Professional Services
You sell expertise and bill for your time. We track what projects actually cost and keep your books clean so you can focus on client work.
The Industry
Professional service firms sell expertise. You might run an engineering practice, architecture studio, IT consulting firm, marketing agency, or staffing company. Clients pay for your thinking and your ability to solve problems they cannot solve themselves. The work itself is what you trained for.
The business operations are a different story. You manage project timelines, client retainers, subcontractor invoices, and staff payroll. Some clients pay upfront, others take 60 days. Revenue comes in waves while expenses happen on a fixed schedule. The books become an afterthought because the client work always takes priority.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Engineering firms, architects, IT consultants, marketing and creative agencies, staffing companies, management consultants. Any firm in Metro Detroit that bills for professional expertise delivered to other businesses.
The Friction
The Friction
Billable hours get tracked for invoicing but nothing else gets the same attention. Expenses pile up without being assigned to projects. You know you are busy and revenue looks healthy, but you cannot explain which clients actually make money and which ones barely break even.
What We Handle
We set up your books to track profitability by project or client. Every expense, subcontractor payment, and labor cost gets allocated properly. You stop guessing which engagements are profitable and start seeing real numbers that inform how you price future work.
We also handle the compliance work that tends to slip through the cracks. That means collecting W-9s from freelancers and contractors, filing their 1099s in January, processing payroll for your staff, and calculating quarterly estimates so you are not caught off guard at tax time.
Project and Client Profitability
Project and Client Profitability
Revenue and expenses tracked by engagement. You know what each project cost including your time, your team’s hours, and any subcontractors you brought in. Historical data helps you price future work based on what things actually cost to deliver.
Payroll and Contractor Management
Payroll and Contractor Management
Staff payroll processed on schedule without eating up your time. Subcontractor documentation collected upfront so January 1099 filing is straightforward. Quarterly estimates calculated from actual income so there are no surprises when April arrives.
Common Problems
Professional service firms often track time meticulously for billing purposes but ignore everything else. You know exactly how many hours went into the Henderson project, but you have no idea what you actually netted after paying the freelance developer and covering software costs. The project looked profitable on paper until you added up everything it took to deliver.
Cash flow becomes unpredictable when clients pay on different schedules. A large retainer from one client can mask the fact that three others are 45 days past due. Payroll is due Friday, rent is due next week, and you are waiting on checks that may or may not arrive in time.
No Visibility on Project Margin
No Visibility on Project Margin
Hours get tracked but costs do not. Overhead is ignored. A $25,000 project might have cost $21,000 to deliver once you factor in the contractor you hired, the software subscriptions you used, and your own time managing the engagement instead of billing elsewhere.
Quarterly Estimates and Tax Surprises
Quarterly Estimates and Tax Surprises
Self-employment tax hits hard for pass-through entities. Quarterly estimates get skipped because nobody calculated what was owed. April arrives with a five-figure tax bill and no savings set aside because you did not see it coming.
What Changes
You start pricing based on real data instead of instinct. You can see that website projects average 35% margin while strategy engagements hit 52%. You stop taking work that does not pay and you negotiate better terms on engagements that historically underperform.
The administrative burden shrinks. Books get closed every month without you touching them. Payroll happens on schedule. When your CPA asks for financials at tax time, you forward a clean file instead of spending a weekend trying to catch up.
Better Pricing Decisions
Better Pricing Decisions
Historical project data shows what things actually cost to deliver. You price future work based on reality, not guesswork. Proposals become profitable by design because you know your margins before you send the quote.
Time for Real Work
Time for Real Work
Clients pay for your expertise, not your bookkeeping skills. Hand off the financial administration and spend those hours on billable work or building relationships that bring in new business. The books get handled without pulling you away from what you do best.
Metro Detroit's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us about your business and your current bookkeeping situation. We'll listen, answer your questions, and give you a clear quote.
