Accountants for Engineers.

You quote projects based on estimated hours, but actual time can blow out due to scope changes, client requests, design complexity, or unforeseen issues. Without systems tracking actual hours and costs against quoted amounts, you won’t know which projects made money and which ones lost money until it’s too late to adjust pricing or manage scope.

Walker Hill implements time and cost tracking systems integrated with your accounting, allocates overhead costs to projects appropriately, calculates actual profitability by project and project type, and provides detailed financial reports showing where your margins sit. You’ll know which work is profitable, which clients are difficult, and what types of projects to pursue versus avoid.

Engineering projects often have payment structures that don’t align with your cost timing. You might bill monthly based on progress, at milestones, on completion, or in arrears. Meanwhile, you’re paying staff fortnightly, software subscriptions monthly, and contractors on their terms. The gap between incurring costs and receiving payment creates cash flow pressure.

Walker Hill builds cash flow forecasting around your project pipeline and billing cycles, identifies when cash will be tight, advises on maintaining working capital reserves, and helps you structure payment terms in contracts that improve cash flow. We also model the cash flow impact of taking on larger projects that tie up working capital for extended periods.

Engineers can claim significant professional expenses, but many miss deductions or claim things incorrectly. Professional indemnity insurance, registration fees, membership of professional bodies, continuing professional development courses and conferences, technical journals and publications, software subscriptions, equipment and computers, and workspace costs all qualify. Missing these leaves money on the table.

Walker Hill tracks your professional expenses throughout the year, advises on what requires receipts versus what can be claimed based on reasonable estimates, explains how to claim workspace costs appropriately, and ensures your professional development and membership claims are properly substantiated. You’ll claim everything you’re entitled to while maintaining records that support your position.

Many engineers price based on market rates, competitor pricing, or what they think clients will pay, not on their actual costs plus desired margin. You’re not factoring in all overhead, non-billable time, business development effort, administrative burden, and professional development costs. The result is being busy but not earning enough to sustain the practice long-term.

Walker Hill helps you calculate your true cost per billable hour including all overhead, understand what you need to charge to achieve your income goals, analyse which services are profitable at current pricing, and develop fee structures that support financial stability. You’ll make informed decisions about pricing that reflect your actual business economics.

As your engineering business grows and income increases, tax obligations become more complex. You might be paying quarterly PAYG instalments, dealing with GST, managing employee PAYG withholding if you’ve hired staff, and facing higher personal tax rates if operating as a sole trader. Without proper planning, you’re either overpaying tax throughout the year or facing large bills at year-end.

Walker Hill manages your tax instalments, adjusts them when your income changes significantly, handles BAS and GST compliance, manages payroll tax obligations if applicable, and provides quarterly projections showing your likely tax liability. You’ll know what you owe well before lodgement and can plan accordingly.

Solo engineers or small practices often mix business and personal finances, using one account for everything, paying business expenses from personal funds, or drawing money for personal use without proper records. This creates problems for tax, makes profitability analysis impossible, complicates bookkeeping, and raises issues if you’re ever audited.

Walker Hill sets you up with proper separation from day one: dedicated business account, clear processes for recording expenses and drawings, accounting software that integrates with bank feeds, and systems that maintain clean distinction between business and personal. Your financial records will be clear, compliant, and useful for decision-making.

Growing your engineering practice might involve bringing in associates, hiring engineers, forming partnerships, or expanding service offerings. Each option has different financial implications, tax treatment, structural requirements, and risk considerations. Making these decisions without proper financial analysis and planning can create problems that are expensive to fix later.

Walker Hill advises on financial implications of growth options before you commit, models the economics of hiring versus contracting, helps structure partnership arrangements appropriately, and provides business advisory support on expansion decisions. We ensure your financial operations can support growth plans and that structures protect your interests.

Engineering projects often require specialist consultants, testing services, surveying, or other subcontractors. These costs can be substantial, get incurred before you invoice clients, and affect project profitability if not managed carefully. Without proper tracking, subcontractor costs blow out project budgets before you realise what’s happening.

Walker Hill implements systems that track subcontractor costs by project, forecast subcontractor expenses based on project scope, flag when costs are tracking over budget, and ensure subcontractor expenses are billed to clients appropriately where contracts allow. You’ll maintain control over project costs rather than discovering overruns after projects complete.