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Accounting for Independent Consultants
Bookkeeping and business tax returns for established consultants who bill their clients directly.
Quick Answer
- I can take on bookkeeping and business tax work for established independent consultants under a written engagement. That includes management, operations, IT and project-management consultants, and fractional executives who bill through their own business.
- The records that matter most are client contracts, invoices, the Forms 1099 that clients and payment platforms send, reimbursed client expenses, and where you did the work.
Tax & Accounting Context for Independent Consultants
Consulting income raises three record-keeping questions. Does your income match what clients report? Are reimbursed expenses handled the same way every time? And is your entity still right now that the income is steady? Each one is answered from the records.
Matching income: Clients may send Form 1099-NEC, and payment platforms may send Form 1099-K. Those forms don't replace your own records. Keep an invoice register by client that ties to your deposits, so a form that is missing, late or wrong can be checked against your figures.
Reimbursed expenses: When a client reimburses travel or other costs, record the expense and the reimbursement the same way every time. Keep the receipt with the invoice that billed it back, so the treatment can be checked when the return is prepared.
Where the work happened: If you worked on site in another state, keep a list of the dates and places. Whether that creates a filing in another state depends on that state's rules. Multistate work is considered case by case under a separate written engagement and may be referred to an independent specialist.
Your entity: If you're weighing an S-corp election, the S-corp calculator shows the trade-off with your own numbers. An election analysis is its own written scope.
Written Intake
Written scope for Independent Consultants tax and accounting
Start with the contact form. Any response, availability, scope, price, and timing are confirmed only in writing; no call or consultation is promised.
Get StartedView PricingTax & Accounting Issues to Review for Independent Consultants
Signed client contracts or statements of work
An invoice register by client, with payment dates
Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-K received
Bank and card statements for every business account
Receipts for reimbursed client expenses, matched to the invoice that billed them
Agreements and payment records for any contractors you hire
A list of states and dates where you worked on site
Home-office and vehicle records, if you claim them
Potential Written-Scope Work
These are examples, not a claim of industry experience or acceptance. Records, jurisdictions, periods, deliverables, and exclusions require a separately accepted written scope.
Bookkeeping
I categorize and reconcile the business accounts named in the scope and prepare the agreed profit and loss statement and balance sheet.
Returns
I prepare the returns named in the engagement from the reconciled records.
Cleanup first
If past months are behind, a bookkeeping cleanup scope brings them current before monthly work starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Have a different question about Independent Consultants tax or accounting? Send Greg a message. I read each inquiry myself and do my best to reply within a week. Sending the form creates no engagement and promises no call, consultation, or outcome. Any scope, price, availability, and timing are agreed in writing before work starts.
Do you work with fractional executives?
Yes, when you bill through your own business and the work is bookkeeping or tax preparation for that business. Controller work on your clients' books is a different service. It is considered case by case under a separate written engagement and may be referred to an independent specialist.
What should I put in the inquiry?
Your accounting system, the years involved, how many business accounts you have, and the question you want answered. Don't send tax documents or account numbers through the contact form. If work is offered, document-exchange instructions come in writing.
What will it cost?
Starting prices are on the [pricing page](/pricing). The condition of your records, the number of accounts and entities, the years covered and the states involved change a quote. Any offered scope is confirmed in writing before work starts.
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Ready to simplify tax and accounting for Independent Consultants?
I read each inquiry myself and do my best to reply within a week. Sending the form creates no engagement and promises no call, consultation, or outcome. Any scope, price, availability, and timing are agreed in writing before work starts.
Tax advice disclaimer: This material is for general educational information only and is not legal, tax, or accounting advice for your specific facts. A CPA-client relationship is formed only through a signed engagement letter.