“Scope creep” and uncompensated time are profitability traps for professional services businesses because what you sell is your time.

Without accurate financial reporting, uncompensated time can go undetected and this profit leakage can undermine the value of your business.

To minimize risk and grow profitably, ask yourself:

  • Is your profitability growing as fast as your revenues?
  • Are you over-staffed or wearing too many hats?
  • Are you maximizing billable employee time?
  • Do you have the right incentives and commission plans?
  • Are you targeting profitable clients?
  • Are you confident that you can you scale your business?
  • Are you generating the income you want?
  • Do you own a job (practice) or a business that you can sell?
Kirsch Overview Video

Do you know what’s holding you back? If not, partnering with Kirsch CPA Group will ensure that you have all of the above and can focus on implementing strategies that will achieve your goals, leveraging decades of accounting and finance experience Kirsch has provided to hundreds of professional services clients in Cincinnati, Dayton and beyond since 1991.

Working with Kirsch is like having a fractional CFO and tax expert providing the accounting support and reporting that you need day-to-day as well as helping you to overcome bigger challenges that arise over time.

Holistic Accounting Benefits for Professional Services

  • Gain a thorough understanding of your cash flow and overall financial position that drives better decision-making for hiring, bonuses, pricing, and more
  • Timely financials that provide clear visibility of profitability by client, by service, by location, and by employee
  • Trust in accurate financial data and reporting within QuickBooks or any accounting software – never wonder “Where’s my cash?”
  • Understanding key performance metrics that drive your business
    • Which team members are generating profits beyond sales?
    • Which clients are most and least profitable? A client representing 5% of your profitability but consuming over 10%+ of your time may need a price increase.
  • Easy management of payroll including out-of-state / multistate employee payroll tax filings and payments
  • Effective cash flow management with accrual accounting for accurate revenue alignment
  • Feel confident that your tax returns will be accurate and filed timely
  • Ensure your business is well-positioned for a future sale that will fund your retirement when the time comes

Holistic Services to Manage Your Business

Business Planning and Advisory

  • Navigate unforeseen issues and challenges, creating plans and goals to address them
  • Evaluate pricing strategies and changes to increase profitability
  • Analyze employee utilization and employee/contractor balancing
  • Facilitate financing by finding credit and financing alternatives
  • Utilize financial modeling for opportunities under consideration
  • Provide M&A support for expansion and sales, including business valuation
  • Assist with succession planning to ensure smooth transitions

Accounting Day-to-Day Support

  • Efficient and accurate preparation of financial data on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis
  • Enhance internal procedures to control costs, streamline accounting processes and improve results
  • Provide timely financial reports to meet banking and investor requirements
  • Advanced accounting support for bookkeepers or accounting teams on issues like journal entries, revenue recognition, and lease accounting changes
  • Supply supplemental staff to address gaps in AR, AP, bookkeeping, and payroll
  • Reduce the need to recruit accounting staff for growth or to replace retiring employees

Financial Visibility

  • Enhance financial awareness to make informed business decisions
  • Analyze and optimize your cash cycle to improve liquidity and cash flow
  • Gain visibility into profitability by client, by employee or service with real-time financial data
  • Identify opportunities for profit and cash flow improvement
  • Optimize inventory levels to increase cash liquidity and minimize losses
  • Provide budgeting, forecasting, and cash flow analysis to manage long payment terms, seasonal fluctuations, and capital expenditures

Tax Strategy, Preparation & Mitigation

  • Prepare comprehensive business tax returns for federal, multistate and local entities
  • Maximize qualified business income (QBI) deductions
  • Conduct quarterly tax planning to minimize additional tax liabilities
  • Implement cash planning strategies for efficient tax expense management

The Kirsch Professional Services Team

Accounting & Financial Support Throughout Your Business Lifecycle

Kirsch Professional Services Experience

  • Engineering
  • Financial and insurance providers
  • Healthcare (dental, mental health, veterinary)
  • Software and technology
  • Transportation

Professional services businesses face unique challenges and decisions as they progress through each stage of the business lifecycle. From humble beginnings, to growing revenues and profitability, to an exit, business owners and leaders are faced with increasingly challenging decisions that are made easier with the right accounting and financial partner. Below is how Kirsch CPA Group provides this support throughout the lifecycle of your business.

Supporting the Growing Stages of Your Professional Services Ventures

Growing Your Business & Outgrowing Your Accounting System

Preventing a loss in profitability as your business revenues grow is crucial to your success. Tracking rising expenses and scope creep by client is critical to avoid the common profitability traps that can plague professional services businesses.

It’s important to equip your business with the right systems and team for growth, preparing for the unexpected and minimizing your tax burden. Whether it’s a financial reporting issue or an operational challenge, the Kirsch team will help you solve problems and implement actionable strategies. As your business outgrows its initial accounting services, outsourced accounting and CFO solutions offer the additional support needed to stay profitable, efficient, and tax compliant.

Signs that it’s time to consider next-level accounting help include:

Internal accounting is outdated, inaccurate, and slow, hindering business growth

Poor visibility into cash flow is causing you stress

Taxes are late and higher than expected

You don’t know if you have the right organizational structure

You need better compensation models

You’re wearing too many hats

Your profitability is declining - fees are not keeping up with scope creep

You are struggling to determine the right staffing level

Selling or Transitioning Your Business

The current market presents a golden opportunity for mergers and acquisitions. Planning for the sale or transition of your business should start well in advance of your retirement. Our holistic and proven customized process is designed around your business and personal financial goals, ensuring a smooth transition. The Kirsch team will help you address complex issues such as concentrated shareholder wealth, the intricacies of family-owned businesses, tax burdens, and succession planning for the next generation.

Example Professional Services Accounting Engagements

Service Plan

Growth Enablement

Growth Acceleration

Typical Profile

  • Less than $5 million in sales
  • 5-20 employees
  • 3+ years in business
Company example

Seizing Growth Opportunities

A growing IT company found itself with more demand for its services than its staff of seven could manage. The owners suspected that some of the client projects were less profitable than they should have been. Without real time financial visibility, the owners didn’t have full confidence around next steps. Should they add staff? Raise prices, or drop some clients?

  • More than $5 million in sales
  • 20+ employees
  • 5+ years in business
Company example

Scaling Up with Strategic Financial Support

After two decades in business, the partners in a successful dental practice wanted to explore the possibility of adding a new location, with one focusing on pediatric dentistry. While a small inhouse accounting department did a great job managing their single office, they knew they were going to need another level of financial support to meet their growth goals.

Situation

  • Bookkeeper manages daily accounting
  • Owner has limited financial and accounting knowledge
  • Owner wants to focus on growth, sales and operations – not accounting
  • Same as with the Growth Enablement Plan, plus…
  • Plans for growth
  • Changing ownership, adding or buyout of partners
  • Sales growth with profitability eroding

Needs

  • Keep accounting accurate, timely and prevent fraud
  • Ideas to improve business and financial processes
  • Help and guidance for their bookkeeper
  • Understanding the numbers to make decisions
  • Keep taxes low and steer clear of the IRS
  • Same as with the Growth Enablement Plan, plus…
  • Support for strategic thinking / prevent over-focusing on the day-to-day
  • Insight to improving key performance indicators that drive business growth
  • In-depth accounting help and guidance on a monthly basis

Kirsch Deliverables

  • Quarterly financial oversight: includes a 1-hour meeting with the business owner
  • Review entries in accounting software (e.g. QuickBooks)
  • Make adjustments and resolve discrepancies: errors, accrual entries corrections
  • Record depreciation and payroll adjustments
  • Adjust journal entries
  • Answer bookkeeping questions
  • Annual tax planning and strategy meeting
  • Tax returns for business and owners
  • Same as with the Growth Enablement Plan, plus…
  • Monthly financial oversight: period end close, includes a 1-hour meeting with the business owner
  • Reconcile bank accounts to bank statements and receipts to credit card statements
  • Monitor accounts receivable (AR)
  • Monitor accounts payable (AP) aging
  • Document fixed assets and record depreciation
  • Prepare profit and loss (P&L) and balance sheet
  • Maximize tax deductions: qualified business income (QBI), business travel, minor repairs, company vehicles, retirement plans, and state sales tax
  • Metric tracking reporting
  • Monthly and annual financial statements
  • Quarterly strategy meetings

Pricing

  • Starts at $20,000 per year
  • Equivalent to hiring both a CPA firm and fractional CFO
  • Starts at $40,000 per year
  • Equivalent to hiring a CPA firm, fractional controller, and fractional CFO

Additional Service Options

  • Bank and credit card reconciliation
  • Payroll: weekly or biweekly
  • Inventory planning and monitoring
  • Cash flow projections
  • Accounting software clean-up and support
  • Lines of credit
  • Product costing and pricing
  • Return on investment (ROI)

Professional Services Accounting News

Grow Your Professional Services Business

Contact a member of the Kirsch CPA Group team to learn more about what strategic and holistic accounting services can do for your professional services business.

Kirsch team

How To Get Started