Bookkeeping & financial operations for professional services & agencies
See which work actually pays.
Retainers, projects, freelancers and long payment terms make it hard to tell which clients and engagements are profitable. Sumday organizes revenue and costs by client and project, keeps invoicing on schedule and gives you a forward view of revenue and cash.
- Project profitability
- Retainers & invoicing
- Revenue forecasting
Common financial challenges
Where firm books get complicated.
Profit hides inside projects
Without revenue and direct costs coded by client or project, a busy firm can be less profitable than it looks.
Retainers and projects get mixed
Monthly retainers, fixed-fee projects and hourly work behave differently. Treating them the same makes revenue hard to read.
Contractor costs move every month
A changing bench of freelancers and subcontractors makes cost tracking and year-end contractor reporting harder.
Revenue is hard to predict
Pipeline, renewals and milestone timing all affect next quarter, and long payment terms widen the gap between work and cash.
Who we support
Businesses in this group.
Some specialties have their own page with more detail. For others, scope is confirmed in a consultation.
- Marketing agencies Retainers, media pass-through costs and client margin.
- Creative & digital studios Project billing, freelancer costs and utilization.
- Consulting firmsEngagement profitability, hourly billing and forecasting — scope confirmed in consultation.
How Sumday supports this industry
You run the business. We keep the books straight.
Client invoicing & receivables
Invoices sent on schedule and payments applied as they arrive.
- Retainer, milestone and hourly invoicing
- Payments applied across transfers and cards
- Courteous follow-up on overdue invoices
- Receivables aging by client
Project & client profitability
Revenue and direct costs coded by client or project.
- Client- and project-level gross margin
- Contractor costs by project
- Utilization inputs from your time-tracking exports
- Write-off and overrun visibility
People & contractor costs
Employees and freelancers tracked so labor cost is clear.
- Payroll recorded and reconciled
- Contractor payments organized
- Vendor tax forms collected during the year
- Labor cost as a share of revenue
Forecasting & planning
A forward view of revenue, hiring and cash.
- Revenue forecast from retainers and pipeline
- Hiring and capacity scenarios
- Cash runway
- Budget vs actual reporting
Relevant services
The services that fit this work.
Accounting & Bookkeeping
Monthly books, reconciliations, close and financial statements you can rely on.
Learn moreAccounts Receivable
Invoicing, payment tracking and friendly, consistent follow-up on what you’re owed.
Learn morePayroll Coordination
Payroll coordination, compensation tracking and clean payroll entries in your books.
Learn moreFinancial Dashboards
Clear dashboards built on your reconciled books, focused on the numbers you use.
Learn moreFinancial Planning & Analysis
Budgets, forecasts and variance analysis that turn your books into a plan.
Learn moreFractional CFO
Cash-flow strategy, forecasting and financial leadership for your next stage.
Learn moreExample bookkeeping workflows
What the monthly work looks like.
Illustrative workflows. Your actual process is agreed during onboarding and depends on your systems and records.
Monthly client invoicing
- Confirm retainer amounts and billable milestones with you
- Pull approved hours and reimbursable costs from your project or time-tracking exports
- Prepare and send invoices in your business name on the agreed date
- Apply payments as they arrive and update the aging report
Project profitability close
- Code revenue and contractor bills to the right client or project
- Allocate payroll cost using your agreed method
- Compare actual cost to project budget
- Report margin by client and project with notes on overruns
Reporting
Know what’s working. Grow what works.
After each close, reporting can include views like these where your records support them.
- Client and project margin
- Revenue by service line
- Contractor spend
- Receivables aging
- Revenue forecast
- Cash runway
Who this suits
A good fit if…
- Marketing, creative and digital agencies with retainer and project work
- Consulting firms billing by project, milestone or hour
- Firms that rely on a changing bench of freelancers
- Owners planning hires against a revenue forecast
What Sumday doesn’t do here
- Legal advice on contractor or employee classification
- Collections agency work or legal recovery of unpaid invoices
- Preparing or filing tax returns
- Project management or resourcing decisions inside your tools
Get a tailored quote for your firm
Share how your business runs and we’ll confirm the right scope in writing before anything begins.
Questions
For professional services & agencies.
Can you report profitability by client or project?
Yes, when revenue and direct costs are coded to clients or projects. We set this up during onboarding.
Do you work with time-tracking and project tools?
We use exports from your time-tracking and project tools to support invoicing and utilization reporting. Compatibility is confirmed during your consultation.
Will you contact my clients about overdue invoices?
Only in the way you approve. Reminders are courteous and sent in your business name, and disputes are escalated to you.
Can you help forecast revenue?
Revenue and cash forecasting are available through our planning and fractional CFO services, scoped after a consultation.
Better books. Brighter business.
Your next chapter starts here.
Clear records and useful reporting for your firm, with a scope confirmed before you commit.
