Agencies and professional services

Describe what the business actually provides

An advertising agency, consulting practice and regulated professional firm may share a billing model without sharing the same professional permissions. Identify the services and any reserved professional activity before choosing the entity and engagement wording.

Keep projects financially traceable

Link proposals, milestones, time or delivery records and invoices. Distinguish the agency’s fee from client-funded expenditure and document the contractual basis for reimbursements or pass-through charges. Their tax treatment needs its own assessment.

Protect the delivery record

Contracts should address scope changes, acceptance, ownership and confidentiality. Retain client approvals and supplier assignments, especially when freelancers create material delivered under the agency’s name.

Review the operating model

• Separate employee and independent-contractor arrangements.
• Check office and work-location administration.
• Map access to client systems and personal information.
• For overseas engagements, preserve the service contract and receipt evidence.

An example to resolve early

A client’s advertising budget paid into the agency account should not be silently combined with professional fees. Reconcile the campaign spend, vendor invoices and agreed fee so both client reporting and tax review have reliable inputs.

Scope of support

Kosha can organise books, contract records and compliance coordination. Professional licensing, legal opinions and sector-specific conduct rules remain with the appropriately qualified adviser.

Keep scope changes connected to billing

Maintain a project record linking the accepted proposal, delivery milestones and later instructions. Identify whether an additional request is included in the retainer, separately quoted or still awaiting agreement. Keep the client’s approval with the resulting invoice or delivery record.

For example, a design assignment may expand from a single campaign to several regional versions. Record the additional deliverables and supplier work before the project team and finance team start using different descriptions of what the fee covers.

Choose support for the project workstream

Commercial contract review starts with the proposed scope, acceptance process and ownership arrangements. Include subcontractor terms where external contributors produce client deliverables.

Bookkeeping and monthly close connects project invoices, receipts and supplier costs. Keep client-funded expenditure identifiable and carry unresolved reimbursement questions in the project schedule.

For an overseas engagement, cross-border service taxation uses the contracting parties, delivery facts and receipt evidence. Supply the actual contract and payment arrangement rather than relying only on the client’s billing address.