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Laya

Industry expertise

Accounting for Web Dev Studios.

Web development studios live on two different clocks: lumpy project fees with deposits up front, and steady retainer, maintenance, and hosting revenue every month. Laya gives studio owners clean books that separate the two, recognize revenue correctly, and show whether each engagement and recurring plan actually makes money.

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Your business

The questions your numbers need to answer

Project revenue and deposits recognized wrong

Fixed-bid builds collect a deposit, then bill against milestones over weeks or months. Booking the full deposit as revenue on day one overstates a good month and understates the next, leaving your P&L disconnected from the work actually delivered.

Retainer and hosting margins hiding in the mix

Recurring retainers, care plans, and reselling hosting feel like easy money, but cloud, plugin, and license costs quietly erode them. Without per-plan margin tracking, you can't tell which recurring revenue is profitable and which is barely breaking even.

Hiring against a pipeline you can't see in dollars

Deciding when to add a developer means weighing committed project work and retainer revenue against payroll you take on for months. When backlog and recurring revenue aren't quantified in the books, that hire becomes a guess instead of a forecast.

Subcontractor and freelancer costs that blur job profit

Studios lean on freelance designers, developers, and white-label partners whose invoices arrive on their own timing. If those costs aren't matched to the projects they serve, job profitability is distorted and 1099 filing season turns into a scramble.

Our approach

How we help

Project revenue recognition and deposit handling

We book client deposits as a liability and recognize revenue as you hit milestones or deliver the build, so each month's P&L reflects work actually completed. The result is income that moves with delivery instead of with billing timing, and a clean picture of which projects landed in which period.

Retainer and recurring margin analysis

We separate retainers, maintenance plans, and hosting into their own revenue streams and pair them with the hosting, license, and plugin costs that support them. You see the true margin on recurring work each month, so you can reprice underwater plans and lean into the offerings that compound.

Capacity and hiring forecasting

We quantify committed project backlog and monthly recurring revenue against payroll and contractor spend, giving you decision-ready numbers before you hire. In Peak or Vista, our advisory work turns that into a forward view of cash and capacity, so headcount decisions rest on real coverage rather than a hopeful pipeline.

Subcontractor cost and 1099 tracking

We track freelancer and white-label partner spend against the projects they support, keeping job profitability honest and your contractor records clean. Vendor details stay organized throughout the year, so 1099 preparation at year-end is a non-event rather than a January fire drill.

What’s included

  • Monthly close by the 10th business day
  • Project-based revenue recognition and deposit tracking
  • Retainer, maintenance, and hosting margin reporting
  • Subcontractor and 1099 vendor tracking
  • Capacity and recurring-revenue reporting
  • Sales tax registration and filing (add-on)
  • Year-end books ready for tax filing

FAQ

Before we talk.

A few practical details, so you know what to expect.

How do you handle deposits and milestone billing on fixed-bid projects?
We record client deposits as deferred revenue (a liability) and recognize income as you complete milestones or deliver the build. That keeps your monthly P&L tied to work performed, so a large upfront payment doesn't make one month look great and the next look empty.
Can you show the margin on our retainers and hosting separately from project work?
Yes. We break recurring retainers, care plans, and hosting into their own revenue streams and match them to the hosting, license, and plugin costs behind them. Each monthly close shows the real margin on recurring work next to your project income.
How do you account for freelancers and white-label subcontractors?
We track subcontractor spend against the projects it supports, so job profitability stays accurate, and we keep vendor records organized through the year. That makes 1099 preparation at year-end straightforward instead of a scramble through old invoices.
Can the books help us decide when to hire?
We quantify your committed backlog and monthly recurring revenue against payroll and contractor costs so hiring is a forecast, not a gut call. On the Peak ($1,500/mo) or Vista ($1,000/mo) plans, our advisory work extends that into a forward-looking view of cash and capacity.
Do you handle sales tax on our services and digital products?
Where your services or digital products create a sales tax obligation, we register you, calculate the tax, and file on your required schedule. Sales tax is available as a $100/month add-on, and tax filing itself is handled by Laya, SPA Associates LLC, or another authorized provider as scoped in your engagement letter.
Do I need to use QuickBooks Online?
Yes. Laya runs on QuickBooks Online as the single source of truth, with your bank, payment processor, and project or invoicing tools connected digitally. QBO is included with Base, Summit, and Peak; Vista is advisory only. We work remotely over email and video, so there's no software for you to buy or maintain.

Explore the services

Monthly AccountingStrategic AdvisoryTax Preparation

Examples and guides

See the work behind the numbers

Explore an illustrative monthly close and practical guides to the decisions your reports can support.

Explore the illustrative sample close Project vs Retainer Profitability for Agencies: CFO GuideScope Creep and Agency Profitability: What It Really Costs

Start with a conversation

Tell us what
you’re building.

We’ll talk through your business, your books, and where you could use a hand.

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