Bookkeeping for Milwaukee Mental Health Practices
Bookkeeping for therapists, counselors, and group practices around Milwaukee. Books kept current, organized, and tax-ready by Aretha Dirden.
Bookkeeping for Milwaukee Mental Health Practices
I am Aretha Dirden, and mental health practices are the only kind of business I keep books for. Bookkeeping for therapists, counselors, psychologists, clinical social workers, and prescribing clinicians is the whole of my work, and I do it remotely for practice owners around Milwaukee and across the country.
Before I opened QuickBooks for a living, I spent more than 15 years as a licensed nurse working in mental health. So when you mention a heavy no-show week, the supervision hours you pay for, or the way private pay and insurance money show up on completely different schedules, I already know what you mean. Practice owners come to me wanting the same four things. Books that are current, financials that are ready for tax time, a clear view of the practice’s financial health, and honest numbers on what the practice actually earns.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Monthly Bookkeeping
Transactions categorized, bank and credit card accounts reconciled, and a monthly report you can read between sessions. Starting at $165 a month, with me available to walk you through anything that does not make sense.
Catching Up and Cleaning Up
Catching Up and Cleaning Up
If months or years of records were never done, catch-up bookkeeping brings everything current. If records exist but nobody trusts the numbers, I find the errors, fix them properly, and reconcile every account so you can believe your own reports again.
Payroll and 1099s
Payroll and 1099s
For practices whose payroll system is already up and running, I process every pay period on time so your clinicians and staff are paid right. At year end I prepare and file 1099s for associate clinicians, contract supervisors, and vendors.
Tax-Ready Books
Tax-Ready Books
I do not prepare tax returns. What I do is keep your books in the shape your Wisconsin tax preparer needs them, all year long, so the handoff takes a day instead of three weeks of scrambling in March.
Milwaukee Practices I Work With
The Milwaukee metro has a deep bench of mental health professionals. Solo offices downtown and in Bay View, therapists sharing suites in Wauwatosa and Shorewood, counselors serving families out through West Allis, Greenfield, Brookfield, and Waukesha. Many of the owners I talk to came out of hospital, county, or agency work, and private practice is the first time they have ever had to keep business records of their own.
My clients run practices with roughly one to ten people, from a solo caseload to a small group with associates and admin help. If your books are behind, or they are technically done and you still cannot answer basic questions about your own practice, I would be glad to talk it through. Book a consultation with me and we will look at where things stand.
Therapists and Counselors
Therapists and Counselors
Solo and small talk-therapy practices where session revenue comes in from a few directions at once. I reconcile what your practice management system says was collected against what actually reached your bank, and keep business spending separated from personal.
Clinical Social Workers
Clinical Social Workers
Bookkeeping for LCSWs who often build practices on modest fees and generous sliding scales. When the margins are thin, knowing the real numbers is what keeps the practice sustainable, and that is the part I take off your plate.
Group Practices and ABA Teams
Group Practices and ABA Teams
Practices with associates, behavior technicians, or admin staff. Compensation splits and salaries recorded correctly, W-2 and 1099 people each handled the right way, payroll run dependably, and reporting that shows what each clinician contributes.
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Telehealth and Hybrid Practices
Plenty of Milwaukee clinicians moved a good share of their caseload online and never moved it back, especially once January hits. Platform subscriptions, EHR fees, and merchant processing fees all get reconciled instead of quietly eating your margin.
Questions About This Area
Can you work with my Milwaukee practice if you are based in California?
Yes. I work remotely with mental health practices all over the country, and Milwaukee is no different. We talk by phone or video, you give me access to your accounts and statements, and I do the work myself. You are not handed off to a rotating team.
What does bookkeeping cost for a small practice?
Full-service monthly bookkeeping starts at $165 a month, and payroll processing starts at $150 a month for practices whose payroll is already set up. Catch-up and clean-up work is quoted per engagement once I see what you have. You will get a real number before you commit to anything.
Do you prepare tax returns?
No, I do not prepare returns. I keep your books accurate and organized all year so your tax preparer has clean numbers to work from. If they have a question about a category or want a report in a certain format, they can come straight to me.
My books have not been touched in over a year. Can you still help?
Yes, and you are in good company. I gather your statements and account access, then record and reconcile period by period until you are current. There is no lecture about how it got that way. Once you are caught up, monthly service keeps it from happening again.
Do you handle insurance claims or credentialing?
I do not do insurance billing, claims, credentialing, or coding. Your billing stays right where it is. What I do is reconcile the deposits and remittances that land in your bank account so your revenue is recorded correctly and your reports reflect what you actually 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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