Bookkeeping for professional services firms.
FigureWise keeps agency and consulting books honest about time and money: retainers recognized as they are earned, unbilled work tracked so it stops leaking, and utilization visible alongside the P&L.
The numbers to watch.
| # | Metric | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Utilization rateThe share of available hours spent on billable work is the core economics of a services firm. A few points of utilization are usually worth more than any expense cut. | The share of available hours spent on billable work is the core economics of a services firm. A few points of utilization are usually worth more than any expense cut. |
| 02 | Effective realized rateWhat you actually collected per hour delivered, after write-downs and scope creep. It exposes underpricing that headline rates conceal. | What you actually collected per hour delivered, after write-downs and scope creep. It exposes underpricing that headline rates conceal. |
| 03 | Revenue per employeeThe simplest cross-check on whether headcount growth is producing leverage or just cost. Easy to benchmark, hard to argue with. | The simplest cross-check on whether headcount growth is producing leverage or just cost. Easy to benchmark, hard to argue with. |
| 04 | AR daysHow long clients take to pay determines how much of your own money is financing their projects. A rising trend is an early warning worth acting on. | How long clients take to pay determines how much of your own money is financing their projects. A rising trend is an early warning worth acting on. |
Where professional services firms books go wrong.
01
Retainers and prepayments booked as instant revenue
A retainer received is not yet a retainer earned. Recognizing prepaid fees on receipt inflates good months, hides the delivery obligation you are carrying, and makes month-to-month performance impossible to read.
02
Unbilled work quietly evaporating
Hours worked but not yet invoiced are an asset, and one that shrinks with every week of delay and every scope conversation avoided. Firms that do not track WIP routinely write off work they simply forgot to bill.
03
Profitability invisible below the firm level
The firm P&L can look fine while one big client, priced two years ago, consumes half the team at a loss. Without revenue and labor cost mapped by client or project, the pricing conversation never has evidence.
04
Lumpy cash flow against smooth payroll
Invoices arrive in bursts; salaries leave like clockwork. The gap between them is the reason profitable firms still hit cash crunches, and it is manageable only if AR aging and a cash forecast are watched monthly.
What we put in place.
- Retainers and prepayments tracked as deferred revenue and recognized as earned, so monthly performance is readable.
- Unbilled WIP monitored so completed work turns into invoices instead of write-offs.
- Client- and project-level tracking in the chart of accounts, giving pricing conversations actual evidence.
- AR aging reviewed with every close, with a cash view that shows how invoice timing meets payroll timing.
- AI handles categorization and flags anomalies like duplicate vendor charges; a human bookkeeper reviews before anything reaches your reports.
Professional Services Firms, answered.
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