Advertising Agencies accounting, handled.

If you contract with the media owner in your own name, the media spend is your cost and the gross client invoice is your revenue — agency commission becomes the implicit margin. If you book purely as agent, only the commission is your revenue and the media doesn't touch your P&L. The choice affects turnover, VAT, and how stretched your working capital looks to lenders. We set up the right model and document it for your auditors.

Under FRS 102 you recognise revenue as you deliver the service — so a 12-month retainer is recognised monthly even if invoiced quarterly or annually upfront. The cash sits as deferred income on the balance sheet until earned. We set up the accruals automatically in Xero or QuickBooks so management accounts reflect real performance, not invoice timing.

If your agency is medium or large (over £10.2m turnover, 50 staff, or £5.1m balance sheet), you're responsible for IR35 status determination on every PSC freelancer you engage. Smaller agencies pass the responsibility to the freelancer. We help you build a status determination workflow that holds up, and structure freelancer engagements (project deliverables, substitution, no integration) to keep them genuinely outside.

Possibly — for software, automation, or data tooling that resolves a genuine scientific or technological uncertainty (not just creative novelty). HMRC has tightened scrutiny since 2023 and rejects most agency claims based on creative work alone. We assess your projects honestly, file only defensible claims, and keep the contemporaneous technical narrative HMRC now demands.

Most 10-person agencies sit on Enterprise at £499/month — covers monthly management accounts, payroll for permanent staff, freelancer payment runs with status records, VAT, year-end accounts, Corporation Tax, and director's Self-Assessments. ACCA-led, named accountant, replies inside 72 hours, rolling monthly, 30-day money-back guarantee.