books are more than a year behind. Where do we start?
That is a very common starting point, and I will never make you feel bad about it. If the books were never done, that is catch-up work. If they were done but the numbers are wrong, that is clean-up. Either way, I get you current first and then keep you current with monthly service.
Do you handle insurance billing or credentialing?
No. I do not touch claims, billing, credentialing, or coding. Your biller or billing service stays in charge of that. My part is reconciling the money that actually lands in your bank account against what your practice management system shows, so the books reflect reality.
What about payroll and my tax return?
I run payroll for practices whose payroll system is already set up, and I prepare year-end 1099s for associate clinicians, supervisors, and vendors. I do not prepare tax returns. I keep your books tax-ready all year so your Birmingham tax preparer gets clean, reconciled numbers instead of a shoebox and a list of questions.
Helping the People Who Help Others
Let's Start With
a Short Conversation
Tell me where your books stand right now, even if the honest answer is that nobody has looked at them in a year. I'll ask a few questions and give you a clear idea of how I can help.
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