Project-Based Bookkeeping
Services
Know what clients owe and what each job earns.
Regardless of what project based industry you are in, we can help you get project bookkeeping that’s organized, accurate, and fully online in QuickBooks Online or Xero.
Remote bookkeeping across Canada
Different Projects, Similar Problems.
Most project based businesses face similar bookkeeping issues.
Film and movie videographers
Crew invoices, equipment rentals, and location costs arrive on different dates. Without a production code, costs can land on the wrong shoot.
Music video videographers
A client or label may pay a deposit before filming, while editing and revisions stretch into another month. It’s easy to lose track of which deposits have been applied to a final invoice.
Web Designers
Deposits, launch milestones, and monthly hosting charges can all come from the same client. When they’re grouped together, it’s hard to see what the build earned.
IT Firms
Recurring support, one-time implementations, and software licences can share a single invoice. Vendor bills need to be tied to the right client or project.
Marketing agencies
Media spend and freelance costs can hit your account before a client reimburses you. Campaign fees and reimbursable costs need to be tracked separately.
Consultants
Prepaid retainers, billable hours, and travel expenses can sit in separate systems. That makes it harder to see what’s been billed and what’s still outstanding.
Software developers
Milestone payments, contractor hours, and change requests need to follow the same project. Otherwise, scope changes can quietly eat into the budget.
Where the books get complicated, we are here to help, regardless of your industry.
What project-based business want from their books
See What Each Client Project Actually Earns
For every project, you want to see what you quoted, what you billed, what the client paid, and what they still owe. You also want to know what the work cost to deliver and where those costs went over budget.
That gives you two answers you can act on. While the job is active, you can see what still needs to be invoiced or collected. Once it’s finished, you can see how much was left after direct costs and use that number to price the next job.
From booking to final payment
You can see what you’ve collected, what the client still owes, and how actual costs compare with your original estimate. Once the work is complete, you’ll know how much the project earned after direct costs.
✔︎ Project tracking setup
Set up project and client categories in QuickBooks Online or Xero so income and direct costs can be reviewed together.
✔︎ Deposits, retainers, and milestone invoices
Track amounts received in advance, link payments to invoices, and flag overdue balances.
✔︎ Project expenses and reimbursements
Organize contractor bills, production expenses, and reimbursable costs by job. Where you track time, use those records to help review project costs.
✔︎ Monthly reconciliations and sales tax support
Match deposits and payments to bank and card statements. Review sales tax records and prepare or file applicable returns as agreed.
✔︎ Cleanup and catch-up
Review older transactions, reconcile missing periods, and correct project balances before ongoing bookkeeping begins.
What we can handle.
Track project income, payments, costs, and billing alongside your monthly books.
Project Profitability & Budget vs. Actual Reporting
Alongside your monthly financial statements, compare budgeted and actual project costs when estimates and job records are available. See where hours or contractor bills went over budget, then use that detail to price your next proposal.
Project Bookkeeping Cleanup & Unbilled Work
We trace older deposits and payments to invoices, correct duplicate entries, and review work you’ve delivered but haven’t invoiced. For longer jobs, we can help organize work-in-progress records and supporting details for your accountant.
Payment Processor & Bank Reconciliations
We reconcile Stripe, PayPal, or other processor payouts to your bank, accounting for fees, refunds, and timing differences. Tracking payouts separately from unpaid invoices gives you a clearer picture of project cash flow.
GST/HST Bookkeeping Support
We reconcile your sales tax records and flag questions about deposits, client expenses, or cross-border invoices for review.
Project Expense Tracking & Labour Costs
Match freelancer invoices, contractor bills, and direct expenses to the right job. If your team tracks billable and non-billable hours, we can review what can be included in job costing and where the records need more detail.
Supplier Bills & Operating Expenses
We record contractor bills and overhead such as subscriptions and insurance, and separate costs tied to individual projects so you can see where the money went.
Project Invoicing & Time Tracking Setup
We review fixed-fee, hourly, time-and-materials, and retainer billing workflows. For multi-phase projects, we help you keep billable hours, reimbursable expenses, and approved scope changes tied to the right job and invoice.
QuickBooks / Xero Troubleshooting
We investigate duplicate revenue, payments sitting in clearing accounts, and invoices showing as unpaid after the client has paid.
Results you can actually see.
Easy to find numbers
Pull up a client or project and see the invoices, payments, fees, and expenses tied to it. You can review the job without piecing together totals from your invoicing app, timesheets, and receipt folders.
Know what’s paid and what’s owed
See each project’s booking deposit, milestone invoices, monthly retainers, and final balance together. At a glance, you can tell what you’ve billed, what you’ve collected, and which clients need a follow-up.
Actual earning after costs
See how much was left after paying for subcontractors, software, travel, and production. If your team tracks its time, you can also factor in direct staff labour and spot which fixed-fee jobs or retainers took more hours than you priced in.
See where you stand each month
Get your bank, credit card, and payment accounts reconciled and see what your business earned and spent in your monthly reports. If you’re behind, start by catching up on the missing months so you have current numbers to work from.
We are experts with these online project business softwares
It’s all paperless and in the cloud. Everything flows into QuickBooks Online or Xero, and your receipts and questions live in one secure client portal. We love technology, and we’re always up for puzzling out how to connect all your tools. Don’t see yours? Ask on your free consult.
Accounting, receipts, and reports
CRM Software
Payroll
Payment Processors
Bookkeeping for Project-Based Businesses
Our bookkeeping service is tailored to small and medium sized Canadian businesses, currently making over $100,000 gross sales per year.
Over 50+ Canadian Businesses Served
We Work With
- Business startups
- Small Businesses
- Soloprenuers
- Freelancers
- Professionals
- Project-based businesses
In These Industries
Project Based
- Movie Videographers
- Music video videographers
- Web designers
- IT firms
- Marketing agency services
- Consulting
- Software developers
Our range in expertise means we can easily adapt to the nuances of your workflow.
Why Us?
We’ve been in the industry for over 7 years and have with with businesses like yours. You should be able to tell which jobs are worth taking on again. We organize your books around how you bill, whether that’s by deposit, milestone, or retainer, so you can see what clients still owe and what each project earned after direct costs.
Bookkeepers Who Understand Project Billing
Work with a consistent point of contact who understands the difference between a deposit, a milestone invoice, and a finished job. We start with one recent project to see how you quote, invoice, get paid, and capture costs.
Cloud accounting
Each client is led by a certified Xero Advisor and QuickBooks ProAdvisor with bookkeeping experience in the field.
Support for Solo Creatives and Growing Agencies
We scope the work around your active clients, monthly transaction volume, billing schedule, and the level of project detail you want.
Client Testimonials
★★★★★
The perfect Accountant! He help me out with all my questions. I will recommend it and work again with him! Thank you so much Samuel. You are the best
Lucia
★★★★★
I needed someone to automate my shopify with Quickbooks. Samuel was able to do this and now I only spend 1 hour per month on bookkeeping. A lot better than the hours I spent trying to figure it all out.
Megan
★★★★★
Paperless Books helped me fix my quickbooks. It was a mess. Quickbooks is too complicated for me so I am grateful they were able to bring it up to date for me.
Kwame
How Online Bookkeeping Works
Get started in only 3 steps. Ready to be engaged? No work starts until you say yes.
Step 1 – Book a Free Consult
Tell us where you are with your books. Share which software you use, how far behind you are, and any deadlines. Following the call, you’ll receive an engagement letter to sign. Once signed, we start working.
Step 2 – Learning the Ropes
Learning how you work. We take our first look at your books. No need to do any cleanup. We discuss and figure out how things are moving, what needs to be cleaned up, what needs change, what can be improved, what should be kept the same.
Step 3 – Monthly Flow
Ongoing bookkeeping. Once all the kinks are ironed out we start monthly bookkeeping. We reconcile the accounts, flag questions, and send your reports monthly. At year-end, we can share the reconciled books and supporting records with your accountant.
Online Accounting Service for Project Businesses Near:
Toronto, Ottawa, Mississauga, Brampton, Hamilton, London, Markham, Vaughan, Kitchener, Windsor, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Niagara Falls, Sudbury, Kitchener, Winnipeg, St. Johns, Regina, Surrey
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you track deposits, milestone invoices, and project revenue?
We match deposits and progress payments to the job and show what remains unpaid or unbilled.
For projects spanning multiple months, we can organize contracts, invoices, and delivery records so your accountant can review when revenue should be recognized.
What kinds of project-based businesses do you work with?
We work with Canadian agencies, designers, photographers, videographers, SEO consultants, web developers, and online businesses that bill by project, milestone, or retainer.
Can you clean up old deposits or overdue books?
Yes.
We compare booking or invoicing records with bank and payment processor activity to identify unmatched receipts, duplicate entries, and older balances that need attention.
Are any software prices included in the monthly bookkeeping price?
No. Most of the clients we work with pay for their accounting software separately. We can add it as part of your fees if needed
How often should I review project costs against budget?
Monthly is a good starting point.
Review active jobs sooner if costs are moving quickly or work is approaching a billing milestone.
Compare hours and direct costs with the original estimate while you can still adjust the scope or discuss additional fees.
What if job costing for a service business?
Job costing means assigning direct costs to the job that incurred them. For a branding project, that might include freelance illustration, font licences, and staff design time if you track it. You can then compare the cost of the job with the fee you charged.
How do we share access to the books and project records?
We use cloud accounting workflows and appropriate access permissions. During onboarding we agree on what access is needed and how you’ll share records
Will I be locked into a contract?
No our bookkeeping plans don’t lock you into a lengthy contract. Our plans are pay as you go – month to month. You can cancel at anytime.
Can I see profit by project in QuickBooks Online or Xero?
Yes, when invoices and direct costs can be linked to each job.
We review your software plan and records and discuss how to include internal labour if you track staff time.
Can you help with GST/HST bookkeeping for a Canadian agency or studio?
We reconcile GST/HST balances, organize supporting records, and flag questions about deposits, client expenses, and cross-border invoices for review.
What is the cheapeast plan you have?
Our Lite plan with no addons is the cheapest plan we have at $450 per month.