Your books, closed every month. Not once a year in a panic.
Most Hawaii small businesses reconcile their books once, right before taxes, and spend a week reconstructing what happened. We keep your books current all year so you always know where you stand.
What a monthly close actually means
Every month we pull your transactions from your connected bank and card accounts, categorize each one, match it against your statements, and lock the period once it balances. That is a close.
When it is done, your profit and loss and balance sheet reflect reality, not a guess. You approve the month in a few minutes and move on.
You keep doing what you already do
Snap a photo of a paper receipt and we read it. Keep taking card payments through Square or Stripe and we ingest them. Use a business checking account and we connect to it read-only.
There is no new app to learn and no migration project. Whatever your setup looks like today, we work from it.
Software does the volume, a person checks the judgment
The categorizing and matching is handled by software, which is why it is fast and cheap. The calls that need judgment — an odd vendor, a transfer that looks like income, a large refund — get reviewed by a real bookkeeper before the month closes.
That is the part a cheap national app leaves entirely to you.
Why current books matter in Hawaii
Cash timing is brutal for island businesses. Inventory ships slow, receivables run long, and a missed General Excise Tax deadline compounds fast.
Current books mean your GET is computed from real numbers, your cash position is honest, and your CPA gets a clean file at year end instead of a shoebox.
What you get
A live dashboard with cash on hand, accounts receivable, and profit and loss. A closed set of books every month. Categorized, reconciled transactions you can hand to any accountant.
And time back — usually eight to fifteen hours a month for a typical trade business — that you were spending on data entry.
Questions
How is this different from QuickBooks?+
QuickBooks is a tool you still operate. We do the work: the categorizing, reconciling, and closing happen for you, reviewed by a bookkeeper.
Do I need to switch off my current software?+
No. We connect to what you already use, including QuickBooks, Xero, spreadsheets, or paper.
Who sees my financial data?+
Your data sits behind authentication and row-level security. No third-party data brokers.
What does it cost?+
Monthly bookkeeping is included on the Growth plan at $199 a month.
What happens during the monthly close?+
Each close starts with bank, credit card, and payment feed imports for the month. Transactions are categorized, obvious transfers are matched, statement balances are reconciled, and unclear items are flagged before the period is locked. For Hawaii businesses, the close also keeps revenue organized for General Excise Tax reporting under HRS §237 and supports Form G-45 and annual Form G-49 preparation.
How are bank feeds reconciled?+
Connected accounts are treated as the source of record for cash movement. openbooks.fyi compares imported activity against monthly bank and card statements, matches payments, deposits, fees, and transfers, then flags missing checks, duplicate imports, or balance differences. A month is not considered closed until the ending statement balance matches the bookkeeping balance for that account.
When does the AI escalate to a human bookkeeper?+
A transaction is escalated when software cannot classify it with enough context or when the entry could affect taxes, owner draws, payroll, loans, refunds, or transfers. Examples include a vendor used for multiple purposes, a large cash deposit, a chargeback, or a payment that may be GET-taxable gross income under HRS §237. Those items are reviewed before the month closes.
How are transactions categorized?+
Categorization starts with vendor, account, amount, memo, receipt text, and prior treatment of similar transactions. Routine charges are posted automatically, while new or ambiguous vendors are routed for review. Categories are kept consistent month to month so the profit and loss statement is useful, and income categories stay clean enough to support Hawaii Form G-45 periodic GET filings.
Can openbooks.fyi handle inventory or job costing?+
Basic inventory purchases, materials, cost of goods sold, and job-related expenses can be tracked when the source data is available from receipts, invoices, payment processors, or the existing accounting file. For contractors, trades, and service businesses, jobs can be tagged by customer, project, property, or location so margins are visible before year end.
How long does onboarding take?+
Most onboarding starts with connecting bank, credit card, payroll, and payment accounts, then cleaning the current year or the most recent open months. The first close depends on transaction volume and how complete the records are. Hawaii businesses that also need GET cleanup may need prior Form G-45 filings, Form G-49 status, or BB-1 registration details reviewed before the books are fully current.
How is financial data protected?+
openbooks.fyi uses authenticated access, read-only bank connections where available, and account-level permissions so financial records are not public or shared with data brokers. Sensitive bookkeeping data is used to categorize, reconcile, close, and support tax filings such as Hawaii Form G-45 and Form G-49. Access is limited to the business account and authorized bookkeeping review.
Ready to hand this off?
Start your first month free. We onboard Hawaii businesses in small batches.