Industries
Professional services
Finbryn keeps books for Australian consultancies, agencies and advisory firms aligned to how the practice actually earns: work in progress tracked by client, fringe benefits on cars and entertainment flagged against the 47 per cent FBT rate, and BAS figures prepared each quarter from reconciled trust and operating accounts inside Xero or MYOB.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
AUD
| Line | Aug | Jul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 142,380 | 131,904 | +10,476 |
| Cost of sales | (51,260) | (48,115) | (3,145) |
| Gross profit | 91,120 | 83,789 | +7,331 |
| Payroll | (46,300) | (45,900) | (400) |
| SoftwareNoted | (6,480) | (5,490) | (990) |
| Rent | (8,000) | (8,000) | 0 |
| Other operating | (9,215) | (9,870) | +655 |
| Net income | 21,125 | 14,529 | +6,596 |
Reviewer's note
Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Exceptions report
Where the books usually hurt
Project-based billing means revenue recognition needs to follow the work performed, not just the invoice date
Unbilled work in progress at month end never gets estimated, so profitability numbers run behind reality
Partner or owner draws get mixed into payroll or general expense instead of tracked as equity distributions
Multiple client engagements running at once make it hard to see which ones are actually profitable
Billable time is not the same as cash in the bank
A professional services firm can look profitable on paper while work in progress quietly builds up unbilled, or a large invoice sits unpaid for months after the work was done. Time and disbursements need to be tracked against the client and matter they belong to, so a partner can see which engagements are actually generating cash rather than just billable hours on a timesheet. Finbryn reconciles practice management exports against the bank each month, so work in progress, unbilled disbursements and debtor ageing are visible before they become a cash flow problem.
Fringe benefits tax on cars, entertainment and staff perks
Firms that provide a work vehicle, pay for client entertainment or run a staff benefits program can trigger fringe benefits tax, which runs on its own year from 1 April to 31 March rather than the financial year, currently sitting at a 47 per cent rate. Those costs often get buried in general expense accounts where nobody notices the FBT exposure building until the return is due. We flag benefit-style spending as it happens, so the FBT position is known well before the FBT year closes rather than discovered afterwards.
Superannuation on contractors and casual staff
Firms that mix employees, casual staff and individual contractors need to work out, case by case, whether the minimum super contribution rate of 12 per cent applies to a given engagement, since some contractor arrangements attract super obligations under the same rules as employees. We flag arrangements that look like they carry a super obligation so it gets checked, rather than assumed away because the person is paid on an invoice.
GST, BAS and working with Finbryn
Consultancies and agencies above the GST turnover threshold typically lodge quarterly BAS, and we prepare the underlying GST and PAYG withholding figures from reconciled books, ready for review and lodgement by a TPB-registered practitioner. You keep the Xero or MYOB file. A named pod runs the account, with a recorded handover memo if that pod changes, books reconciled weekly and the close by business day five. Pricing is published on our pricing page, and every close goes through senior principal review before it reaches you.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Professional services
Can you track work in progress by client or matter?
Yes. Time and disbursements are reconciled against practice management exports so unbilled work and debtor ageing are visible each month, not only at billing time.
How do you handle fringe benefits tax on cars and entertainment?
Benefit-style spending is flagged as it is recorded, so the FBT position is tracked through the 1 April to 31 March FBT year rather than pieced together at return time.
Do you check whether contractors should attract superannuation?
We flag engagements that look like they may carry a super obligation under the contractor rules, so the firm can confirm the position rather than assume it away.
Who lodges our BAS?
We prepare the GST and PAYG figures from reconciled books. Lodgement is handled by a TPB-registered practitioner under a documented supervision arrangement, or your existing registered agent.
Can you track billable hours or utilisation alongside the bookkeeping?
We reconcile whatever time or billing system you already run (such as a practice management tool) against invoiced revenue in the books, rather than running the time-tracking system itself.
Can you estimate work in progress at month end?
Yes, unbilled work in progress can be estimated and reflected in the monthly financials where time or milestone data is available.
Do you track profitability by client engagement?
Yes, income and direct costs can be tagged by engagement so margin is visible each month.
What are the common bookkeeping challenges for a professional services business?
Beyond the basics, partner or owner draws get mixed into payroll or general expense instead of tracked as equity distributions and multiple client engagements running at once make it hard to see which ones are actually profitable come up often in this industry. We build the chart of accounts and reconciliation process around those specific patterns rather than a generic template that ignores how the business actually operates.
What software do you support for professional services?
We work inside QuickBooks Online and Xero, along with the other tools listed on this page that are common in the professional services industry. If you have no file yet, we set one up in your name so you own it from day one.
Related services
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.