Bookkeeping for Burlington Mental Health Practices
Bookkeeping for therapists, counselors, and small group practices in Burlington. Books kept current and tax-ready by Aretha Dirden.
Bookkeeping for Burlington Practices
Burlington is a small city with a lot of clinicians in it. Between the hospital, the community mental health agencies, and the training programs at UVM, there is a steady stream of people who spend years in agency or hospital settings and then open a practice of their own. When they do, they usually find that the clinical work feels natural and the business side feels like a job nobody trained them for. That second part is where I come in.
I keep books for mental health practices and nothing else. My full-service bookkeeping runs on a steady monthly rhythm. Transactions categorized, bank and credit card accounts reconciled, and reports you can read between sessions without needing a translator. Your records stay tax-ready for whoever prepares your return, and if a number on a report doesn’t make sense, you ask me and I explain it in plain language.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Monthly Bookkeeping
Deposits from your practice management system matched to what actually hit the bank, expenses sorted, accounts reconciled, and a monthly profit and loss you can trust. You get a real picture of what your caseload earns and what the practice costs to run.
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Some practices never got their books done. Others have entries that were made in a hurry and got tangled. I handle both, quietly and without judgment, then keep things current from there so the backlog doesn’t come back.
QuickBooks Set Up for a Practice
QuickBooks Set Up for a Practice
I am a QuickBooks ProAdvisor, certified at Level 2 with a Gold badge. For a new Burlington practice, that means a chart of accounts built around how a therapy practice actually spends money, accounts connected properly, and training so you feel comfortable in the file.
Payroll and Year-End 1099s
Payroll and Year-End 1099s
If your payroll system is already up and running, I process each pay period so your associates and admin staff get paid right and on time. Setting up a brand new payroll system is outside what I do. At year end I prepare 1099s for contract clinicians, supervisors, and vendors.
Burlington Practices I Work With
Chittenden County holds more clinicians than a city this size would suggest, and almost all of those practices are small. One person with a rented room downtown or in the South End. An owner with two or three associates and someone answering the phone. That is the size I built bookkeeping for mental health professionals around, roughly one to ten people, where the owner is also the one seeing clients all week.
Vermont practices have their own rhythms. Caseloads thin out when students leave for the summer and fill back up hard in January. Sliding scale fees are common here, private pay and insurance payments arrive on different schedules, and a single practice can serve clients hours away from Burlington. Good books make all of that visible instead of leaving you to guess. If the money side of your practice has been sitting in the back of your mind, book a consultation with me and we will talk it through.
Solo Therapists and Counselors
Solo Therapists and Counselors
One clinician, one set of books, and a lot of small pieces. Session revenue reconciled, business spending separated from personal, and a monthly report that shows what a week of clinical hours is really worth after rent, EHR fees, and licensing costs.
Group Practices With Associates
Group Practices With Associates
Once you add clinicians, the books have to answer harder questions. Splits and salaries recorded correctly, W-2 staff and 1099 contractors kept straight, and reporting that shows margin per clinician so you know whether the next hire helps.
Telehealth Practices Serving All of Vermont
Telehealth Practices Serving All of Vermont
A Burlington clinician’s caseload can stretch to the Northeast Kingdom and down to Bennington. For online-first practices I reconcile platform payouts and processor fees, track the subscription stack as the real cost it is, and keep home office records clean for your tax preparer.
Recovery Work and Prescribing Practices
Recovery Work and Prescribing Practices
Recovery counselors and psychiatric nurse practitioners run on volume and mixed payment arrangements. I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse in mental health before I did this, so the terminology and the pace of your week are familiar to me, and the books get built to match how you actually work.
Questions About This Area
You're in California and I'm in Burlington. Does that actually work?
It does. Every client I have works with me remotely, and Vermont is no different from anywhere else. We talk by phone or video at times that fit around your sessions, and statements and reports move back and forth digitally. The three hour time difference tends to help. You can send something at the end of your day and I have room to look at it before yours starts again.
What does bookkeeping cost for a small Burlington practice?
Full-service monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 a month. If your books need catching up or cleaning up first, I quote that separately once I have seen what exists. You get the number before you commit to anything.
Do you prepare my tax return?
No, I don't prepare returns. My job is to keep your books accurate and reconciled all year so your tax preparer gets organized records in the spring instead of a pile of statements. Most preparers are glad to receive books that are already in order.
My books haven't been touched in a long time. Is that a problem?
It is one of the most common reasons people call me, and there is no lecture waiting for you. Whether it is four months or three years, I gather the statements, record and reconcile period by period, and get you current. Then monthly work keeps it from happening again.
Do you handle insurance billing or claims?
No. I don't do claims, coding, or credentialing, and I won't pretend otherwise. What I do is record the money that actually lands in your account and reconcile it against what your practice management system shows, so your books reflect real dollars collected.
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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