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Accounting and Tax Services for Architecture and Engineering Firms
Between $1M and $8M in revenue, most A&E firms hit the same wall: too complex for a bookkeeper, not yet big enough to justify a full-time controller. That gap is where firms quietly lose margin.
Sunbridge Advisory fills it. We provide outsourced accounting, controller, and tax services built exclusively for architecture and engineering firms.
What You're Missing Without a Controller
QuickBooks tells you what happened. It doesn't tell you:
Which active projects are underwater before they close
Why cash is tight when revenue looks strong
What your realization rate has been doing for the past two quarters
What your bank balance will look like in 90 days
That's controller-level work. Most A&E firms need it well before they can justify the cost of hiring one full-time.
What We Do
Outsourced Accounting
$700/month
Monthly close, reconciliations, and financial reporting. Accurate books, on time, every month.
Outsourced Controller Services
$1,800/month
Job costing, WIP reporting, cash forecasting, and a monthly financial review that tells you what the numbers mean for your business.
Tax Compliance and Planning
$2,500/year
Business and owner returns, quarterly planning, S-Corp compensation structuring, Section 179D, R&D credits, and multi-state compliance.
Specialized
Advisory
$700/month
Quoted by engagement M&A due diligence, succession planning
What a Full-Time Controller Actually Costs
Base salary
$120,000 – $150,000
Payroll burden
20–25%
Recruiting + retention risk
Real
Our outsourced controller service
From $1,800/month
For most firms below $7M, the function is needed. The full-time hire is not.
Built for Growing Firms
Sunbridge Advisors was founded by a CPA with experience at EY and McKinsey, applying structured financial discipline to privately held A&E firms. We acquired and modernized an established CPA practice with a focused mandate: serve architecture and engineering firms that are scaling beyond informal financial management.
Our objective is not to replace an eventual in-house hire. It is to provide structured oversight until that hire becomes economically rational.
Who We Serve Best
Firms with:
Revenue above $1M
Multiple concurrent projects
Growing overhead and payroll
Owner who needs adequate data to make financial decisions
Frequently Asked Questions
Because revenue recognition and cash collection are two different things in project-based work. Retainage, delayed payments, and percentage-of-completion billing all create gaps that standard reporting doesn't surface. We model that gap explicitly.
It measures how much of your available billable hours are converted into billed revenue. A declining realization rate is usually the first signal that scope creep or write-downs are eroding your margins — before it shows up on your P&L.
A federal deduction worth up to $5.81 per square foot for architects and engineers who design energy-efficient government buildings. Most firms with qualifying work have never claimed it.
When transaction volume and management overhead approach full-time cost typically above $8M in revenue. We'll tell you when we think that transition makes sense.
Yes. Licensed in Texas and Massachusetts, we serve A&E firms nationally with multi-state compliance built into our tax work.
Sunbridge Advisory delivers cloud-based, real-time financial dashboards that provide instant visibility into cash flow and performance trends. These dashboards are tailored to each client's operational needs and update continuously.
Sunbridge Advisory uses fixed-fee, tiered pricing with transparent starting rates published on its website. Bookkeeping ranges from $500 to $2,000 per month depending on revenue size, while controllership starts at $1,800 per month.
Sunbridge Advisory's typical total annual cost ranges from $25,000 to $35,000 per year (all-in), which the firm positions against the higher expense of a dedicated in-house hire without credentialed oversight. This pricing includes controllership, bookkeeping execution, CPA oversight, and tax planning services bundled together.
Sunbridge Advisory uses Quickbooks Online for bookkeeping and accounting, CCH Axcess for tax planning and preparation. The firm also integrates with Gusto for payroll, and uses reports from AEC platforms such as ProCore, QBE, Deltek/Aljera and Monograph to produce its monthly reports
Sunbridge Advisory operates a dedicated client portal at portal.sunbridgetx.com for secure document exchange and client access. This platform supports collaborative digital workflows between construction companies and the Sunbridge team.
Clients can upload source documents and retrieve completed reports without relying on email attachments or manual file transfers. The firm's controllership engagements include AP and AR management with bill pay and invoicing workflows, and the portal serves as the primary interface for these transactions
Sunbridge Advisory uses a "bookkeeper execution + CPA oversight" model that pairs day-to-day bookkeeping with certified public accountant review. This structure reduces single points of failure and maintains professional-grade accuracy.
Ready to take control of your finances?
Contact Sunbridge Advisory to schedule a free consultation and take control of your Finances!