Bookkeeping for Boston Mental Health Practices
Monthly bookkeeping for therapists, counselors, and group practices in Boston. Books kept current and tax-ready by Aretha Dirden, working with you directly.
Bookkeeping for Boston Practices
Boston turns out new clinicians year after year. The counseling and social work programs, the doctoral psychology programs, the hospital and clinic training tracks. Plenty of those clinicians spend a few years in agency or hospital settings and then hang out their own shingle in Brookline, Cambridge, Jamaica Plain, the South End, or from a spare room at home. Almost none of them were taught how to run the money side of a practice, because that was never part of the training.
That gap is where I come in. My name is Aretha Dirden and I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse working in mental health before I ever opened QuickBooks for a living. Now I do private practice bookkeeping for mental health professionals across the country, Boston included. You work with me, not a rotating team, and everything is handled remotely so your schedule stays yours.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Monthly Bookkeeping
Transactions categorized, bank and credit card accounts reconciled, and a monthly report you can read between sessions. You see what came in, what went out, and what the practice actually earned. Starting at $165 a month.
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Books that were never started and books that were started badly are two different problems, and I handle both. Months or years recorded and reconciled, or a messy file sorted out and made trustworthy again. No judgment about how it got there.
Starting Off Right
Starting Off Right
Brand new practice? I do QuickBooks Online setup and training with a chart of accounts built for a mental health practice instead of a generic template, so your first year of records is something you can build on.
Records Your Tax Preparer Can Use
Records Your Tax Preparer Can Use
I do not prepare returns. I keep the books reconciled and organized all year so the handoff to your preparer is a quiet email in January rather than a scramble in April. Boston overhead is real, and every deductible dollar should be captured.
Boston Practices I Work With
The practices I serve are small, usually somewhere between one and ten people. Solo therapists and counselors, clinical social workers, psychologists doing therapy and testing, psychiatric nurse practitioners, group practices with associates, telehealth practices, and ABA providers. In Boston that often means an office sublease or hourly room rental in a shared suite, an EHR subscription, liability coverage, supervision fees, parking, and license renewals. Those costs add up fast, and they deserve to be tracked honestly so you can see what a week of clinical hours really returns.
I stay in my lane and I say so plainly. I do not file claims, handle credentialing, or touch coding. What I do is reconcile the money that lands in your bank account against what your practice systems show, keep your expenses in order, and give you a monthly picture you can trust. If that sounds like what your practice has been missing, book a consultation and we will talk it through.
Solo Therapists and Counselors
Solo Therapists and Counselors
One clinician, a full caseload, and a stack of receipts nobody has looked at since spring. I reconcile your private pay and insurance deposits, separate practice spending from personal, and send a report short enough to read between clients.
Clinical Social Workers
Clinical Social Workers
Boston produces LICSWs by the hundreds, and many go independent after years on staff. Bookkeeping for clinical social workers means modest fees and generous sliding scales, which makes real profitability visibility matter even more.
Group Practices with Associates
Group Practices with Associates
Splits, salaries, contract supervisors, and W-2 staff all recorded correctly. I run payroll for practices whose system is already set up and prepare year-end 1099s, and I report margin per clinician so you know whether the next hire helps.
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Plenty of Boston clinicians see clients across Massachusetts and beyond from a laptop. Platform fees, merchant processing, and subscription stacks get reconciled instead of ignored, and a remote bookkeeper fits an online practice naturally.
Questions About This Area
You are in California. Can you really keep the books for a practice in Boston?
Yes, and I do it every week for practices all over the country. Everything happens through online access to your accounts and QuickBooks Online, and we talk by phone or video whenever you want. The time difference actually works in your favor. I am often deep in the work while your morning sessions are running.
What does it cost?
Monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 a month. Payroll processing starts at $150 a month for practices that already have a payroll system running. Catch-up and clean-up work is priced per engagement after I take a look at what exists. I give you a real number after we talk, not a range you have to guess at.
I opened my practice two years ago and have never done the books. Is that too far gone?
No, and you are in good company. A lot of clinicians come to me exactly this way. I gather your statements, record and reconcile the missing periods one at a time, and hand you current books. Then we keep them current so it does not happen again. There is no lecture involved.
Do you prepare my tax return?
I do not. What I do is keep your books tax-ready all year so your tax preparer has clean, reconciled records for your federal and Massachusetts filings. I am happy to talk directly with whoever prepares your returns and answer their questions so nothing lands back on you in April.
Can you run payroll and handle 1099s for my group practice?
Yes, as long as your payroll system is already set up. I run the pay periods for practices with an established system, and I do not do payroll system setup. Year-end 1099s for associate clinicians, contract supervisors, and vendors start at $100 for five forms and $10 for each additional form.
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.
