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Bookkeeping built for how consulting and agency businesses actually run — retainer accounting, project revenue recognition, subcontractor 1099s, unbilled WIP, and S-Corp owner payroll.
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Turnkey CFO is a bookkeeping firm in Austin, Texas built for how service businesses actually run. We handle retainer accounting, project and milestone revenue recognition, subcontractor 1099s, unbilled WIP, and S-Corp owner payroll for independent consultants, marketing agencies, coaches, and service firms — nationwide.
Service businesses run on revenue models most bookkeepers get wrong — retainers that are liabilities, unbilled WIP that belongs on the balance sheet, subcontractor costs that should hit COGS, and S-Corp payroll that must be structured correctly.
Project profitability and clean monthly reporting.
Full monthly close for your consulting firm or agency — accurate categorization of project revenue, retainer income, subcontractor costs, software subscriptions, and overhead. Monthly close package with P&L, balance sheet, and written commentary ready for your review every month. See all services
Retainer payments recorded as deferred revenue and recognized as services are rendered each month. Project-based revenue recognized on milestones or percentage-of-completion as your contracts dictate — a $50k project billed 30/60/100 at completion looks very different on your P&L than the same project billed monthly by hours, and we implement the method that matches your contracts. So your monthly P&L tells you what you actually earned, not just what clients paid.
Every unincorporated subcontractor paid $600 or more tracked from the first payment. W-9s collected before work begins. 1099-NEC filed by January 31. Subcontractor costs recorded as COGS — not overhead — so your gross margin reflects the real cost of delivering your services: bill a client $10,000 and pay a subcontractor $6,000, and your gross margin is $4,000, not $10,000. Pass-through billing structured so your revenue, subcontractor costs, and net margin are always visible.
Work you've performed but not yet invoiced is a current asset — unbilled Work-in-Progress — and it belongs on your balance sheet. Deliver 40 hours at $250/hour and you're carrying $10,000 of unbilled WIP. We track it so your balance sheet reflects the true economic state of your business, you can see how long unbilled work takes to convert to cash, and you never lose track of time already invested before invoicing.
S-Corp owner-consultants must pay themselves a reasonable W-2 salary before taking distributions. We set up and maintain owner payroll, document the reasonable compensation decision, and structure distributions separately. The IRS scrutinizes S-Corps that take distributions without payroll — we make sure your setup is documented and defensible. Coordinate with your CPA for the specific compensation level that's right for your situation.
Software and tools are one of consulting's largest expense categories and one of the most commonly miscategorized. Direct project tools (project management, client-specific software, billable tools) tracked separately from general overhead (communication, accounting, admin tools). Home office costs documented to support deductions. Every subscription in its right bucket.
Project-level P&L tracking from proposal to final payment — revenue recognized by project, subcontractor and direct costs allocated to the engagement, and net margin by client visible at a glance. You see which clients, project types, and pricing structures are driving margin and which are quietly losing money after subcontractor costs. Want the full menu? See all bookkeeping services.
Project P&L, retainer deferred-revenue balances, and unbilled WIP — visible any time, on any device, instead of buried in a spreadsheet you have to ask for.
"For the first time I can actually see which clients are profitable after subcontractor costs — and our retainer income is finally in the right period instead of all landing in month one."
Retainer deferred revenue set up correctly, project-level P&L by client, subcontractor COGS split from overhead, and S-Corp payroll structured and documented.
"They restructured our books around how an agency actually runs — subcontractors in COGS, retainers deferred, clean project margins. I finally trust the P&L."
Books rebuilt for an agency model with real gross-margin visibility by client and engagement.
We learn your business — revenue model, client mix, subcontractor usage, entity structure, current software, and pain points. No sales pitch.
We connect to QuickBooks, review your chart of accounts, assess revenue recognition setup, map your project structure, and identify what needs to be restructured before going live.
Monthly close package, project-level P&L, retainer deferred revenue, WIP tracking, and S-Corp payroll structure running clean from month one.
Get a real price range from the instant estimate, then book a 15-minute call to talk through fit and scope. No pressure, no sales pitch.