Economico for Consultants
Invoices, payments, and margin for independent consultants
From your first retainer, your AI agent drafts the invoice, records the payment, and tells you what you actually earned — real books, no finance hire.
The deal's done — and now you can't say what you earned this month
The retainer is signed, the hours are logged somewhere, a milestone invoice went out as a PDF, and a client just paid you. Then someone asks the simple question and you go quiet: what did you actually make this month? Your billing is simple. It's the books that turn into the hard part — hours in one spreadsheet, PDFs in a folder, receipts in your inbox, nothing that adds up on demand. So you don't know until year-end, and year-end becomes a cleanup.
From your first retainer, this month's earnings are a number, not a hunt
The moment you sign up, Economico seeds a real, accrual-basis, double-entry ledger — AR, revenue, and cash accounts, ready to post to. From then on every invoice you send and every payment you take writes a proper journal on its own. Hourly, retainer, and fixed-fee work all land on the same ledger, so revenue isn't smeared across five tools. Ask what you earned this month and it's read straight off the books — no export, no reconciling, no reverse-engineering the total from a PDF pile.
- Drafted Mar 1
- Sent Mar 1
- Paid Mar 12
However you bill this engagement, it's recorded the right way
Whatever mix of arrangements you run, each one posts correctly.
- Hourly, time-and-materials work billed monthly against tracked hours.
- Monthly retainers with included hours and clean overage billing.
- Fixed-fee projects split across milestones.
- Paid in dollars or stablecoins by clients in the US and abroad, all on one ledger.
Every billing model in one place
Hourly, retainer, and fixed-fee work all post to the same double-entry ledger, so revenue isn't spread across five tools.
Invoice by asking
Tell the agent you already use to send a retainer invoice or log this week's hours; it drafts, sends, and records the payment for you.
Accountant-ready, no finance hire
AR, revenue, and cash accounts are ready at signup — accrual-basis books an accountant can use at year-end, without hiring one.
Dollars or stablecoins, still one total
When a US or overseas client pays in stablecoins, it turns into books you — and your accountant — can actually use, reconciled to the original invoice.
The books are structured to answer what runs your practice
Books aren't just for filing. Economico's are shaped so your agent can answer the questions behind the work: your effective hourly rate, which client is most profitable per hour, whether it's time to raise rates, and whether you can afford to turn down the low-margin engagement. Decisions, read from your real books whenever you ask.
A solo practice's first quarter · in journal entries
Retainer, sprint, hourly — what did you actually earn?
Scroll through Northstar Advisory Studio's first quarter — a solo consultant, three clients, three billing models, one ledger.
You go solo
Maya opens Northstar Advisory with $15,000 of her own. One founder, no finance hire — the books start anyway.
2 tool calls
Economicocreate_share_class✓- Economicoissue_shares✓
The first retainer
Arcadia Robotics takes a $4,000 monthly advisory retainer. Invoiced means earned — and receivable, not cash.
4 tool calls
- Economicocreate_party✓
- Economicocreate_contract✓
- Economicocreate_invoice✓
- Economicosend_invoice✓
The little bills book themselves
Notion and the bank fees, charged to the card, receipts in the inbox. Total overhead: $165.
4 tool calls
Gmailsearch_gmail_messages✓- Gmailread_gmail_message✓
- Economicoreceive_bill✓
- Economicoreceive_bill✓
A fixed-fee sprint lands
Copperline Labs buys a $7,500 positioning sprint. Retainer, milestone, and hourly work all post to the same ledger.
2 tool calls
- Economicocreate_invoice✓
- Economicosend_invoice✓
Hours become an invoice
Fourteen hours of founder advisory for OrbitOps, logged and billed at $200 an hour.
3 tool calls
- Economicocreate_obligation✓
- Economicocreate_invoice✓
- Economicosend_invoice✓
The quarter closes
Three clients, three billing models, $1,345 of total overhead — and a real answer to the only question that matters.
2 tool calls
- Economicoget_income_statement✓
- Economicosummarize_revenue✓
Ask it the questions you used to guess at
Send Acme their $6,000 monthly advisory retainer invoice, due in 14 days.
Log 12 hours on the Bright Harbor project at $250/hr and invoice it against our MSA.
What did I actually earn this month, and which client is most profitable per hour?
What you'll use
The money loop, tuned for consultants.
Get started
The finance team you don't have to hire.
Hand your agent the setup guide and it walks through the rest — real books from day one, no dashboard, no finance hire.