B2B Services
Controller-level financial oversight for labor-intensive service businesses. Track profitability by client, manage utilization, and build the financial foundation for growth.
The Industry
B2B service businesses sell expertise and labor. Whether you’re managing IT infrastructure for other companies, placing temporary staff, cleaning commercial buildings, or consulting on business strategy, your economics come down to the same question: are you billing more for your people’s time than it costs you to employ them? The math sounds simple until you account for unbillable hours, employee downtime between projects, benefits, training, and the overhead required to win and manage client relationships.
These businesses also share a common cash flow pattern. You perform work this month, invoice at the end of the month, and collect 30 to 60 days later. Meanwhile, payroll hits every two weeks regardless of when clients pay. A growing B2B service company can be profitable on paper while scrambling to make payroll because revenue and cash collection don’t align. The bigger you get, the wider that gap becomes.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
IT managed service providers, staffing and recruiting agencies, commercial cleaning companies, business consultants, marketing agencies, and any South Florida company selling professional services to other businesses on contract or retainer.
What Makes It Complex
What Makes It Complex
Labor is your largest expense and needs tracking by client, project, or service line. Revenue recognition gets complicated with retainers, milestone billing, and recurring contracts. Utilization rates determine profitability but most owners track them poorly or not at all. Cash flow timing creates constant pressure even when the P&L looks healthy.
What We Handle
Controller-level oversight means your books tell you something useful. We configure your accounting system to track profitability by client and service line, not just in aggregate. You’ll see which relationships generate healthy margins and which ones consume resources without adequate return. This requires proper cost allocation, accurate revenue recognition, and financial statements structured for decision-making rather than just tax compliance.
Beyond monthly close, we provide the analysis and reporting that lets you manage the business. KPI dashboards showing utilization, revenue per employee, and client concentration. Trend analysis that reveals whether margins are improving or eroding. Variance commentary that explains why this month differed from last month or from your expectations. The goal is financial visibility that supports strategic decisions about pricing, hiring, and which types of work to pursue.
Financial Oversight and Reporting
Financial Oversight and Reporting
Monthly close with adjusting entries, reconciliation review, and accurate accrual-based financials. Revenue recognition handled properly for retainers and contracts. Cost allocation by client or service line. AR aging review to catch collection issues early. Month-end close documentation so you understand what changed and why.
Analysis and Strategic Support
Analysis and Strategic Support
KPI tracking for utilization, revenue per employee, and gross margin by service type. Cash flow forecasting that accounts for billing cycles and collection timing. Trend analysis showing where the business is heading. Quarterly strategic reviews connecting financial performance to business decisions. Guidance for your internal bookkeeping staff on process improvements.
What Goes Wrong
Most B2B service companies know their total revenue and total payroll. They can calculate a rough gross margin. But they can’t tell you which clients are profitable and which are underwater. That commercial cleaning contract you renewed last year might be losing money once you account for travel time, supplies, and the supervisor hours required to manage quality issues. That IT client paying a flat monthly retainer might be consuming twice the support hours you budgeted. Without client-level profitability data, you renew unprofitable contracts and pursue more work that looks good but erodes margin.
Cash flow surprises are the other constant problem. You land a big contract, hire to service it, and then wait 60 days for the first payment while making payroll on the new staff. Or a major client pays late and suddenly you’re juggling which vendors to delay. These crises happen because there’s no forecasting connecting receivables to cash needs. The financial statements show profit but the bank account tells a different story.
No Client-Level Visibility
No Client-Level Visibility
Revenue tracked in total but not allocated to specific clients or contracts. Labor costs not connected to the accounts they serve. You can’t identify which relationships make money and which ones you’d be better off without. Pricing decisions made on gut feel instead of actual cost data from similar engagements.
Cash Flow Disconnected from Profitability
Cash Flow Disconnected from Profitability
Profitable months that still create cash crunches because collection timing doesn’t match payroll timing. No forecasting to anticipate gaps before they become emergencies. Growth that strains cash flow because receivables grow faster than collections. Decisions about hiring or equipment purchases made without understanding the cash impact.
What Changes
You stop guessing about which clients and service lines drive profitability. Financial statements structured by client or contract show true margins after all costs are allocated. When it’s time to renew a contract, you know whether to raise the price, renegotiate scope, or walk away. When a prospect asks for a proposal, you price from actual cost data on similar work rather than hoping you estimated correctly.
Cash flow becomes predictable instead of reactive. Forecasting connects your AR aging to expected cash receipts and compares that to upcoming obligations. You see the gap before it arrives and can arrange financing, accelerate collections, or adjust spending in advance. Growth decisions consider cash requirements alongside profit potential. The business scales without constant financial stress.
Profitability by Client and Service Line
Profitability by Client and Service Line
Clear visibility into which relationships generate healthy margins. Data to support pricing decisions and contract negotiations. Identification of service types that consistently perform well versus those that underperform. Strategic focus on the work that actually builds the business rather than just keeping people busy.
Financial Foundation for Growth
Financial Foundation for Growth
Cash flow forecasting that prevents surprises. Clean financials that support banking relationships when you need credit. KPIs that track operational health alongside financial results. The controller-level infrastructure that lets you scale without the financial chaos that derails many growing service businesses.
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