Bookkeeping for service businesses
Generic bookkeeping misses the details that matter most in your industry: trust accounts, job costing, WIP, prepaid packages. These four are where we go deepest.
Prefer to talk? Call 512-348-6584.
Law firms
Trust accounting and matter costs
Law firm books live and die on the trust account. We keep it reconciled every month and keep the firm's own money cleanly separated from your clients'.
Behind on the books? See cleanup pricingSound familiar?
- Trust balances that never quite tie out
- Client costs advanced and never billed back
- Matter expenses mixed with firm overhead
- Partner draws without a schedule
What we handle
- Three-way trust reconciliation Each month, the trust bank statement, the trust ledger and every client ledger reconciled to each other.
- IOLTA compliance Trust and operating funds kept separate, with the records your state bar expects to see.
- Bar audit support Reconciliation history and documentation organized and ready if the bar asks.
- Client cost advances Filing fees, experts and other costs advanced for clients tracked by matter, so they get billed back.
- Matter-based expense tracking Costs assigned to the right matter, separate from firm overhead.
- Attorney draw schedules Draws planned against what the firm actually earned.
Engineering firms
Project costs and WIP
Engineering firms bill on hours, milestones and fixed fees, often all at once. We set the books up to show what each project actually earns.
Behind on the books? See cleanup pricingSound familiar?
- No idea which projects make money
- A WIP schedule nobody updates
- Hours worked that never reach an invoice
- An overhead rate that is a guess
What we handle
- Project-based cost tracking Labor, subconsultants and expenses assigned to the right project, with a P&L for each.
- WIP schedules Work in progress updated monthly, so revenue is recognized when it is earned.
- Billable hours reconciliation Time entries checked against invoices to catch hours that never got billed.
- Overhead rate and multiplier Your overhead rate and multiplier calculated from real numbers, ready for proposals and agency contracts.
- Contractor payments Subconsultant payments tracked by project, with W-9s and 1099s handled.
General contractors
Job costing and retainage
In construction, the margin lives in the details: what each sub costs, what is held in retainage, and whether the job is still on budget. We track it job by job.
Behind on the books? See cleanup pricingSound familiar?
- Jobs that looked profitable until closeout
- Change orders that never made it to the books
- Retainage nobody is tracking
- Lien waivers missing at the end of a job
What we handle
- Job costing Labor, materials, subs and equipment assigned to the right job, so each one shows its real margin.
- WIP and over/under billings A monthly WIP schedule showing which jobs are over- or under-billed against their percent complete.
- Change orders Change orders tracked by job, so the budget and the billing both reflect them.
- Retainage Retainage you hold and retainage held from you tracked separately, so the balance sheet tells the truth.
- Subcontractor payments and lien waivers Sub payments matched to jobs, with lien waivers tracked so closeout is not a scramble.
- Budget vs actual by job Each job compared to its budget monthly, an early warning before an overrun becomes a loss.
Salons & medspas
Services, retail and prepaid revenue
Salons and medspas run several revenue models at once: services, retail, booth rent, packages and gift cards. We give each one its own line, so you can see what is actually working.
Behind on the books? See cleanup pricingSound familiar?
- Gift cards and packages booked as sales
- Retail and service revenue in one bucket
- Commission payroll that takes all weekend
- Sales tax collected but not tied out
What we handle
- Gift cards, packages and memberships Prepaid sales recorded as unearned revenue and recognized as services are delivered.
- Service and retail revenue split Service revenue and retail product sales tracked separately.
- Backbar vs retail inventory Products used in services kept apart from retail stock, with the cost of retail goods tracked.
- Booth rent Booth rent recorded as its own income line and reconciled to what each renter owes.
- Commission payroll and tips Commission and tiered pay run correctly, with tips documented and reported.
- Sales tax Taxable retail sales separated from nontaxable services, and Texas sales tax returns filed.
FAQ
Something not covered here? Call 512-348-6584 or ask in the form below.
My business isn't one of these four. Can you still help?
Yes. These are where we go deepest, but plenty of other service businesses need the same things: clean monthly books, payroll and a CPA-ready year-end. Tell us about yours.
Do you handle IOLTA trust accounting?
Yes. We reconcile trust accounts three ways every month, keep client ledgers tied to the trust balance, and keep the records organized for a bar audit.
Do contractors need special software for job costing?
Not usually. QuickBooks Online handles job costing well when the file is set up for it. If yours isn't, we fix the setup first.
How do you handle gift cards and packages?
As unearned revenue. A gift card or package is money you owe in services until the client uses it, so it is recognized as revenue when the service is delivered, not when it is sold.
Can you clean up books from a previous bookkeeper first?
Yes. Cleanup is priced upfront and includes industry-specific work like trust reconciliations, job costs and commission payroll.
Let's talk about your books
Tell us about your business and we'll reach out within one business day to schedule your free, no-pressure consultation.
Prefer to talk first? Call us at 512-348-6584.