Bookkeeping for
Architects &
Engineers.
Design firms bill by phase, by the hour or on a fixed fee, and often get paid weeks after the work is done. Consultant invoices, reimbursables and unbilled hours pile up in between. We keep your books tied to your projects so you can see what each job earned and what's still waiting to be billed.
Flat monthly pricing · Cancel anytime · Dedicated bookkeeper
Built for Every Type
of Design Firm
Architecture studio, engineering practice or a one-person firm doing permit sets, the bookkeeping problem is the same: money comes in by project, long after the hours go out.
Architecture Firms
Fees billed by phase from schematic design through construction administration, consultants carried under your contract, and reimbursables billed back to the client. We keep each project's money visible.
- Percent-complete billing by phase
- Hourly and not-to-exceed contracts
- Structural and MEP consultant pass-through
- Reimbursables billed back to clients
- Retainers applied to final invoices
- AIA dues, NCARB and license renewals
Engineering Firms
Civil, structural, MEP and geotechnical work often runs as hourly or fixed-fee task orders with field costs on top. We track labor, field and lab costs by project so margins don't hide in overhead.
- Hourly, lump-sum and task-order billing
- Field and lab costs by project
- Subconsultant bills matched to jobs
- Vehicle and survey equipment costs
- PE license renewals and continuing ed
- Professional liability premiums
Solo & Small Studios
One or two licensed professionals doing residential work, permit sets or consulting. You need clean books, a clear view of what clients owe, and a year-end package your CPA can work from.
- Residential and small commercial work
- Deposits and retainers tracked
- Autodesk and Bluebeam subscriptions
- Home office and mileage records
- Personal and business spending separated
- Quarterly numbers ready for your CPA
The Financial Headaches
We Fix
Project-based firms rarely run short on work. They run short on a clear view of which work is actually paying.
Unbilled work doesn't show up anywhere
Work done but not yet invoiced never appears on a cash-basis P&L. A month that looks slow might just be a billing backlog, and a backlog left too long turns into a collection problem. We report unbilled work alongside what's been invoiced.
Consultant costs blur into overhead
When a structural engineer's invoice lands in general expenses instead of the project it belongs to, you lose track of what you owe, what you've billed back and whether your markup covered it. We match each consultant bill to its project.
Project profit is a guess
Fixed-fee work feels profitable until you count the hours. Without labor and direct costs tied to each project, you can't tell which project types, clients or fee structures are actually making the firm money.
Cash gaps between phases
Payroll and rent go out on schedule while phase payments arrive when the client signs off. Slow payers and consultant bills due before you're paid squeeze cash further. We show you what's coming in, what's going out and when.
Every Month
Everything You Need,
Nothing You Don't
Every service is set up around how design firms bill: by phase, by the hour or on a fixed fee. We work from your project management software so your books and your project reports agree.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Every account reconciled, every transaction categorized, every month. You get a clean P&L and balance sheet you can read and use to make decisions.
See Full Details →Financial Reporting
A monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash flow, plus project profitability, unbilled work and AR aging, so you can see which projects and clients carry the firm.
See Full Details →Bank Reconciliation
Every business account and credit card matched and verified each month. No mystery charges. No unresolved transactions. No surprises.
See Full Details →Accounts Payable & Receivable
We send and track invoices by project, apply retainers and watch aging. On the payables side, consultant and subconsultant bills are matched to the project they belong to.
See Full Details →Catch-Up Bookkeeping
Months or years behind? We clean it all up before monthly service starts, at a flat price per month behind that we quote up front.
See Full Details →Payroll Support
Payroll for architects, engineers and staff runs through Gusto, and Gusto files the payroll taxes and W-2s. We reconcile each run and can allocate labor cost to projects.
See Full Details →"He is very personable, and if I have a question, he promptly gets back with me!"
Architects & Engineers
FAQ
Questions we hear from Architects & Engineers before they sign on with Tides.
Based in Greenville, SC —
Serving Clients Nationwide
100% remote bookkeeping for small businesses across South Carolina and throughout the United States.
Beyond Architects & Engineers,
We Serve All These Businesses
Tides Bookkeeping specializes in bookkeeping across 12 distinct industries. Industry-specific expertise means fewer errors, better categorization, and a bookkeeper who already understands how your business makes money.
More for Architects & Engineers
Related guides and pages.
Finance terms worth knowing
Plain-English explainers, no jargon.
Focus on Design.
We'll Handle
The Books.
Schedule a free 15-minute call. We'll review your current setup, answer your questions, and give you a flat monthly quote — no pressure.
No credit card required · No long-term contracts · Cancel anytime
Simple, Flat-Rate Pricing
Flat monthly plans scaled to your business — no hourly billing and no surprise invoices. You always know the price up front.
★★★★★ 5.0 · 8 client reviews on Intuit's ProAdvisor directory
✔ Reviewed by Daniel Cope, Advanced QuickBooks ProAdvisor · Updated August 2026