Bookkeeping for Cambridge Mental Health Practices
Remote bookkeeping for therapists, psychologists, and group practices in Cambridge. Books kept current and tax-ready by Aretha Dirden.
Bookkeeping for Cambridge Practices
Cambridge has one of the densest concentrations of mental health clinicians anywhere in the country. Walk from Harvard Square down to Central Square and you pass suite after suite of therapists, psychologists, analysts, and prescribers, most of them running practices of one to ten people. They spent years training to do clinical work. Almost none of them spent a day training to keep a set of books.
That is the part I take. My name is Aretha Dirden and I keep the books for mental health practices around the country from my office in Lancaster, California. Private practice bookkeeping is the whole of what I do. Before this I was a licensed nurse in mental health for more than fifteen years, so you will never have to explain what an intake is, why a client no-showed, or what supervision hours are. You work with me directly, every month.
Books That Stay Current
Books That Stay Current
Every month I categorize your transactions, reconcile your bank and credit card accounts, and send reports you can read between sessions. You see what the practice actually earned and what it actually cost to keep the doors open.
Catching Up on What Is Behind
Catching Up on What Is Behind
Months of unrecorded activity, or years of it, worked through period by period until the books are current. Falling behind happens to good clinicians with full caseloads. I have never once made someone feel bad about it.
Payroll You Stop Carrying
Payroll You Stop Carrying
If your practice already has a payroll system running, I process the pay runs so associates and admin staff are paid on schedule. Massachusetts payroll items are handled inside that system, and I make sure each run lands correctly in your books. Payroll setup is not something I do.
Records Your Tax Preparer Can Use
Records Your Tax Preparer Can Use
I keep your books tax-ready all year, so in January your preparer receives clean, reconciled, organized records. I do not prepare returns myself, and I am glad to work alongside whichever preparer you already trust.
Cambridge Practices I Work With
A lot of Cambridge clinicians came out of hospital systems, community agencies, or academic appointments where somebody else handled the money. Then they opened a practice and the money became theirs. Office rent that is not cheap in this city, an EHR subscription, liability insurance, a merchant fee on every card payment, and no clear picture of what is left at the end of the month.
I work with solo therapists, testing psychologists, clinical social workers, addiction counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners, group practices, and online-only practices. Most of them are on full-service bookkeeping month after month, and some start with a cleanup before that. If any of this sounds like your practice, book a consultation with me and we can talk honestly about where your books stand.
Solo Therapists and Counselors
Solo Therapists and Counselors
One clinician, a full caseload, a small office or a couple of days in a shared suite. I separate practice spending from personal spending, reconcile the fees coming through your practice management system, and show you what a week of clinical hours is really worth after expenses.
Psychologists and Testing Practices
Psychologists and Testing Practices
Assessment work does not bill like a weekly hour. An evaluation runs across several appointments, then scoring and a long report, and payment arrives well after the work began. My bookkeeping for psychologists keeps testing income, therapy income, supervision, and teaching or consulting income on their own lines so you can see which part of the practice is carrying the rest.
Group Practices With Associates
Group Practices With Associates
Two clinicians or ten, W-2 staff and 1099 associates, fee splits and salaries. I record compensation correctly, run your existing payroll on schedule, prepare year-end 1099s, and report in a way that shows what each clinician brings to the practice.
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Plenty of Cambridge practices now see clients in several states and keep a small local office for in-person days. Platform subscriptions, processor fees, and payouts that never match session totals are all part of those books. I reconcile them so your revenue is accurate and your software spending is visible.
Questions About This Area
You're in California. Can you really keep the books for a practice in Cambridge?
Yes, and I do it for practices all over the country. Everything happens through QuickBooks Online, secure file sharing, email, and video calls. The three hour time difference tends to help. When you finish your last session at six in Cambridge, it is midafternoon here and I am still at my desk.
What does monthly bookkeeping cost?
Full-service bookkeeping starts at $165 a month. The exact number depends on how many accounts you have and how much activity runs through them. I will give you a real quote after I look at your setup.
Do you handle my insurance billing?
No. Claims, credentialing, and coding stay with your biller or billing service. I pick things up on the money side, matching the deposits that land in your bank account to your books so your revenue is recorded accurately.
I have not touched my books since I opened. Is that a problem?
It is common and it is fixable. I have started with practices carrying two years of unrecorded transactions. We gather the statements, work through it period by period, and get you current. No lectures about how it happened.
Can you run payroll for my group practice?
Yes, as long as your payroll system is already up and running. I process the pay runs so your associates and admin staff are paid on time. I do not set up new payroll systems. Massachusetts payroll items live inside your payroll system, and I make sure every run is recorded correctly in your books.
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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