Creative Services
We track profitability by project and client so you can see which work makes money after all the revisions, contractor costs, and scope changes.
The Industry
A marketing agency quotes $8,000 for a brand identity project. The client approves. Three rounds of revisions later, the project took 40% more hours than estimated. The freelance illustrator billed $1,200 instead of $800 because the client wanted additional concepts. Stock photography and font licenses added another $300. The final margin looked fine on paper because nobody tracked the overages. The owner thinks they’re running a profitable agency but can’t explain why cash is always tight.
Creative businesses live on projects and retainers. Some clients pay monthly for ongoing work. Others pay fixed fees for one-time projects. Deposits come in before work starts. Final payments arrive 45 days after delivery if you’re lucky. Contractors get paid on their terms regardless of when your client pays you. The revenue recognition alone makes monthly financials unreliable without proper systems in place.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Marketing agencies, graphic design studios, video production companies, commercial photographers, web designers, branding consultants, and creative freelancers across MetroWest and Greater Boston who bill by project or retainer and rely on contractors for specialized work.
What Makes It Complex
What Makes It Complex
Fixed-fee projects where scope expands without price adjustments. Contractor payments due before client payments arrive. Retainers recognized over time versus project deposits held as liabilities. Software subscriptions and stock media costs that need proper allocation. Multiple revenue streams with different payment timing.
What We Handle
Job costing by project shows what each engagement actually cost including internal time, contractor fees, and direct expenses. We configure QuickBooks so every hour logged and every vendor invoice ties back to a specific client and project. You can pull a report and see that Client A’s website generated a 35% margin while Client B’s video series barely broke even after contractor costs and revisions. This visibility changes how you price work and which clients you pursue.
Contractor compliance gets handled systematically. We track payments to freelancers throughout the year, collect W-9s before first payment, and prepare 1099s at year end without the January scramble. Cash flow planning accounts for the timing gap between paying your video editor and collecting from the client three weeks later. Revenue recognition for retainers and deposits gets handled correctly so monthly financials reflect actual performance instead of payment timing.
Project Profitability Tracking
Project Profitability Tracking
Every contractor invoice, software cost, and billable hour coded to specific projects. Margin analysis by client and project type. Historical data that shows what similar projects actually cost so estimates become reliable. QuickBooks configured to show profitability at the level that matters for creative work.
Cash Flow and Contractor Management
Cash Flow and Contractor Management
W-9 collection and payment tracking for all freelancers. 1099 preparation at year end. Cash flow forecasting that accounts for contractor payment terms versus client collection timing. Revenue recognition for retainers over the service period. Quarterly estimated taxes based on actual income patterns.
What Goes Wrong
Scope creep happens on every creative project. The client asks for one more revision. You throw in a social media graphic because it only takes 20 minutes. The project manager spends three hours in meetings that weren’t in the original estimate. None of this gets tracked financially. The invoice goes out for the original $8,000 even though you delivered $11,000 worth of work. Without job costing, you never see the margin erosion. You keep pricing new projects based on what similar work should cost instead of what it actually costs.
Cash flow suffers because contractor timing doesn’t match client timing. You hire a photographer for a shoot, pay them in 15 days, but the client’s accounts payable department takes 45 days. Multiply this across several projects and you’re floating thousands in contractor payments while waiting on receivables. Retainer income recorded when invoiced instead of when earned makes January look great and March look terrible even though you delivered the same amount of work each month.
Invisible Margin Erosion
Invisible Margin Erosion
Revisions and scope additions absorbed without adjusting project accounting. Contractor overages buried in general expenses instead of allocated to specific projects. The profitable project you celebrated actually lost money after accounting for the extra rounds and unbilled meeting time nobody tracked.
Cash Gaps and Tax Surprises
Cash Gaps and Tax Surprises
Paying contractors weeks before collecting from clients creates cash crunches during busy months. Irregular income makes quarterly estimates unreliable. A strong Q4 followed by slow January means April tax bills you didn’t plan for. Contractor 1099s assembled in a panic because W-9s weren’t collected throughout the year.
What Changes
Every project shows true profitability after contractor costs, internal hours, and direct expenses. You can compare margins across project types and clients. That brand identity work feels creative but runs 18% margin while the monthly content retainers you find boring run 42% margin. Pricing becomes data-driven. You stop underbidding complex projects because you have historical costs showing what similar work actually required.
Cash flow gets predictable even with irregular project timing. You know when contractor payments are due and when client payments should arrive. The gap between those dates stops being a surprise. Financials show actual monthly performance with retainers recognized as earned and deposits held properly as liabilities until work is complete. Tax prep captures equipment depreciation, home office expenses, and software costs that creative business owners often miss.
Pricing Confidence and Client Selection
Pricing Confidence and Client Selection
Historical project data shows actual costs including scope creep and revision rounds. Proposals get priced based on reality not optimism. Unprofitable client types identified and either repriced or declined. New business decisions informed by which work actually generates margin.
Financial Clarity and Compliance
Financial Clarity and Compliance
Monthly financials that reflect actual performance regardless of billing timing. Cash flow visibility showing contractor payments against expected collections. Contractor 1099s prepared without year-end scrambling. Tax returns capturing all legitimate deductions for equipment, software, and professional expenses.
Greater Boston's Trusted Bookkeeping Partner
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
We'll ask a few questions, figure out what you need, and give you a straightforward quote.