Bookkeeping built for businesses where the revenue comes from time, not inventory.
Avenue Bookkeeping works with service-based small businesses across the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area: consultants, marketing and design agencies, contractors and trades, real estate professionals, online sellers, and other operations where the books need to track project revenue, retainers, 1099 contractors, and recurring billing — rather than warehouses full of inventory.
We don't claim deep operational experience in every industry we serve. What we offer is solid bookkeeping in QuickBooks® Online, applied to the cash flow patterns of your specific business, with a la carte pricing and a small team that answers the phone.
What service business bookkeeping involves.
Service-based businesses run their books differently from retail or manufacturing. The questions a service business needs answered each month aren't about inventory turnover or COGS — they're about where the time and money actually went.
Revenue recognition by project or period
Project-based revenue, retainer billing, milestone invoices — each pattern records to QuickBooks® Online differently. We set up your file so revenue lands in the right month, in the right category, regardless of how the client paid or when the work happened.
1099 contractor tracking
Most service businesses pay 1099 contractors. Subcontractors, freelancers, virtual assistants, specialized consultants. We track payments throughout the year, categorize them correctly, and generate 1099-NEC forms at year-end so the IRS work is done.
Expense categorization that reflects the business
Service businesses have categories that retail doesn't — software subscriptions, contractor labor, mileage, home-office allocations, professional development. We categorize each so your P&L tells you what you actually spent on what, not just a generic chart of accounts.
Cash flow visibility
Service businesses live on cash flow. We deliver monthly P&L and balance sheet that show what came in, what went out, what's in receivables, and what bills are due — clear enough to make decisions without needing a CPA in the room.
Different industries, same bookkeeping discipline.
Avenue serves a mix of service-based and small-business clients across the Spokane and Coeur d'Alene area. Each industry has its own quirks, but the underlying bookkeeping discipline carries across.
Consultants & Professional Services
Independent consultants, marketing agencies, design firms, IT services, coaching practices. Project work, retainers, 1099 contractor payments. The books need to track which client paid for what, and what your margin actually was on each engagement.
Construction & Contracting Trades
General contractors, subcontractors, specialty trades. Job costing categorization, materials vs labor breakdown, subcontractor 1099s, equipment expenses. We handle the bookkeeping side — for true job-cost software setup or estimating, you may also want a contracting-specific tool that we can help integrate with QuickBooks® Online.
Real Estate Professionals
Realtors, brokers, property managers, real estate investors. Commission tracking, property-level P&L, escrow handling, 1099-MISC for rent, mileage. We set up the bookkeeping to show what each property or each transaction is actually producing.
E-commerce & Online Sellers
Shopify stores, Amazon sellers, Etsy operators, subscription businesses. Payment processor reconciliation (Stripe, PayPal, Shopify Payments), multi-state sales tax tracking, inventory accounting if applicable, return and refund handling. Most of this is QuickBooks® Online configuration done right at setup.
Other Service Businesses
Salons, repair shops, cleaning services, lawn care, photographers, fitness studios. Avenue handles the standard bookkeeping work: monthly reconciliation, P&L, payroll, AP/AR. Industry-specific software integrations are handled case-by-case.
Restaurants & Dental Practices
These two industries are special — they're where our owner has direct operational experience from inside the business. See Restaurant Bookkeeping and Dental Practice Bookkeeping for industry-specific detail.
The bookkeeping work. Nothing outside our scope.
Avenue is a bookkeeping practice. We're not CPAs, fractional CFOs, tax preparers, or financial advisors. What we do is the bookkeeping work — done right, done in QuickBooks® Online, and handed clean to your CPA at tax time.
QuickBooks® Online Setup
Chart of accounts, bank connections, reporting — set up to match how your business runs.
Monthly Bookkeeping
Every month: accounts reconciled, transactions categorized, financials delivered. No chasing.
Financial Statements
P&L and balance sheet, monthly or quarterly — built for CPA handoff at tax time.
Accounts Payable
Bills paid on schedule. Nothing slips through.
Accounts Receivable
Invoicing handled. Outstanding payments followed up.
Payroll Services
QuickBooks® Online Payroll — direct deposit, tax payments, quarterly filings.
Bookkeeping Cleanup
Behind on your books? Whether it's a few months or a few years, we catch you up.
QuickBooks® App Integration
Connect your other tools to QuickBooks® Online — stop typing the same data twice.
Bookkeeping in QuickBooks® Online. Personally accountable.
Avenue Bookkeeping is a small team serving small businesses across Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Coeur d'Alene. Owner Melody Gerlitz holds QuickBooks® Online certifications at Levels 1 and 2, plus QuickBooks® Online Payroll certified. Avenue is a member of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor® Program.
We work primarily with service-based small businesses across the industries above. Books run in QuickBooks® Online. A la carte pricing — pick what you need.
“Clean books. Clear numbers. No surprises.”