Accounting and advisory for Marketing Agencies
Agencies live or die by the gap between what a client pays and what the work actually costs to deliver. Between blended teams of staff and contractors, retainers running alongside one-off projects, and clients who pay on net-30 or net-60, that gap is easy to lose track of. Laya gives agency owners clean, timely books and the profitability and utilization visibility to know which clients and services are worth keeping.
The financial challenges Marketing Agencies face
You can't see which clients and services actually make money
Revenue by client is easy; profit by client is not. When labor, contractors, and software all land in one bucket, a marquee logo can quietly run at a loss for months while a smaller account carries the firm — and you'd never know from the P&L.
Contractor costs that never get tied back to the work
Freelancers, white-label partners, and 1099 specialists scale up and down by project, but their invoices rarely map to the clients they served. Without that allocation, your delivery margin is a guess and your 1099 filings get messy at year-end.
Utilization you're tracking in a spreadsheet, if at all
Billable hours are the engine of agency profit, yet most owners can't say what percentage of their team's capacity is actually billed. Under-utilized staff and over-serviced retainers erode margin shift by shift, hidden until it's too late to adjust scope.
Cash that lags the work by 30 to 60 days
You pay people every two weeks but invoice clients on net-30 or net-60, so payroll and contractor costs go out long before the cash comes in. Without clear AR visibility, a profitable agency can still run dangerously tight on cash.
How Laya helps Marketing Agencies
Client and service-line profitability
We structure your chart of accounts so revenue and cost of delivery — staff labor, contractors, and pass-through expenses — roll up by client and by service line. Each monthly close shows gross margin per client and per offering, so you can see exactly which accounts and which services (retainer, project, media buying) are pulling their weight and which are bleeding.
Contractor cost allocation built into your close
We book freelancer and white-label invoices against the clients and projects they support, so contractor spend shows up as cost of delivery where it belongs instead of a lump in overhead. That keeps your per-client margin honest, and we track 1099 vendor totals through the year so contractor reporting is ready, not a January scramble.
Utilization and billable visibility
When you track time in a tool like Harvest, Toggl, or your PM system, we tie it into your reporting so each close surfaces billable vs. non-billable hours and effective rate by client. You see whether retainers are being over-serviced and whether the team's capacity is actually getting billed — the levers that decide agency profitability.
Cash timing and AR visibility
We keep accounts receivable current so you always know what's outstanding, what's aging past net-30, and what's coming in against the payroll and contractor costs going out. Paired with books closed by the 10th business day, you manage cash on real numbers instead of bracing for the next payroll run.
What's included
- Monthly close by the 10th business day
- Profitability reporting by client and service line
- Contractor cost allocation and 1099 vendor tracking
- Utilization and billable-hours reporting (from your time tool)
- Accounts receivable and AR aging visibility
- Bank, credit card, and software-stack reconciliation
- Year-end books ready for tax filing
Frequently asked questions
Can you show me profit by client, not just revenue?
Yes — that's the core of how we set up agency books. We map staff labor, contractor costs, and pass-through expenses to each client and service line, so every monthly close shows gross margin per account and per offering. You'll finally see which logos make money and which ones cost you to keep.
How do you handle our contractors and freelancers?
We book each freelancer and white-label invoice against the client or project it supports, so contractor spend lands in cost of delivery rather than getting buried in overhead. We also track 1099 vendor totals throughout the year, so your contractor reporting is organized and ready well before the January deadline.
Can you track employee utilization and billable hours?
We can, when you track time in a tool like Harvest, Toggl, or your project-management system. We tie that data into your reporting so each close surfaces billable vs. non-billable hours and effective rate by client — the numbers that tell you whether your team's capacity is actually being billed and whether retainers are being over-serviced.
We invoice clients net-30 and net-60 — can you help with cash flow?
Yes. We keep your accounts receivable current and give you AR aging visibility, so you always know what's outstanding and what's overdue against the payroll and contractor costs going out. Advisory, available on our Peak plan ($1,500/mo) or standalone Vista plan ($1,000/mo), adds cash-flow forecasting on top of that.
How fast are my books closed each month?
By the 10th business day of the following month, every month. For an agency juggling project starts, retainer renewals, and contractor invoices, that means you're making scope, hiring, and pricing decisions on fresh numbers rather than data that's a month and a half old.
Do I need to use QuickBooks Online?
Yes. Laya runs on QuickBooks Online as the source of truth, with your bank accounts, credit cards, and software stack connected digitally. QuickBooks Online is included in your plan, and we work remotely over email and video — no in-person meetings required.
Ready to get your books in order?
Book an intro and we'll show you exactly how Laya works for Marketing Agencies.
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