Bookkeeping for Des Moines Private Practices
Bookkeeping for therapists, counselors, and group practices in Des Moines. Books kept current and tax-ready, working directly with Aretha.
Bookkeeping for Des Moines Practices
I am Aretha Dirden, and I keep the books for mental health practices in and around Des Moines. Before this work I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse in mental health, so when you mention a group that ran long or a payment from October that finally showed up, I know what you are talking about. Private practice bookkeeping is all I do, and mental health practices are the only kind I take.
Des Moines practices tend to be steady. You built a caseload, you kept it, and the practice grew a little each year without much drama. The bookkeeping is usually what slips, because it is the one task with no client waiting on it. Everything I do happens remotely, so we can work together whether your office is downtown, out in West Des Moines, or in a quiet room at your house in Ankeny. You work with me, not with a rotating team.
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. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 and gives you the thing most owners want most, which is a straight answer about what the practice earned and what it kept.
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Catch-Up and Clean-Up
Some practices come to me with nothing recorded since the day they opened. Others have a year of entries nobody trusts. Both are fixable. I bring the history current, reconcile every account, and then we settle into a monthly rhythm so it stops being a yearly emergency.
Payroll for Practices With Staff
Payroll for Practices With Staff
If your payroll system is already up and running, I run it. Every pay period processed on time so your clinicians and front desk staff are paid right. I do not set up new payroll systems, and I say that plainly before we start so there are no surprises.
Tax-Ready All Year
Tax-Ready All Year
I do not prepare tax returns. I keep your books in a shape your tax preparer can work from without sending you a long list of questions in March. Clean categories, reconciled accounts, and 1099s for your contract associates when January arrives.
Practices Across the Des Moines Metro
Des Moines carries a lot of the state’s mental health care. Practices here see people from Polk County and also from towns two or three hours out, because there are only so many providers in between. Waiting lists stay long, referrals keep coming, and a solo practice can turn into a three clinician practice before the owner ever decided to become a business owner.
The practices I work with are small, usually one to ten people. Therapists and counselors, psychologists, clinical social workers, addiction and recovery counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners, group practices, and ABA providers. If that sounds like you and the books have been sitting in the back of your mind, book a consultation with me and we will talk about where things stand.
Therapists and Counselors
Therapists and Counselors
LMFTs, LPCs, and LCSWs in solo practice. I reconcile the deposits from your practice management system against your bank, keep private pay and insurance payments straight even though they arrive on different schedules, and separate practice spending from personal spending so the numbers actually mean something.
Group Practices With Associates
Group Practices With Associates
Adding clinicians makes the books more interesting. Splits or salaries, W-2 staff alongside 1099 associates, and a real question about whether the last hire is paying for itself. I record compensation correctly and report in a way that shows margin by clinician.
Telehealth Reaching Greater Iowa
Telehealth Reaching Greater Iowa
An office in Des Moines and a good camera can cover the whole state, and plenty of practices here run that way. For telehealth practices I reconcile platform payouts and processor fees, keep the software subscription stack visible as the real cost it is, and keep home office records tidy for your tax preparer.
Prescribers and Behavioral Health Teams
Prescribers and Behavioral Health Teams
Psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, and ABA providers run at a different pace, with higher visit volume and more people on payroll. I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse in mental health, so the language and the daily rhythm of these practices are already familiar to me.
Questions About This Area
You're in California. Can you really keep the books for a practice in Des Moines?
Yes, and most of my clients live nowhere near Lancaster. The work happens through secure access to your accounts and a few conversations a month. I am two hours behind Central time, so a question you send after your last session usually gets an answer that same day.
What does monthly bookkeeping cost?
Monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 a month. The exact number depends on how many accounts you have and how much moves through them. I give you a real quote after I look at your practice.
My books are two years behind. Is that a problem?
It is common, and it is fixable. I take the statements you have, record and reconcile period by period, and get you current. Monthly service after that keeps it from happening again. No lectures about how you got here.
Do you handle insurance billing or claims?
No. I do not do claims, credentialing, or coding. What I do is make sure the money landing in your bank account is recorded correctly and matches what your practice system says you earned.
Do you prepare my tax return?
No, that stays with your tax preparer. My job is to hand them books that are accurate, categorized, and reconciled so filing goes quickly and nobody is asking you about a deposit from last April.
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
