Professional services in Ontario
Bookkeeping for Ontario professional service firms
Professional firms earn through time, retainers, fixed-fee engagements, and reimbursable costs. Their books need a clear trail from engagement billing to payment without treating trust, client, or restricted funds as ordinary operating cash.
Records
The source records this workflow expects.
- Retainer, fixed-fee, milestone, and hourly invoices
- Time and billing exports supplied by the firm
- Reimbursable client costs and recovered disbursements
- Operating-account, corporate-card, and approved trust-account summaries
Monthly workflow
How the records move through month end.
- Receive approved billing reports, issued invoices, expense records, and account statements after the billing cycle closes.
- Record fees, approved disbursements, retainers, and collections using the engagement and client structure supplied by the firm.
- Reconcile operating accounts and approved summaries, then identify aged receivables, unapplied payments, and missing support.
- Deliver a month-end record package that separates operating activity from items requiring the firm or its accountant to decide.
Cleanup risks
Where the record trail commonly breaks.
- Retainers or client funds mixed into operating revenue without supporting direction
- Recovered client costs netted against expenses, obscuring the engagement record
- Time-system billings that do not agree with invoices or receivables
- Partner or owner spending posted without a documented account treatment
Systems and handoffs
Supported inputs, with clear owner responsibilities.
Common supported systems
- QuickBooks Online
- Clio reports and exports
- Practice-management or time-billing exports
- Stripe and online payment reports
- Bank and corporate-card feeds
Scope boundaries
- The firm remains responsible for professional trust rules, client-fund decisions, and approval of engagement coding.
- Ridge & Ledger does not give legal, tax, assurance, or professional-regulatory advice.
Useful next steps
Review the record standard before you buy.
Ridge & Ledger records supplied information and flags gaps. Your accountant or qualified professional remains responsible for tax treatment, filings, and advice.