Consultants: your books, closed by the fifth business day.
Quick answer
For consultants, TrainedBooks catches your books up and keeps them clean: a person does the cleanup, using our software. Every bank and card transaction is sorted with a plain-English reason, and you get your real profit and a location-aware tax set-aside (real federal + your state's rates), and prepares a tax-ready package so your tax pro just reviews and files. You review the few flagged items and own an exportable ledger. The diagnostic is free with no card required; a one-time cleanup starts at $1,500 and Keep-Clean at $49/mo, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. It is bookkeeping, not a tax preparer, and it does not file returns.
Last updated: September 2026
Independent and boutique strategy, management, and IT consultants. Drop in your bank and card activity and TrainedBooks closes your books by the fifth business day: your real profit, a monthly tax set-aside so estimates never surprise you, and a clean packet your CPA can file from.
The problem
Retainers land in irregular chunks, travel and software are mixed in with personal cards, and quarterly estimated taxes sneak up on you. Reconciling it all by hand eats the time you could be billing.
What TrainedBooks does
Drop in your bank and card activity and TrainedBooks closes your books by the fifth business day: your real profit, a monthly tax set-aside so estimates never surprise you, and a clean packet your CPA can file from.
Built for how a consultant actually runs
Retainer and milestone deposits matched to income, not lumped as one mystery transfer
Travel, meals, and conference spend categorized for the deduction with a plain-English reason
Software and subscriptions tracked so you see exactly what your practice runs on
A monthly tax set-aside target, adjusted for how a solo consultancy is taxed
How it works
Bring in your activity
Upload a bank or QuickBooks CSV, a statement PDF, or a photo of a receipt.
TrainedBooks does the close
Every line categorized with a confidence and a plain-English reason. It learns each correction you make.
You get your numbers
Profit, margin, and what to set aside for taxes, plus a CPA-ready packet. You approve; you stay in control.
Bookkeeping for consultants: FAQ
Can TrainedBooks handle irregular retainer and project income?
Yes. Deposits (ACH retainers, Stripe transfers, milestone payments) are categorized as income with a confidence and a reason, so your revenue line is accurate even when timing is lumpy.
Does TrainedBooks help with quarterly estimated taxes?
TrainedBooks shows a monthly tax set-aside target based on your profit and how your business is taxed, so you always know what to put aside. It is not a tax preparer. It hands your CPA a clean, file-ready packet.
What does my CPA get at year-end?
A one-click accountant packet in the format accountants expect: P&L, balances, open items, and the full transaction register, plus your underlying ledger, which you own and can export anytime.