Project Accounting Guide For Consultants & Consulting Firms

As a CPA consultant, you analyze the numbers and trends and provide thoughtful, detailed insight to improve your client’s business going forward. If you succeed in forging a path to your client’s growth, you also create a solid footing to continue working with them long-term as a business partner and advisor. Caryl Ramsey has years of experience assisting in different aspects of bookkeeping, taxes, and customer service. She uses a variety of accounting software for setting up client information, reconciling accounts, coding expenses, running financial reports, and preparing tax returns. She is also experienced in setting up corporations with the State Corporation Commission and the IRS.

Does Your Consulting Business Have Complex Needs and a Growing Team?

• Expense reports can easily be created from the digital archive of expense data and come with receipts attached so that the photo of the receipt can be viewed along with the reported information.
• By handling complex financial tasks, consultants allow businesses to focus on core operations, increasing productivity and efficiency.
• Vacancy rates in downtown Calgary reached about 30 percent, a record high, as of January 2021.
• Shoeboxed streamlines the process of expense tracking and calculating tax deductions.
• QuickBooks Online is our best small-business accounting software because of its robust features in daily accounting and reporting.

Given that ERP is complex, it gives consulting firms a wide array of tools in accounting and finance, human resources (HR) and client management, which will help all departments in the business. Project accounting and time tracking features help consultants track billable time and expense. With customized reports, users can assess project performance, cost efficiency and income opportunities. Sage offers customized invoices to match the consulting business’s branding and a mobile app that lets you create and send invoices, record expenses, and view graphs of your financial performance while on the go. Xero is a cloud-based accounting software solution for consulting businesses that is scalable and easy to use.

FreshBooks: Best Overall Accounting Software for Consultants

Some firms may also attempt to practice project accounting mid-project as a way to inform prioritization of project management efforts and in-progress engagements that may be at risk of going off the rails. On the app, you can perform all the same functions as the web-based interface, including sending invoices, receiving payments, entering bills, uploading receipts, and recording time worked. The app also allows you to assign expenses to customers or projects and time worked to customers or projects. In the world of accounting software for consultants, it is essential to have seamless integration capabilities and a robust ecosystem to ensure smooth operations.

Smarter Workflows Keep You On Top of Client Work

Therefore, choosing accounting software that integrates with various add-ons is crucial. These integrations can expand the software’s primary functionality to cater to the unique needs of the consulting business. Accounting software can help track income and expenses, giving an insight into the overall financial health of the business.

• This detailed guide will help you find and buy the right accounting software for consultants for you and your business.
• Alternatives like FreshBooks and Xero can provide similar features and functionality for invoicing, inventory management, expense tracking, bank reconciliation, and financial reporting.
• It involves a purposeful journey that combines rigorous academic studies, professional certifications, hands-on experience, and the development of a diverse skill set.
• The icing on the cake is that automation is also packed with tools for customization such as the ability to set up rules to automate workflows.
• The dashboard will have some variation of those modules alongside other supplemental features.
• Their unique skill set makes them valuable assets to any organization, keeping their services in high demand.

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When selecting accounting software for consultants, it’s important to consider the pricing model that best fits their budget and business needs. There are several pricing options available, ranging from free accounting software to premium plans with advanced features. In this section, we will discuss various aspects of pricing models to help consultants make an informed decision. For consultants, having bookkeeping for consultants access to reliable and prompt support is an essential component when choosing an accounting software. Many industry-leading software platforms offer a range of customer service options to ensure they can meet the needs of consulting firms and individual consultants. QuickBooks Online is our best small-business accounting software because of its robust features in daily accounting and reporting.

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• This often involves extensive discussions with the client and a thorough review of the company’s financial records and business practices.
• They encounter complex situations that require innovative solutions, ensuring their work is far from mundane.
• Our evaluation is centered on the platform’s capabilities in helping consultants manage their practice and analyze performance.
• QuickBooks Desktop Premier Professional Services Edition is the best desktop accounting software for consultants.
• These plans are suitable for high-growth businesses or those with complex needs.
• The system integrates with payroll, automating hourly pay conversions, which makes it easy to pay employees.
• You can be reasonably certain of the accuracy of your data if you monitor your bank feeds closely, even without a separate reconciliation feature.

You can stuff your receipts into one of our Magic Envelopes (prepaid postage within the US). Use our receipt tracker + receipt scanner app (iPhone, iPad and Android) to snap a picture while on the go. The icing on the cake is that automation is also packed with tools for customization such as the ability to set up rules to automate workflows.

QuickBooks Online: Best overall accounting software for consultants

For example, let’s assume that we’ve sold another Basic Consulting Audit to a client for the standard $10,000. For example, if you were paid $200 for a project, and complete it in 2 hours, your ABR would be $100 per hour. Average Billable Rate (ABR) is a way to measure how much revenue your team is earning for every hour they spend doing client work.

Why we chose FreshBooks

ERP systems are generally quote-based, costing anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 depending on the number of users and features included. These systems are reserved for large firms that require a comprehensive solution with inventory management, payroll, customer relationship management, and more in addition to accounting for their business. NetSuite PSA can be combined with its accounting software to integrate all financials and bookkeeping into one system. This integration can keep firms compliant with taxes through the complexities of time-based projects. While it doesn’t have public pricing, NetSuite can be expensive and complex, better suiting the needs of large firms. We also like QuickBooks’ batch invoicing feature, which is effective for consultants with hundreds of invoices.