Industries
Professional services
Finbryn keeps books for Saudi engineering, architecture and IT consulting firms billing by project or retainer, recognising unbilled work in progress at month end and preparing figures for the 120-day Zakat and tax deadline. We work inside Xero or QuickBooks Online and close promptly each month.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
SAR
| 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
Project billing hides unbilled work
A professional services firm that only records revenue when it invoices a client is always looking backwards. Work performed in the last two weeks of a month but not yet billed is real revenue that has not been recognised, and firms that skip it end up with a profit figure that lags the actual work being done.
Finbryn estimates unbilled work in progress at month end using time or milestone data from the practice, so revenue tracks delivery rather than the invoice date. Multiple client engagements running at once are tagged individually, so it is clear which ones are actually profitable and which are being subsidised by the rest of the practice.
Commercial Registration, Qawaem and the Zakat clock
A firm operating in Saudi Arabia needs its Commercial Registration current with the Ministry of Commerce before it can register with ZATCA for Zakat or tax at all, and once registered, the Zakat or income tax return is due within 120 days of the year end, a deadline that ZATCA extends only if it falls on an official holiday. Annual financial statements are filed separately through the Ministry of Commerce's Qawaem platform, a good-standing requirement distinct from the ZATCA filing itself.
Mixed ownership and licensed foreign partners
A consultancy with foreign partners or a GCC subsidiary structure holds a mixed ownership position: the Saudi/GCC share is taxed as Zakat at 2.5% of the Zakat base, and the foreign share as corporate income tax at 20%, each computed and filed separately within the same window. Related-party billing between a Saudi practice and an affiliated foreign entity also brings the Transfer Pricing Disclosure Form into the filing.
Working with Finbryn
Our delivery team reconciles weekly and closes on a fixed monthly cycle, with figures reviewed by a senior reviewer and a corporate CFO before delivery. Zakat and tax returns, including the Transfer Pricing Disclosure Form where it applies, are prepared by our team and filed by the taxpayer or a licensed tax agent. Pricing is published on our pricing page, and firms bringing books current after a gap start with a scoped catch-up project ahead of ongoing monthly bookkeeping.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Professional services
Do you separate income by individual client engagement?
Yes. Income and direct costs can be tagged by engagement so margin is visible per client, not just for the practice as a whole.
Will our figures be ready for the 120-day Zakat and tax deadline?
Yes. We keep the underlying figures ready to that statutory timetable. The return itself is filed by the taxpayer or a licensed tax agent.
How do you handle mixed Saudi and foreign ownership in a consultancy?
The Saudi and GCC-owned share is computed for Zakat at 2.5% of the Zakat base, and the foreign share for corporate income tax at 20%, filed as separate calculations within the same 120-day window.
Can you track work in progress for a fixed-fee engagement not yet invoiced?
Yes. We estimate the value of work delivered but not yet billed at each month end, based on time recorded or milestones reached, so reported profit reflects work actually done.
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.