Industries
Agencies and consultancies
Finbryn keeps books for UK marketing agencies, design studios and consultancies billing on retainers and project fees, spreading retainer income across the period it covers and tagging client-reimbursable expenses so they get billed back rather than absorbed. We work inside Xero, closing by business day five.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
GBP
| Line | Aug | Jul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 142,380 | 131,904 | +10,476 |
| Cost of sales | (51,260) | (48,115) | (3,145) |
| Gross profit | 91,120 | 83,789 | +7,331 |
| Payroll | (46,300) | (45,900) | (400) |
| SoftwareNoted | (6,480) | (5,490) | (990) |
| Rent | (8,000) | (8,000) | 0 |
| Other operating | (9,215) | (9,870) | +655 |
| Net income | 21,125 | 14,529 | +6,596 |
Reviewer's note
Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Exceptions report
Where the books usually hurt
Retainer income gets booked as cash received instead of spread across the service period it covers
Contractor and subcontractor payments pile up in accounts payable without a clear view of project margin
Client-reimbursable expenses get mixed into firm overhead instead of billed back out
Utilization and project profitability questions come up in client reviews and the books cannot answer them
Retainer income spread wrong distorts every month
A retainer paid upfront covers a period of work, not a single point in time, and an agency that books the whole payment as income the month it lands overstates that month and understates the rest of the retainer term. This gets worse the more clients an agency has on retainer at once, because the distortion compounds across the whole book of business rather than sitting in one contract.
Finbryn spreads retainer income across the period it is earned rather than the period it is received, so the profit and loss reflects work actually delivered. Contractor and freelance payments, which UK agencies rely on heavily, get tracked against the specific project or client they relate to, so it is clear which engagements are actually carrying a margin and which are being run at a loss to keep a client happy.
Client-reimbursable expenses and IR35
Expenses an agency pays on a client's behalf, such as media spend, stock photography licences or print costs, are meant to be billed straight back out, not absorbed into firm overhead where they quietly erode margin. We tag those costs at the point they are recorded so nothing gets missed at invoicing time.
Agencies working with a mix of employees and personal service company contractors also carry off-payroll working (IR35) exposure under the UK's off-payroll working rules. We track which engagements involve contractors operating through their own companies and flag where a status determination or Check Employment Status for Tax assessment has not been documented, though the determination itself is a legal judgement for the agency and its adviser, not something Finbryn decides.
Working with Finbryn
You keep your Xero file, with a named pod on your account and a recorded handover memo whenever that pod changes. Books are reconciled weekly and closed by business day five, with utilisation and project profitability included as standard reporting rather than a bolt-on. Agencies switching providers or catching up after a gap typically start with a catch-up project, priced separately from ongoing monthly bookkeeping. VAT returns and Companies House filings are prepared as support work; the actual submission is made by you or by the UK agent you appoint. Finbryn does not file with HMRC or Companies House. Pricing is published on our pricing page, with terms set out in your engagement letter.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Agencies and consultancies
Do you handle multi-currency client billing?
Where an agency bills overseas clients in a foreign currency, we reconcile that account in its own currency before it rolls up into your Xero reports.
Do you spread retainer income across the period it covers?
Yes. Retainer payments are recognised over the period they relate to rather than booked as income the month they land in the bank.
Can you flag IR35 or off-payroll working exposure?
We track which engagements involve contractors working through their own companies and flag where a status determination has not been documented. The determination itself is a legal judgement for the agency and its adviser.
Do you handle client-reimbursable expenses like media spend?
Yes. Reimbursable costs are tagged at the point they are recorded so they get billed back to the client rather than absorbed into overhead.
How do you handle a media buy where the agency is billed before the client pays?
The media cost and the client billing are tracked against the same campaign so the timing gap between paying the platform and collecting from the client is visible, rather than the outlay showing as a plain cost with no link back to the revenue it will generate.
Can you track profitability by client or project?
Yes, income and direct costs can be tagged by client or project so margin is visible each month.
Do you handle a mix of employees and contractors?
Yes, payroll coordination and contractor payments are both part of the monthly bookkeeping.
What are the common bookkeeping challenges for a agencies and consultancies business?
Beyond the basics, client-reimbursable expenses get mixed into firm overhead instead of billed back out and utilization and project profitability questions come up in client reviews and the books cannot answer them come up often in this industry. We build the chart of accounts and reconciliation process around those specific patterns rather than a generic template that ignores how the business actually operates.
What software do you support for agencies and consultancies?
We work inside QuickBooks Online and Xero, along with the other tools listed on this page that are common in the agencies and consultancies industry. If you have no file yet, we set one up in your name so you own it from day one.
Related services
- BookkeepingMonthly bookkeepingOngoing monthly bookkeeping: transactions sorted into categories, accounts reconciled and month-end reports delivered in the software you already use.
- BookkeepingCatch-up and cleanup bookkeepingMonths or years of books brought up to date and reconciled, with a written record of every adjustment, so monthly bookkeeping can start from a clean base.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.