Numbers with Heart & Edge.
Most accountants stay in the office. I go into the "Internal Affairs" of your business to ensure your legacy is built on bedrock, not sand.
About Sum & Sage Co.
Financial Oversight for the Built Environment
Most project-based firms don’t fail because they lack skill.
They fail because the numbers stop telling the truth.
Sum & Sage Co. exists to prevent that.
We provide forensic financial oversight for firms across the built environment — including general contractors, specialty trades, architects, engineers, and development teams — where small financial errors quietly compound into expensive problems.
Our work is not about basic bookkeeping.
It is about control, clarity, and protection.
The White-Glove Promise My philosophy is simple: Your gloves stay white. You are the visionary; I am the commander of your capital. From managing your A/P and A/R to handling your payroll and job-costing, I ensure that when you take your work gloves off at the end of the day, your profit is secure and your mind is at peace.
The Impact Commitment While my daily work involves the forensic oversight of complex firms, I believe financial integrity belongs to everyone. We maintain a permanent commitment to our local community, offering streamlined oversight for local small businesses with simple books. Whether we are scaling the skyline or grounding the local neighborhood shop, we ensure every entrepreneur has a foundation built to last.
Meet the Founder,
Chandler Kirby
Hi, I'm Chandler, the founder of Sum & Sage Co. My career started in the high-stakes world of nonprofit audit, where I learned that if you aren't looking for the "leak," you won't find it.
In an industry built on handshakes, heavy machinery, and hard work, the paperwork is often where the legacy dies. I’ve seen brilliant builders—from Architects designing the skyline to Master Trades powering it—lose their profit to the "invisible" leaks of messy data.
I founded Sum & Sage Co. to be the sanctuary for your business in an industry that never stops moving.
The Forensic Brain With a Master of Science in Financial Crimes, I approach your firm through a lens that a standard bookkeeper simply doesn't possess. I don’t just "check the math"; I conduct a forensic symphony. I am the gatekeeper of your cash flow and the guardian of your margins, trained to hunt for the fraud, slippage, and systemic waste that stand between you and your true equity.
Boots on the Ground I don’t believe in remote-only oversight. I am personally driven by a deep curiosity for the "how" behind the "how much." You’ll find me on-site in my boots, walking the lots and asking the random questions that keep vendors honest and crews sharp. I love getting behind the scenes of your craft, because that curiosity is what catches the $20,000 errors that others miss from a desk.
Who We Are
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Project-based businesses are uniquely vulnerable financially.
Revenue is earned over time.
Costs arrive early and unevenly.
Billing rarely matches reality perfectly.
And once multiple projects overlap, small inaccuracies stop being small.What looks like:
“Cash flow issues”
“Tight margins”
“Billing confusion”
“Growing pains”
Is often something deeper:
Misaligned project or phase tracking
Incomplete cost capture
Timing distortions
Weak internal controls
False confidence in reports that technically balance
We exist to find those fractures before they become visible to lenders, bonding agents, or the market.
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Sum & Sage Co. operates with an investigative mindset.
Before we manage, we examine.
Before we forecast, we verify.
Before we build systems, we stress-test them.Our work is rooted in:
Audit discipline
Forensic financial analysis
Risk identification
Control design
Real-world project behavior — not theory
This is why every engagement begins with a Forensic Diagnostic.
It protects our clients from false confidence — and ensures that ongoing oversight is grounded in reality, not assumptions.
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We work with project-based firms across the entire lifecycle, including:
General contractors and specialty trades
Architecture and engineering firms
Design–build practices
Development and project management teams
Whether you build the work, design it, engineer it, or manage it — the financial risks are remarkably similar. Only the symptoms change.
Most of our clients come to us when:
They don’t fully trust their numbers
Projects feel busy but underperform financially
Cash flow is unpredictable despite “good” revenue
Reporting exists, but confidence does not
Importantly, most of our work happens long before bonding, lending, or audits are on the table.
Those outcomes become easier once the foundation is sound. -
Financial clarity is a form of risk management
Clean books are meaningless if they misrepresent reality
Control matters more than appearance
Most financial failures are preventable
Trust is built through boundaries, not promises
We do not chase volume.
We do not take every client.
And we do not inherit systems we haven’t examined.That restraint is intentional.
A Note on Impact
In addition to our commercial work, Sum & Sage Co. maintains an Impact Commitment — offering limited, reduced-rate support to select mission-driven organizations.
This program is separate from our commercial services and reflects our belief that strong financial stewardship strengthens entire communities.