Demand for digital marketing services is on the rise. The increase of people preferring digital space for content consumption, the capability to provide trackable metrics, cost-effectiveness, the boom in e-commerce, and so much more have contributed to the increase in demand for digital marketing. If you a digital marketer, you must be already aware of the opportunity along with all the obstacles one faces in the industry.
As a digital marketer, you handle multiple clients. You work day and night to make sure your clients’ products and services are desirable. You are so invested in this process that you end up neglecting the other vital functions, sounds familiar? One task which most agencies and marketers mess up with frequently is its accounts receivable. Due to the nature of the work, the clients’ payment is due for a long period. It could be due to extended work and non-delivery of any work, negligence of clients, or carelessness on your part. You can make use of outsource accounts receivable services or make use of accounting software that sends reminders on your behalf regularly.
Additionally, payroll management is another task that is nerve-wracking for digital marketers. Working with freelancers, interns, and contractors in addition to in-house full-time and part-time employees, can be overwhelming for payroll management. You must be aware of the provisions applicable for each type of human resource (including offshore contractors) while ensuring compliance with Federal and State laws. Payroll outsourcing is a great way to reduce your headache arising from payroll management.
Another complicated task is managing funds for multiple clients as a digital marketer you have to invest in third-party services like data, media buying, and so on. With the high number of clients, there are chances of mixing funds, which is not ideal as it might cause fluctuation in a client’s budget. Your accountant indeed will have a headache sorting out all those invoices and payments for clients or project-wise. You need to set up a system from day one for yourself to make input credit a lot easier. If you want assistance in doing so or need real-time advice customised as per your business need, you can contact a service provider who provides accounting for marketing agencies. Agencies work on different ad platforms, and today we will discuss three ad platforms in particular – Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and LinkedIn Ads.
Google Ads is the world’s largest digital advertising platform. The good thing is, it is very well optimised to fit the need of every business. As a digital marketer, you can use Google Ads Manager account to handle more than 20 clients or take access of Google Ads account from your clients. Either way, one thing you must make sure is that you do not run ads for your client from your Google Ads account. If your client does not have their own Google ads account, help them set one. Doing so will enable you to have tax invoices from Google directly in the client’s business name.
The same feature is applicable for Facebook as well. You should categorise each client in separate ad accounts and manage them through the business manager account or take access to their ad account.
LinkedIn is slightly different in this matter, and you have to manage a client’s account by taking access to their login credential. You have to manage the accounts from their respective profiles.
All discussed three advertising platforms charge 10% Goods and Service Tax (GST). If your clients are GST registered businesses, then they can claim the GST back at BAS time.
We have suggested not running ads for your client from your account because this will help you better clarify your business expense and client’s expense. You can run your client’s ads from your account and charge a fixed amount to them, but it could be fatal when the ad spend goes haywire. Additionally, it is better to charge for your consultancy only, as it will help make the process transparent and gain your clients’ trust.
We have talked about only three ad platforms today. However, digital marketing agencies make use of various other ad platforms as per the client’s requirement. Additionally, there are different software and third-party tools. The cost for these activities and tools has generally incurred by the agency, and in some rare cases, it is incurred by the clients. It is important that you never mix up funds, and you bill the individual clients accurately.
Right from the start, if you never mix up funds, you can save yourself a lot of time and trouble in the future. It might be not very easy with all the ads, tools, and software, but doing so will help you to set your service apart from the competition. Ensure your bookkeeper is aware of this and if you need in-depth bookkeeping and accounting related assistance, you can contact Whiz Consulting’s experts for a personalised consultancy.
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