Bookkeeping for Boulder Mental Health Practices
Bookkeeping for therapists, counselors, psychologists, and group practices in Boulder. Books kept current and tax-ready, handled by Aretha herself.
Bookkeeping for Boulder Practices
For a city its size, Boulder has a remarkable number of therapists. Walk a few blocks off Pearl Street and you pass counseling suites, somatic and mindfulness practices, assessment offices, and small clinics with one or two clinicians inside. Almost all of them are small businesses run by the same person doing the clinical work, which is why the bookkeeping tends to happen late at night, on a Sunday, or sometime around April.
I am Aretha Dirden, and I keep the books for mental health practices around the country from my office in Lancaster, California. Before this work, I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse in mental health, so the language and the daily rhythm of a practice are already familiar to me. When you hire me, you work with me directly. Most of my clients are therapists and counselors in private practice with one to ten people on the roster.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Monthly Bookkeeping
Each month I categorize your transactions, reconcile your bank and credit card accounts, and send reports you can read between sessions. Full-service bookkeeping starts at $165 a month, and you always know where the practice actually stands.
Catching Up and Cleaning Up
Catching Up and Cleaning Up
If the last real close was two years ago, or a previous bookkeeper left behind numbers nobody trusts, we fix that first. I record and reconcile period by period until the books are honest again. There is no lecture from me about how it got that 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 associates and admin staff are paid right. At year end I prepare and file the 1099s for contract clinicians, supervisors, and vendors.
Ready for Tax Time
Ready for Tax Time
I do not prepare tax returns. Your books stay reconciled and organized all year long, with supporting detail in place, so your tax preparer has what they need and spring stops feeling like an emergency.
Boulder Practices I Work With
Boulder practices carry costs that a general bookkeeper does not always recognize. Office space here is expensive, so plenty of clinicians share a suite, rent a room by the hour, or sublet their space to a colleague on the days they are not in. Income often arrives from more than one place too, with individual sessions alongside groups, workshops, clinical supervision, and the occasional teaching or consulting contract. All of that belongs in the books in a way that shows you which parts of your week actually pay.
Bookkeeping for therapists is the only work I do, so I already understand how session revenue arrives, how private pay and insurance deposits land on different schedules, and how a generous sliding scale shapes the numbers. If you would like to talk through where your practice is right now, book a consultation with me and we will sort out what you need.
Solo Therapists and Counselors
Solo Therapists and Counselors
One clinician, a full caseload, and deposits coming from a few different directions. I reconcile what came in, keep practice spending separate from personal spending, and give you one clear monthly picture of what the practice earns.
Psychologists and Assessment Work
Psychologists and Assessment Work
Testing engagements, report writing hours, and therapy income at different rates. Boulder’s university population keeps evaluation work steady, and your books should show what that side of the practice really brings in after materials and overhead.
Group Practices
Group Practices
Associates on salary, associates on splits, W-2 staff and 1099 contractors in the same practice. I record compensation correctly and report in a way that shows margin by clinician, so you can tell whether adding the next associate is helping.
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Many Boulder clinicians see clients online across the Front Range, the mountain towns, and beyond. Platform and EHR subscriptions, merchant processing fees, and payouts all get reconciled against the work, so the real cost of running online is visible.
Questions About This Area
You're in California. Can you still keep the books for my Boulder practice?
Yes. I work with mental health practices all over the country. Everything happens through online access to your accounts, email, and scheduled calls. Boulder is one hour ahead of me, so morning and afternoon calls both work fine.
What does it cost?
Full-service monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 a month, and payroll processing starts at $150 a month. Catch-up and clean-up work is quoted per engagement once I have looked at what you have. You will get a real number from me before you commit to anything.
My books are months behind. Where do we start?
We start with a conversation about what exists and what is missing. Falling behind happens to good practice owners with full caseloads. I bring the past current, then keep it current going forward.
Do you handle insurance billing or claims?
No. I do not do billing, claims, credentialing, or coding. Once payments reach your bank account, I reconcile and record them properly so your revenue picture is accurate.
Do you prepare my tax return?
No, I leave that to your tax preparer. My job is to hand them clean, reconciled, well organized books so the filing goes smoothly and nobody is chasing you for statements in March.
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.
Other Areas
