What we know about agency finances.
Practical thinking on profit, pricing, margins and what the numbers really mean for agency founders.
Building a Financial Dashboard Your Whole Agency Team Can Understand
Learn how to build a simple agency financial dashboard that your entire team can use, not just the finance lead. This guide shows you which KPIs to track, how to visualise them clearly, and how to create a culture of financial awareness. Get the financial visibility your agency needs to make smarter, faster commercial decisions.
Agency Office vs Remote: The Full Financial Comparison
This guide provides a complete financial breakdown of agency office vs remote models for marketing and creative agencies. You'll learn how to calculate the true cost of an office lease versus remote agency costs, including hidden expenses and productivity impacts. Use our framework to make a data-driven decision that protects your margins and supports your growth goals.
Scope Changes Mid-Project: How Agencies Should Price Additional Work
Learn how to price mid-project scope changes without damaging client relationships or agency profitability. This guide covers clear change request pricing processes, communication strategies, and commercial frameworks used by successful agencies. You'll get practical steps to turn scope creep into a profitable, professional part of your service delivery.
Agency Pipeline Forecasting: Predicting Revenue from Sales Activity
Agency pipeline forecasting turns your sales opportunities into a reliable revenue prediction. This guide shows you how to build a weighted pipeline forecast, assign realistic win probabilities, and use the data to make confident decisions about hiring and cash flow. You'll learn to move from guesswork to a data-driven commercial plan.
Payment Chasing for Agencies: Templates and Tactics That Work
Learn how to build a professional, effective payment chasing system for your agency. This guide provides ready-to-use email templates, a clear escalation process, and preventative strategies to reduce late payments. Improve your cash flow by getting paid on time, every time.
Agency Referral Fees: How to Structure Finder's Fee Arrangements
This guide explains how marketing and creative agencies can structure profitable and fair agency referral fees. You'll learn the standard commission models, how to draft clear agreements, and the common financial pitfalls to avoid. Setting up a solid referral payment structure turns informal introductions into a predictable, scalable source of high-quality new business.
The Financial Model for Transitioning from Freelancer to Agency
Learn how to build a financial model for moving from freelancer to agency. This guide covers pricing shifts, cost structures, cash flow management, and key metrics for profitable scaling. You'll get a clear framework to transition without sacrificing your income or sanity.
VAT Flat Rate Scheme for Agencies: Is It Still Worth It?
The VAT flat rate scheme can simplify your accounting but often reduces profitability for modern agencies. This guide explains how the scheme works, calculates the real cost using agency-specific examples, and shows you how to decide if it's right for your business. You'll learn the critical thresholds and scenarios where switching back to standard VAT makes financial sense.
Agency Revenue Mix: Finding the Right Balance of Retainer and Project Work
Learn how to structure your agency revenue mix for maximum stability and profit. This guide shows you how to balance predictable retainer income with profitable project work. You'll get specific benchmarks, pricing strategies, and a framework to assess your current income split and make smarter commercial decisions.
Xero Tracking Categories for Agency Project Reporting
Learn how to use Xero tracking categories to see exactly which agency projects and clients are profitable. This guide shows you how to set up your accounts to track project costs, revenue, and team time in one system. Get clear reports on project margins, client profitability, and team utilisation without spreadsheets.
Agency Scaling Mistakes: Financial Pitfalls When Growing from 5 to 20 People
Scaling a marketing agency from 5 to 20 people introduces critical financial pitfalls that can stall or reverse growth. This guide details the most common mistakes, from mispricing services and poor cash flow management to hiring without a plan. Learn how to navigate these challenges to build a profitable, sustainable agency.
Choosing an Agency Accountant: What to Look For and What to Avoid
Learn how to choose an agency accountant who acts as a commercial partner, not just a number-cruncher. This guide reveals the essential criteria for a specialist who understands agency economics like retainers, utilisation, and gross margin. Avoid common mistakes that leave you with generic advice and find a finance partner who helps you grow profitably.
Agency Work in Progress: How to Account for Unfinished Jobs
Learn how to properly account for agency work in progress (WIP) to see your true profitability. This guide explains how to value unbilled work, record it in your accounts, and use WIP data to make smarter pricing and cash flow decisions. Get a clear picture of your agency's financial health beyond just your bank balance.
The Agency Owner's Pension Strategy: What to Contribute and When
A smart agency owner pension strategy is about more than just saving for retirement. It's a core part of your financial plan, offering significant tax relief and a way to extract profits efficiently from your business. This guide explains how much to contribute, when to do it, and how to align your pension with your agency's cash flow and growth goals.
Client Credit Checks for Agencies: Protecting Yourself Before You Start Work
Learn how to conduct a client credit check for your agency to avoid bad debt and protect your cash flow. This guide covers practical vetting steps, red flags to spot, and how to build a credit assessment process that fits your agency's size. You'll get a clear framework to decide which clients to work with and how to structure safer payment terms.
Agency Growth Funding: Loans vs Investment vs Revenue
Learn how to fund your agency's growth by comparing business loans, external investment, and revenue-based funding. This guide explains the pros, cons, and ideal scenarios for each agency funding option, helping you make a strategic choice that aligns with your profit goals and ownership plans. Get a clear framework to decide which path is right for your marketing or creative agency's next stage.
The Tax Implications of Selling Your Agency
Selling your agency triggers significant tax liabilities, primarily through Capital Gains Tax. The structure of the sale, use of reliefs like Business Asset Disposal Relief, and timing are critical to how much tax you pay. This guide explains the key tax considerations to help you plan a financially efficient exit.
Subcontractor Management for Agencies: Financial Controls That Work
Learn how to implement robust financial controls for agency subcontractor management. This guide shows marketing and creative agency owners how to track freelancer costs, automate subcontractor payments, and set up outsourcing financial controls that protect margins. You'll get practical frameworks to turn subcontractors from a financial risk into a predictable, profitable resource.
What Good Agency Management Accounts Should Look Like
Good agency management accounts are a clear, monthly financial dashboard that tells you exactly how profitable you are, where your cash is, and what's coming next. They move beyond basic bookkeeping to show gross margin by client, team utilisation, and cash runway. This allows agency founders to make confident commercial decisions, not just track past spending.
Agency Annual Revenue Planning: A Realistic Target-Setting Framework
Learn how to set realistic annual revenue targets for your marketing or creative agency. This framework moves beyond guesswork, using your current team capacity, client mix, and profit goals to build a financially sound plan. You'll get a clear roadmap for sustainable growth that protects your margins and cash flow.
Employee Benefits for Agencies: Tax-Efficient Perks That Attract Talent
Learn how to structure agency employee benefits that attract and retain top creative talent while managing costs. This guide covers tax-efficient perks, salary sacrifice schemes, and practical benefits that improve your agency's value proposition. Discover which benefits deliver the highest impact for your team and your bottom line.
Agency Finance Meetings: What to Review and How Often
Effective agency finance meetings are a regular rhythm, not a yearly chore. This guide shows you exactly what to review each month and quarter, from cash flow and gross margin to pipeline health. You'll learn how to turn financial data into clear decisions that improve your agency's profitability and stability.
Aged Debtor Reports: How Agencies Can Use Them to Get Paid Faster
An aged debtor report is a simple list showing which clients owe you money and for how long. For marketing agencies, it's the most important tool for getting paid on time and protecting cash flow. This guide shows you how to create, read, and act on your report to turn overdue invoices into cash in the bank.
Project vs Retainer: Helping Agency Clients Choose the Right Model
Learn how to guide clients between project and retainer billing models. This guide compares the financial and operational impacts of each model for marketing agencies, from cash flow predictability to team utilisation. You'll get a clear framework to recommend the right model for each client scenario, protecting your agency's margins and building stronger partnerships.
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