B2B Services
Bookkeeping for B2B companies dealing with long payment terms, receivables tracking, and the cash flow gaps that come with selling to other businesses.
The Industry
A staffing agency in Jacksonville places 25 temporary workers at a corporate client. Payroll goes out Friday for $38,000. The client’s invoice is net 45. That means you just fronted almost $40,000 and won’t see a dime for six weeks. Now do that across three or four clients simultaneously. Your P&L says you’re having a great quarter, but your bank account disagrees. You’re profitable and cash-strapped at the same time.
This is the reality for B2B companies. Whether you run an IT managed services firm waiting on monthly retainer payments, a wholesale distribution operation shipping product on terms, or a commercial supplier filling purchase orders, the pattern is the same. Revenue gets booked when you invoice. Cash arrives when the other company’s AP department gets around to it. Sometimes that’s 30 days. Sometimes it’s 60 or 90. Meanwhile, your payroll, your rent, your vendors, and your taxes don’t wait.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
IT managed services providers, staffing and temp agencies, wholesalers and distributors, commercial suppliers, B2B support companies. Any business in Jacksonville and Northeast Florida that sells products or services to other businesses and deals with invoicing on terms.
What Makes It Complicated
What Makes It Complicated
Net 30, 60, or 90 payment terms creating constant cash flow gaps. Multiple clients on different billing cycles. Payroll obligations that are fixed and immediate even when client payments are variable and delayed. Inventory and cost of goods tracking for wholesalers. Burden rates and placement margins for staffing agencies. A mix of 1099 contractors and W-2 employees that all need proper tracking.
What We Handle
B2B accounting revolves around receivables and cash flow timing. We set up QuickBooks Online to track invoices by client, monitor aging receivables, and give you a clear picture of what’s been billed versus what’s actually been collected. For staffing agencies, that means tracking placement revenue against payroll burden so you know your real spread on every worker you place. For wholesalers and suppliers, it means proper inventory and cost of goods sold tracking so your margin numbers reflect reality and not just estimates.
Most B2B owners we talk to come in behind. Months or sometimes years of transactions sitting in a backlog. Cleaning that up is something we do well and do often. We reconstruct the history, reconcile every account, and build a monthly process that keeps things current going forward. From there, your CPA gets clean financials for tax returns. You get numbers you can actually trust when making decisions about hiring, pricing, or taking on new clients.
Receivables and Cash Flow Tracking
Receivables and Cash Flow Tracking
Every invoice tracked in QuickBooks with aging reports that show what’s outstanding and for how long. Cash flow forecasting that accounts for expected client payments so you can plan around the gaps instead of getting surprised by them. Client-level profitability reports so you can see which accounts generate healthy margins and which ones tie up your cash for too long relative to what they pay.
Catch-Up and Ongoing Bookkeeping
Catch-Up and Ongoing Bookkeeping
Back months or back years cleaned up and fully reconciled. Monthly bookkeeping that keeps transactions categorized and bank and credit card accounts reconciled on schedule. 1099 preparation for subcontractors at year end. Sales tax filings handled if they apply. Bill payment tracking so nothing falls through the cracks. Everything organized so tax season is a handoff, not a scramble.
Common Problems
The books fall behind because you’re busy running the business. You’re managing client relationships, chasing new contracts, handling operational problems. The accounting sits in a pile until tax season forces you to deal with it. By then you’re reconstructing six months of transactions from bank statements and trying to remember what half the charges were for. Your CPA does the best they can with incomplete records, but deductions get missed and the numbers aren’t as accurate as they should be. The longer it goes, the harder and more expensive the cleanup becomes.
The other problem is treating billed revenue as cash in hand. Your invoicing report shows $120,000 billed last quarter. But $35,000 of that is still sitting in receivables past 60 days. You’ve already made spending decisions and payroll commitments based on the $120,000. Now cash is tight and you’re wondering where the money went. For staffing agencies this is especially dangerous because your payroll obligations to placed workers are immediate and non-negotiable while client payments are slow and uncertain.
Books That Are Months Behind
Books That Are Months Behind
You know it’s a problem but there’s always something more urgent. Then tax deadlines arrive and create panic. You can’t get a business line of credit because you have no current financials to show the bank. Growth decisions happen on gut feeling because the actual numbers aren’t available. Every month that passes adds more transactions to reconstruct and more chances for errors to compound.
Confusing Revenue with Cash
Confusing Revenue with Cash
Profitable on paper, tight in the bank account. Your best quarter on the P&L might be your worst quarter for available cash because large invoices are still unpaid. Without an aging report, you don’t realize a $15,000 receivable has been sitting at 90 days. Without a cash flow forecast, the gap between billing and collection becomes visible only when a payroll deposit fails or a vendor payment bounces.
What Changes
Your books are current every month. Transactions categorized, accounts reconciled, reports ready. You know what you earned, what you spent, and what’s still owed to you. When your CPA needs financials for tax prep, they’re already done. When the bank asks for a profit and loss statement for a credit application, you can send it the same day. If you came in with a backlog, that’s cleaned up first and then we keep it from ever piling up again.
Cash flow becomes something you manage instead of something that manages you. Receivables aging reports show exactly who owes what and for how long, so you can follow up before small balances turn into write-offs. You can see when cash will be tight two or three weeks out and plan around it. The stress of not knowing where you stand financially goes away because the numbers are there, they’re accurate, and they’re current.
Financial Clarity for Better Decisions
Financial Clarity for Better Decisions
Client profitability visible at a glance. You know which accounts generate strong margins and which ones cost you more than they’re worth once you factor in the payment delays and administrative overhead. Pricing decisions based on actual cost data instead of assumptions. Growth plans supported by real financial statements that a bank, a partner, or a potential buyer can rely on.
Your Time Back Where It Belongs
Your Time Back Where It Belongs
No more weekends spent trying to catch up on bookkeeping or April scrambles reconstructing a year of transactions. Payroll systems set up and running properly. 1099s filed on time. Bills tracked and paid on schedule. Your CPA gets clean, organized books without chasing you for information. You spend your hours on client relationships and revenue instead of staring at QuickBooks trying to figure out where things went wrong.
The First Coast's Trusted Bookkeeping Partner
The Next Step:
A Free Discovery Call
Tell us where things stand with your books. Whether you're months behind or just looking for reliable bookkeeping going forward, we'll give you an honest assessment and a clear price.