Working with Dozens of Clients: What an Agency Can Do for All of Them at Once

Every month, an agency accountant does the same work for all clients: bank statements, inbound and outbound invoices, inventory documents, payroll, VAT. For one company, this is predictable work. When an agency handles thirty, fifty or more companies, the same steps are repeated for each of them, and that takes a lot of time.

Neksus is a centralized system where all the companies an agency handles are in one place. Settings are configured once, and part of the monthly work is done for several companies at once.

What a month looks like at an agency with dozens of clients

An agency that handles 40 companies starts the month by collecting documents. Bank statements, invoices and inventory documents arrive in different ways and at different times. One client sends everything at once, another sends it in several batches, and a third sends it only after the accountant calls.

Then the posting starts. The accountant takes one company at a time, posts bank statements, invoices and inventory documents, and then moves on to the next client. At the same time, payroll data comes in: who was on sick leave, who got a bonus, who started or stopped working.

As the time to submit returns gets closer, there is more and more work. VAT returns and payroll have to be finished for all companies, and in those days clients call to ask how much VAT they will pay. Usually, the least time is left for checking the work that has been done.

Where the time goes

Most of the time goes to steps that are repeated for every company:

• Posting bank statements, one client at a time
• Posting inbound, outbound and inventory documents
• Preparing the VAT return for each VAT-registered company
• Calculating and posting payroll for each company separately
• Maintaining the same settings in every company

Taken one by one, most of these steps do not take long. When they are repeated for 40 companies every month, together they take up a large share of working hours.

Repetition also carries a risk of error. When the same work is done for the thirtieth time in one day, it is easy to skip a company, forget a document that arrived late, or leave an old setting in place for one client. Such errors are often found only when the client asks or when the return is already being prepared for submission.

Shared settings

In Neksus, the chart of accounts, posting templates and payroll parameters are set up once and then applied to all clients or only to the ones you select.

When companies with similar types of business have the same settings, work across the agency becomes consistent. An accountant who takes over a client from a colleague finds familiar rules, and reviewing someone else's work goes faster.

Posting usually works differently for trading companies, service companies and companies that are not registered for VAT. That is why it is useful for the agency to sort clients by type of business in advance, decide which rules apply to which group, and choose who on the team approves changes.

Posting for several companies at once

In Neksus, bank statements are posted automatically, for several clients at once. A statement can also be imported directly from a PDF file using artificial intelligence. Inventory documents can likewise be posted for several companies at once.

When the purpose of an incoming payment is unclear, or the agency does not have the invoice for a payment to a supplier, the accountant asks the client about it.

It is better to collect such questions and send them to the client all at once, with a deadline for replies. This way the client gets one clear list, and the accountant is not interrupted by every single call.

VAT returns and payroll

In Neksus, VAT returns are prepared for several clients at once. Payroll is also calculated in bulk, for several companies, and the payroll calculation is posted automatically.

Before preparing VAT returns, it is a good idea to ask clients who send documents in batches whether they have sent all inbound and outbound invoices for that period.

For payroll, it helps if the client confirms the data before the calculation, even when nothing has changed. The accountant then does not have to guess whether someone was on sick leave or got a bonus, and can calculate payroll for several companies in one go.

Oversight of all companies

When an agency handles dozens of companies, the hardest part is knowing where something is missing or does not match. If checks are done client by client, the companies at the bottom of the list often get their turn only just before returns are submitted.

In Neksus, the accountant has checks and reports for all companies at once, so there is no need to open each client one by one to see this.

It is a good idea to set two regular times for checks: the first once bank statements and documents have been posted, and the second a few days before returns are submitted.

Communication with clients

An accountant who spends less time on repetitive work notices what is missing sooner and lets the client know sooner. The client then has time to bring the document or explain the payment before the return is submitted.

Some calls and messages can be avoided with an agreement made at the start of the working relationship. It is worth agreeing with each client on:

• By which day of the month they send bank statements, invoices and inventory documents
• Who at the company reports payroll changes and how
• Who at the agency they contact with questions
• When the agency lets them know the VAT amount and payroll obligations

It is a good idea to also send this agreement to the client in writing, so that whoever takes over these tasks at the company later knows it too.

What this means for the agency

When the work is not done separately for each company, the accountant has more time for checks and for talking with clients. The agency can take on more companies without hiring another accountant right away. On the Accounting Agencies page, we describe the example of an agency that can take on 20 more clients without growing its team.

An agency that is still choosing software will find the article How to Choose Accounting Software for an Accounting Agency: Questions to Ask Before You Decide useful.

We show the checks and reports for all companies in a presentation, using real-world examples. If you would like to see how this would look at your agency, get in touch.