Professional services accounting & fractional CFO

Financial clarity built for the way services firms actually work.

ClearlyKept provides managed accounting and fractional CFO services for professional services firms: consultants, agencies, law practices, and advisory businesses that manage project-based revenue, utilization, and the operational discipline needed to grow well.

Why professional services is different

Revenue earned incrementally creates accounting complexity that standard bookkeeping systems aren't built to handle.

Professional services firms sell expertise, not products. That means revenue recognition, work-in-progress tracking, and project-level profitability are all moving targets that standard bookkeeping systems aren't designed to handle cleanly.

Add partner distributions, utilization-based compensation, and retainer versus project revenue mix to the equation, and you have a financial picture that demands both accounting precision and strategic interpretation. We're built to deliver both.

Core challenges

The financial challenges professional services firms face.

Firms managing project-based work face a set of financial pressures that general bookkeeping simply doesn't address.

Project-based revenue recognition

When does revenue get recognized: at contract signing, at project completion, or as milestones are hit? For firms running multiple active engagements simultaneously, getting this wrong doesn't just create messy books. It creates a distorted picture of profitability that leads to bad pricing and resourcing decisions.

We set up revenue recognition policies built around your billing model, including retainer, milestone, or time-and-materials, so your P&L reflects what's actually been earned, not just what's been billed.

Utilization & margin visibility

Utilization rate drives everything in a services business. But many firms don't have clean systems connecting time tracking to financial reporting, so they can't see which clients, projects, or team members are actually profitable until it's too late to act.

We build reporting that connects your operational data to your financials, giving you project-level margin visibility and utilization tracking that makes capacity decisions clear instead of instinctive.

Partner distributions & compensation structure

Partnership structures, draw accounts, and profit-sharing arrangements create accounting complexity that standard payroll and bookkeeping workflows aren't equipped for. Misclassified distributions, timing mismatches, and tax treatment errors compound quickly in multi-partner environments.

We structure partner capital accounts, draw tracking, and year-end distribution calculations correctly from the start, so every partner's financial picture is clean, consistent, and defensible at tax time.

Cash flow volatility in project-based work

Services revenue is lumpy. A large project completion, a slow client payment, or a gap between contract signing and first invoice can create cash flow swings that feel alarming even when the business is healthy. Without forward-looking visibility, you're reacting to problems instead of managing through them.

We build rolling cash flow forecasts around your project pipeline and billing schedule so you can see what's coming, plan for gaps, and make hiring and investment decisions with a clear picture of what's ahead.

Scaling without losing margin

Growing a services firm means adding headcount before revenue catches up. Every hire creates fixed cost commitments that have to be absorbed by existing margin, but without clean unit economics per client or service line, it's nearly impossible to know what growth actually costs.

We help you build the financial model for responsible growth: service-line profitability, headcount capacity planning, and the financial infrastructure to support strategic decisions as your firm scales.

How we help

How ClearlyKept solves these challenges.

Monthly bookkeeping & revenue recognition

Clean books that reflect how your firm actually earns revenue.

We handle your monthly close, reconciliations, and revenue recognition policies, built around your specific billing model so your financials tell an accurate story every month.

What's included

Monthly close & reconciliations
Revenue recognition setup
WIP & deferred revenue tracking
Partner draw & distribution accounts
Accounts receivable management
Project-level P&L reporting

Utilization & margin reporting

Know which clients and projects are actually profitable.

Management dashboards that surface project-level margin, utilization trends, and service-line performance, so resourcing and pricing decisions are grounded in real numbers.

Cash flow forecasting & growth modeling

Plan headcount and capacity decisions with a clear financial picture.

Rolling forecasts built around your project pipeline, billing cadence, and growth plans, so you can hire strategically and invest confidently as the firm scales.

Common questions

Frequently asked questions.

What types of professional services firms do you work with?: We work with consulting firms, marketing and creative agencies, law practices, accounting and advisory businesses, and other expertise-driven service organizations, typically with $1M–$20M in annual revenue, that need cleaner books, better reporting, and forward-looking financial support.
How do you handle revenue recognition for project-based work?: We design your revenue recognition policy around your billing model, whether that's time-and-materials, fixed-fee milestones, or retainer arrangements. We track work-in-progress and deferred revenue properly so your P&L reflects what's been earned, not just what's been invoiced or collected.
Can you help with partner distributions and capital accounts?: Yes. We structure partner capital accounts, draw tracking, and year-end distribution calculations correctly from the start. This covers multi-partner environments, guaranteed payments, and profit-sharing arrangements, including proper tax treatment so there are no surprises at year-end.
Do you provide project-level profitability reporting?: Yes. When you have the right time-tracking and billing data in place, we can build project-level P&L reporting that shows margin by client, project, or service line. This gives you the visibility to make better pricing decisions, identify unprofitable engagements early, and understand where your firm's capacity is being used well.
What makes ClearlyKept different from a standard bookkeeper for services firms?: Most bookkeepers manage transactions. We manage the full financial picture, including revenue recognition, project economics, partner structures, and forward-looking cash flow. We understand that services firm financials require both accounting precision and strategic interpretation, and we deliver both as an extension of your leadership team.

Ready when you are

Professional services firms that understand their margins grow faster and more sustainably.

We work with professional services firms that want clean numbers, stronger margin visibility, and a financial partner who understands how services businesses actually grow.

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