Agencies & Consultancies Month-End Close Standard Operating Procedure Template
Free month-end close SOP template for agencies. Step-by-step billable hours reconciliation, retainer tracking, project profitability review, and contractor invoicing.
Purpose
Close the agency's books accurately and on time each month so the owner has a clear picture of profitability by client, by project, and agency-wide. This SOP covers billable hours reconciliation, retainer utilization tracking, project profitability review, accounts receivable aging, and contractor invoice processing.
Scope
Covers the monthly financial close process from the last business day of the month through the 5th business day of the following month. Does not cover annual tax filings, audit preparation, or payroll processing (which runs on its own schedule).
Prerequisites
- All team members have submitted their time entries for the month in the agency's time tracking tool (Harvest, Toggl, or Clockify)
- All contractor invoices for the month have been submitted
- Client invoices for the month have been generated and sent
- Access to the agency's accounting software (QuickBooks Online, Xero, or FreshBooks)
- Previous month's close report available for comparison
Roles & Responsibilities
Finance Lead / Bookkeeper
- Run the month-end close process from start to finish following this SOP
- Reconcile all bank and credit card accounts
- Generate the monthly financial reports and present to the agency owner
Project Managers
- Verify that all team time entries are submitted and accurate for their projects by the 1st business day
- Flag any time entries that need reclassification (wrong project, wrong client, wrong task category)
- Confirm contractor hours and deliverables for their projects
Agency Owner / Director
- Review the monthly close report by the 5th business day
- Approve any journal entries or adjustments flagged by the finance lead
- Make decisions on overdue accounts receivable (payment plans, collections, write-offs)
Procedure
On the last business day of the month, the finance lead sends a reminder to all team members to submit and verify their time entries. PMs verify entries for their projects by noon on the 1st business day of the new month.
- aSend the monthly time submission reminder via Slack (#general) at 10 AM on the last business day
- bCheck the time tracking tool (Harvest, Toggl, or Clockify) for team members with incomplete entries
- cSend a direct Slack message to anyone with missing or suspiciously low hours
- dPMs review their project time entries and flag any misclassified entries to the finance lead
- eLock the previous month's time entries in the tracking tool to prevent retroactive changes
Completion Checklist
Key Performance Indicators
Close completion date
Books closed by the 5th business day of the following month
Time entry submission rate
100% of team members submit by noon on the 1st business day
Average client gross margin
Above 55% agency-wide
AR over 60 days as percentage of total AR
Under 10%
Retainer utilization rate
85-100% across all retainer clients
Why This Matters for Agencies & Consultancies
Agencies that do not close their books monthly are flying blind. They do not know which clients are profitable, which retainers are under-used, or which receivables are at risk. By the time they notice a cash flow problem, it is too late to fix it. A disciplined monthly close gives the agency owner the data to make pricing decisions, manage cash flow, and catch unprofitable accounts before they drain resources for a full quarter.
Common Mistakes
- ×Starting the close before all time entries are submitted, which means the profitability numbers are wrong and need to be re-run later
- ×Not reconciling billable hours against retainer contracts, leaving under-used retainers unnoticed for months
- ×Coding contractor invoices to a generic expense category instead of the specific client project, making per-client profitability inaccurate
- ×Ignoring AR aging until invoices are 90+ days overdue, by which point the client relationship has soured and collection is difficult
- ×Not locking time entries after the close, allowing retroactive changes that invalidate the month's financial reports
Agencies & Consultancies-Specific Notes
Agency finances are uniquely complex because revenue comes in multiple forms (retainers, project fees, hourly billing, commissions) and costs are split between internal labor and external contractors. The most important metric is gross margin per client — not total revenue. An agency can be growing revenue while losing money if new clients are priced below the cost to serve them. The monthly close must surface per-client profitability, not just the agency-level P&L.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn More About Month-End Close
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