Consultant (management / professional) software, built around E&O, IRS and retainer + hour-bank billing engine

Arkathos gives a consultant (management a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around turning advisory engagements into billed retainers and hours. Arkathos tailors a consultant (management workspace around 5 agents: Treasury, Sentinel, Scribe, Quartermaster, Herald.

Compliance a consultant (management can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a consultant (management, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A consultant (management must maintain a Business entity registration (LLC / Corporation formation + periodic report), through the State Secretary of State / Division of Corporations, which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a General Business License, which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a DBA / Fictitious Business Name Registration, through the County Clerk, which renews every 5 years.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Local business license / business tax registration certificate, through the City or county government (municipal licensing / tax office), which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Home Occupation Permit, through the Municipal Zoning Dept, which has no fixed renewal cycle.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Professional liability (Errors & Omissions / E&O) insurance, through the Private insurance carrier (admitted / surplus lines), which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a General liability insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Professional Liability (Errors & Omissions) Insurance, which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Cyber liability insurance, through the Private insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Workers' compensation insurance, through the State-regulated insurer or state workers' comp fund, which renews every year.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Project Management Professional (PMP), through the Project Management Institute (PMI), which renews every 3 years.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, through the Project Management Institute (PMI), which renews every 3 years.
• The Project Management Professional (PMP) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (8h Education - Ways of Working (Talent Triangle per-area minimum), 8h Education - Power Skills (Talent Triangle per-area minimum), 8h Education - Business Acumen (Talent Triangle per-area minimum), 11h Education - general (remaining, any Talent Triangle area; Education min 35 total), 25h Giving Back (maximum 25)).
• The Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (8h Ways of Working, 8h Power Skills, 8h Business Acumen).
• A consultant (management must maintain a Certified Management Consultant (CMC), through the Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC USA), which renews every 3 years.
• A consultant (management must maintain a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) Certification, through the Institute of Management Consultants USA, which renews every 3 years.
• The Certified Management Consultant (CMC) carries a continuing-education requirement of 30 hours every 36 months (30h Continuing professional development (education pathway; points-based, ethics affirmation also required each cycle)).
• The Certified Management Consultant (CMC) Certification carries a continuing-education requirement of 30 hours every 36 months.
• A consultant (management must maintain a SHRM Certified Professional / Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-CP / SHRM-SCP), through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), which renews every 3 years.
• The SHRM Certified Professional / Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-CP / SHRM-SCP) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (60h Professional development credits (PDCs), general (no fixed category or ethics minimum)).

Everything Arkathos runs for a consultant (management

These are the agents set up first for a consultant (management — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Guardhouse, Courier, War Room, Armory, Marshall, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Watchtower, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Sentinel — Contact & lead management, Deal / estimate pipeline, Task & follow-up tracking, SMS & email outreach, Pipeline reporting.
• Scribe — Document & contract templates, E-signature, Proposal & form builder, PDF / Word export.
• Quartermaster — Online booking & appointments, Calendar & availability, Events & waitlists, Automated reminders, Job dispatch & scheduling.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored consultant (management workspace

These are net-new, consultant (management-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Retainer + hour-bank billing engine (Treasury): Monthly retainer invoices backed by a prepaid hour bank that draws down as logged time is applied, auto-renews, alerts at low remaining hours, and rolls/forfeits unused hours per contract. Treasury only issues one-off invoices today.
• Engagement timer to draft invoice (Treasury): Per-engagement billable timer with budget burn-down that converts logged hours into draft invoice lines at the contracted rate — the missing hours-to-money bridge for hourly advisory work.
• Client engagement container (Sentinel): An 'engagement' object tying one client to its SOW, budget, logged time, deliverables, and invoices so the consultant sees scope-vs-spend in one place; dispatch_jobs is the nearest reusable base.
• SOW / MSA / NDA e-sign signing flow (Scribe): Public signer page with ESIGN/UETA audit trail so engagement contracts get countersigned in-platform; scribe_signatures exists but the signer surface is still a stub.
• Solo quarterly estimated-tax set-aside (Treasury): Schedule C / 1099 estimated-quarterly-tax estimator that watches net income and recommends a per-payment set-aside against the four IRS due dates, since a solo consultant has no payroll withholding.

The agents and tabs you get

Treasury for a consultant (management surfaces Financial sheet, Invoices, Draft estimate, Transactions, Chat. Sentinel for a consultant (management surfaces Overview, Contacts, Tasks, Chat. Scribe for a consultant (management surfaces Documents, Templates, Chat. Quartermaster for a consultant (management surfaces Calendar, Bookings, Availability, Chat. Herald for a consultant (management surfaces Brand voice, Compose, Schedule, Get found, Directories, ✦Studio, Chat.

Frequently asked questions

best all-in-one software to run a consulting firm

PSA tools like BigTime or Productive combine projects, time, billing and utilization. Arkathos goes wider — 16 AI agents covering finances, CRM, scheduling, payroll, compliance and marketing — flat-priced and tailored to consultants.

how much does consulting software cost per user

Project and time tools run about $6-$15/user/month, CRMs median ~$34, accounting ~$30 — and it stacks per seat across tools. Arkathos charges one flat fee with no per-seat pricing.

how do consultants track billable hours and invoice clients

Use time trackers (Toggl, Harvest, My Hours) to run timers per client/project, split billable vs non-billable, then push hours into invoices. Arkathos logs time and auto-generates client invoices in one flow.

how do I write a consulting proposal for a client

Include an executive summary, problem statement, scope, deliverables, timeline, and fees/terms, then a signature block. PandaDoc or Paperbell template it. Arkathos drafts tailored proposals and contracts per client.

do I need a CRM as an independent consultant

Not mandatory, but a CRM systematizes your pipeline, follow-ups and client history you can't keep in your head. Most CRMs suit sales teams; Arkathos includes a consultant-tuned CRM with automated follow-ups.

do consultants have to pay quarterly estimated taxes

Yes — if you'll owe $1,000+, pay quarterly (Apr 15, Jun 15, Sep 15, Jan 15) covering income plus 15.3% self-employment tax via Form 1040-ES. Arkathos tracks these deadlines and estimates automatically.

what software do i need to start a consulting business

Typically accounting (QuickBooks), a CRM, time tracking, project management, and proposal/contract tools — 4-5 subscriptions. Arkathos consolidates finances, CRM, scheduling, contracts and marketing into one platform so you skip stitching tools together.

best scheduling software for consultant discovery calls

Calendly-style per-seat schedulers ($10-$30/user/month) let clients book discovery and strategy calls that sync to your calendar. Arkathos includes built-in scheduling with reminders and no per-seat fee.

how do consultants manage projects and resource allocation

Tools like Asana, Float or Kantata track multi-phase timelines, utilization and who's overloaded. Arkathos handles project tracking alongside CRM, invoicing and payroll, so delivery and billing share one system.

What licenses and insurance does a consultant (management need?

Arkathos tracks 15 items for a consultant (management, including Business entity registration (LLC / Corporation formation + periodic report), General Business License, DBA / Fictitious Business Name Registration, Local business license / business tax registration certificate. Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

What continuing education is required for a consultant (management?

The Project Management Professional (PMP) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (8h Education - Ways of Working (Talent Triangle per-area minimum), 8h Education - Power Skills (Talent Triangle per-area minimum), 8h Education - Business Acumen (Talent Triangle per-area minimum), 11h Education - general (remaining, any Talent Triangle area; Education min 35 total), 25h Giving Back (maximum 25)). The Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (8h Ways of Working, 8h Power Skills, 8h Business Acumen). The Certified Management Consultant (CMC) carries a continuing-education requirement of 30 hours every 36 months (30h Continuing professional development (education pathway; points-based, ethics affirmation also required each cycle)). The Certified Management Consultant (CMC) Certification carries a continuing-education requirement of 30 hours every 36 months. The SHRM Certified Professional / Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-CP / SHRM-SCP) carries a continuing-education requirement of 60 hours every 36 months (60h Professional development credits (PDCs), general (no fixed category or ethics minimum)). Watchtower logs hours by category and flags shortfalls before the deadline.

Which Arkathos agents does a consultant (management get?

Arkathos tailors a consultant (management workspace around 5 agents: Treasury, Sentinel, Scribe, Quartermaster, Herald.

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