Financial Clarity That Reflects How Your Firm Actually Works
Monthly accounting built around engagements, time records, and partner structures — not adapted from a product-business template that was never meant for practices like yours.
Start a ConversationA monthly picture of your firm's performance — in terms that matter to partners
When the numbers on your financials don't quite connect to how your firm earns — when the P&L misses WIP, when utilization is a manual exercise, when distributions happen by feel rather than by formula — it's not a discipline problem. It's an accounting structure problem.
This service gives your practice a financial record that tracks what's billed, what's collected, and what's still in progress. Monthly reports include utilization rates and revenue per professional. Partner distributions are supported with clear calculations. The books reflect your firm's actual economics.
Reports with utilization, realization, and WIP — delivered on a schedule your partners can rely on.
Books organized around client engagements, not just transaction categories — so the data means something.
Partner distribution support built into the monthly cycle — no separate exercise at year-end.
Most accounting setups were built for a different kind of business
Professional services firms earn revenue in a particular way — through time, through deliverables, through ongoing relationships. Recognizing that revenue correctly, tracking it across open engagements, and reporting on it in terms that inform decisions: these aren't things a standard bookkeeping setup handles naturally.
The result, for many practices, is a financial record that tells you what happened but not what it means. WIP lives in a spreadsheet. Utilization requires a manual pull. Partner allocations happen at year-end, with some friction. The books are technically accurate — they just don't help you run the firm.
WIP tracked in a separate spreadsheet that doesn't connect to the financials
Utilization figures calculated manually, days or weeks after the month closes
Partner distributions decided without a clear calculation framework, causing tension at year-end
Revenue per professional unknown until someone builds a one-off report to find out
Accounting structured around your firm's actual revenue model
The foundation of this service is engagement-aware bookkeeping — a financial structure where every transaction connects back to a client engagement, billing arrangement, or professional allocation. This isn't a workaround; it's how the books should be organized for a time-based billing practice.
From that foundation, WIP tracking becomes an accounting output rather than a separate exercise. Utilization and revenue-per-professional emerge from the monthly close. Partner distribution calculations draw from the same data set as the financials. The pieces fit together because they were designed to.
Work-in-Progress Recognition
WIP tracked across all open engagements and recognized against milestones or recorded time — not just invoice dates. The balance sheet reflects what's actually earned and unbilled.
Utilization and Realization Reporting
Monthly utilization and realization rates by professional, derived from the same records used for billing. Partners see productivity and billing efficiency without a separate calculation run.
Partner Distribution Calculations
Distribution calculations tied to the monthly financials, supporting points-based, eat-what-you-kill, and hybrid arrangements. Allocations follow a consistent methodology rather than an annual negotiation.
Time-Based Billing Alignment
Time records reconciled against financials monthly, catching discrepancies before invoices go out and reducing the write-down exposure that comes from catching problems later.
What the monthly rhythm looks like
The engagement begins with a setup period — typically two to three weeks — where we map your billing arrangements, engagement types, and partner structure into your accounting configuration. After that, the work follows a predictable monthly cycle.
Books finalized within five business days
All transactions reconciled, WIP updated, time records reviewed against billings. You receive confirmation when the close is complete.
Performance summary with the numbers that matter
Utilization rates, realization percentages, revenue per professional, WIP balance, and distribution calculations — formatted for partner review.
An accountant who knows your firm
Questions about billing, allocation, or financial structure don't require an explanation from scratch. We already know how your practice is organized.
Year-end summary and configuration check
Annual review of your accounting setup to ensure it still reflects how your firm has evolved — new partners, new engagement types, changed billing arrangements.
$750 per month
A fixed monthly rate covering the full scope below. No variable charges for additional engagements, no separate billing for distribution calculations. One number, consistent each month.
Engagement-aware monthly bookkeeping — all transactions, reconciliations, and WIP entries
Monthly performance report with utilization, realization, and revenue per professional
Partner distribution calculation support using your firm's allocation structure
Time record reconciliation and billing alignment review each month
Ongoing access for questions on billing, allocation, or financial structure
Annual configuration review and setup adjustment as your firm grows or changes
Suitable for practices with five to fifty professionals. Initial setup fee may apply depending on current accounting state — discussed during your first conversation.
The methodology behind the numbers
Professional services accounting works because it starts with the right categories. Rather than mapping your income to general revenue lines, we organize everything by engagement — which means every financial question has a natural answer. Which clients are profitable? Which engagements ran over? Where is WIP sitting?
Engagement mapping at setup
We begin by cataloguing your active client engagements, billing rates, and contract types — fixed-fee, time-and-materials, retainer. This becomes the foundation of your chart of accounts.
WIP recognition tied to actual activity
Each month, WIP is updated based on time recorded and deliverables completed — not projected revenue. This keeps the balance sheet honest and avoids surprises at invoice time.
Metrics calculated from the same data
Utilization rates and revenue per professional come from the same records used for the close — not a parallel spreadsheet. This means the numbers are consistent and the close doesn't require a second pass.
Distributions calculated against actual results
Partner allocations are calculated from the monthly financials using your firm's agreed methodology. The calculation is traceable and consistent, which makes the conversation around distributions more straightforward.
We work until the setup is right
Getting the accounting structure right for a professional services firm takes some care in the beginning. We don't move to monthly billing until the setup is working — until WIP recognition is correct, metrics are pulling cleanly, and you're comfortable with how the reports look.
Setup satisfaction
If after the initial setup period the configuration doesn't reflect your firm accurately, we continue adjusting — at no additional charge — until it does.
Initial conversation at no charge
Before any commitment, we spend time understanding how your firm operates and whether this service is the right fit. No obligation, no pitch — just a conversation about your practice.
Three steps from here to a working setup
Initial conversation
We talk through your firm's current accounting setup, what's working, and what isn't. You'll leave the conversation with a clear picture of what this service involves and whether it fits your situation.
Setup and configuration
Over two to three weeks, we map your engagements, billing arrangements, and partner structure into the accounting system. We review the output with you before going live.
Monthly cycle begins
From the first month close, you receive your performance report within five business days. The cycle repeats, and the reporting gets more useful as the history builds.
After you reach out via the contact form, we'll respond within one business day to arrange an initial call. No preparation needed on your end — just a willingness to talk through how your firm operates.
Your firm's numbers should tell you something useful
If monthly reports, WIP tracking, and distribution calculations that actually connect to how your practice operates would make your work as a partner easier, we'd like to talk.
Get in TouchExplore what else Brindlecroft offers
Engagement Profitability Analysis
Quarterly analysis comparing billed and collected revenue against costs — identifying which engagements are driving margin and which are quietly losing it.
Partner Compensation Modeling
Custom compensation models for points-based, eat-what-you-kill, or hybrid structures — with annual modeling sessions and mid-year sensitivity checks.