Industry expertise
Consulting firms sell time and expertise, so profit lives in the gap between what partners draw and what the firm actually earns. Laya gives partner-led advisory and consulting practices clean, timely books — separating draws from operating costs and surfacing the utilization and billing metrics that decide whether a quarter is profitable.
Your business
When partners pull money out as draws, those transfers are not business expenses — but they often land in the books that way. Mixing equity distributions with opex distorts profitability and makes it impossible to know what the firm truly earns before partners get paid.
Revenue is a function of billable hours times realized rate. Without tracking utilization, write-offs, and effective rate by consultant, you can't tell whether soft margins come from idle benches, under-pricing, or work that never gets billed.
As a partnership or S-corp, firm profit flows to partners' personal returns, and no employer withholds on it. Partners owe quarterly estimates on that income, and missing or under-paying them triggers IRS underpayment penalties and a painful April surprise.
Fixed-fee projects, monthly retainers, and time-and-materials engagements each earn revenue on a different timeline. Booking cash as it arrives rather than as it's earned overstates good months, understates lean ones, and hides which engagement types actually pay.
Our approach
We structure your chart of accounts and equity so partner draws and distributions sit in equity, never in expenses. Each monthly close shows true operating profit before partner compensation, plus a clear partner-by-partner view of draws taken — so you always know what the firm earned versus what was pulled out.
We build your books to track revenue against billable hours so each close surfaces effective rate, realization, and utilization. You see which consultants and engagements drive margin and which write-offs and benched time are quietly eroding it — the numbers you need to price and staff on facts.
On the Summit and Peak plans, Laya, SPA Associates LLC, or another authorized provider projects each partner's pass-through income and gives you quarterly estimated-payment guidance, so partners fund their estimates on time and avoid IRS underpayment penalties. Owner individual returns can be added on at $100–$200/month per return.
We map fixed-fee projects, retainers, and time-and-materials work to the right revenue accounts so your P&L reflects revenue as it's earned, not just as cash lands. That gives you an honest read on monthly performance and a clear comparison of which engagement models are most profitable.
FAQ
A few practical details, so you know what to expect.
Examples and guides
Explore an illustrative monthly close and practical guides to the decisions your reports can support.
Start with a conversation
We’ll talk through your business, your books, and where you could use a hand.
