Creative Services

Great at the creative work. Less great at tracking what it actually costs to deliver it.

Been There

Before starting this bookkeeping practice, Sarah ran a digital marketing agency. She knows what it’s like to chase down invoices while juggling three projects, manage contractors for specialized work, and wonder whether a project actually made money after all the hours piled up.

Creative businesses have patterns that general bookkeepers don’t always understand. Project-based billing. Income that swings wildly month to month. Retainer clients mixed with one-off work. Contractors you bring in for video editing or development on specific jobs.

We understand these patterns because we’ve lived them. That’s the foundation for bookkeeping that actually helps instead of just checking a box.

What Complicates It

A marketing agency isn’t like a service business that bills the same rate for every hour. You might have three projects running at once, each at different stages, each with different payment terms. One client pays a monthly retainer. Another pays half upfront and half on delivery. Another is net 30 after approval. Add contractors you bring in for specialized tasks and software subscriptions like Adobe Creative Cloud that run year-round regardless of how much you bill.

All of this needs tracking that tells you what’s actually happening. Not just how much money is in the bank, but which clients are profitable, which projects made sense, and whether your pricing is working.

Who This Covers

Marketing agencies, graphic designers, photographers, video production companies, web developers. Creative professionals on Long Island billing for their expertise and time.

Multiple Revenue Types

Retainer clients paying monthly. Project clients paying in milestones or on completion. One-off jobs. Each type flows differently through your books and affects your cash position in different ways.

Where Things Go Wrong

A project invoiced at $8,000 looks profitable. But you spent 60 hours on it instead of the 40 you quoted. You brought in a contractor for $1,200 because the scope expanded. Software costs ran $400 that month. After everything, your effective hourly rate was half what you thought. This happens constantly in creative work because nobody tracks the real numbers.

Then there’s the contractor question. You pay a freelancer $5,000 for video editing over the year. Did you collect a W-9? Are you tracking payments for year-end 1099s? The IRS expects you to file 1099-NEC for anyone you pay more than $600. Miss this and you face penalties.

Project Profitability

You assume a project was profitable based on the invoice amount. But you didn’t account for scope creep, extra hours, contractor help, or the software costs to deliver it. True margins are often lower than you think.

Contractor Compliance

W-9s need to be collected before you pay anyone. Payments need to be tracked through the year. 1099s must be filed by January 31. We handle this tracking so you’re not scrambling at year-end or facing IRS penalties.

What Changes

You see which clients and projects are actually worth your time. Not just revenue, but real profitability. Some $5,000 projects leave you with more money than some $15,000 projects once you account for all the inputs. Good bookkeeping shows you this so you can price better, scope better, and choose better clients.

Tax time stops being a scramble. Your books are clean and current. Software subscriptions, equipment depreciation, home office expenses, contractor payments. All tracked properly throughout the year. Your CPA gets what they need without an emergency cleanup in April.

Clear Picture

Monthly reconciled books showing income, expenses, and profitability. You know your numbers because we track them throughout the year, not just when taxes are due.

Tax Ready

Deductions captured properly. Contractor payments tracked for 1099s. Financial statements your CPA can actually use without translation work or last-minute cleanup.

Long Island's Small Business Bookkeeper