In short

Agency bookkeeping separates fee revenue from pass-through costs. Retainers, project fees and markups are recorded as agency revenue, while client ad spend, printing and media purchased on behalf of clients go to reimbursable cost accounts, so net revenue is visible. Freelancer invoices and software subscriptions are coded to clients or overhead, and client prepayments for media are held as a liability until spent.

Media spend done right

When an agency pays for a client's advertising and rebills it, the money passes through. We record the media invoice to a reimbursable cost account and the rebill to a matching revenue account, or to a client liability if the client prepaid. Either way, reports show the agency's own revenue separately.

Client prepayments

Some clients fund ad budgets upfront. Those funds are owed back to the client until spent, so they belong in a liability account. We reconcile each client's balance monthly, which avoids awkward conversations later.

Freelancers by client

Freelancer invoices are coded to the client or project they worked on. We keep a vendor list with W-9 status and year-to-date totals.

Software and subscriptions

Agencies accumulate tools. We code subscriptions consistently and send a quarterly list so unused tools can be cancelled; tools bought for a specific client can be rebilled.

Monthly outputs

A profit and loss showing gross billings, pass-through costs and net revenue, plus client balances for prepaid media and an aging report.

Before we start

We gather your client contracts and retainers, project management or time-tracking exports, ad platform billing accounts and contractor agreements. Media spend billed to clients is set up in its own accounts so it can be matched against client rebills. Each retainer is set up as recurring revenue, and project fees are tagged by client so profitability reports work from day one.

Marketing & Creative Agencies problems this addresses

  • Client ad spend passes through the books and inflates revenue
  • Retainers are billed in advance for work done over the month
  • Freelancers and contractors are a large and variable cost
  • Project overruns are hard to see without time and cost tracking
  • Software subscriptions multiply quickly across clients and staff