An agency bills in three ways, often within a single project: time at a rate negotiated with the client, fixed fees released at milestones, and third-party costs passed through with a markup. Which of those a project uses is set on its charge rules, and that one setting decides almost everything after it: which rate card prices the work, which revenue rule recognizes it, whether its costs wait in WIP until invoiced, and what the client sees on the invoice. This is the leading practice reference for marketing agencies: every process area, the flow it follows, the rules that govern it, and a copy-ready skill file for each one.
How to Use This
Each process area below carries three things. A flow, which is the sequence the process actually runs in. A short set of rules specific to marketing agencies rather than generic ERP advice. And a skill file you can copy straight out of the page, written as markdown so it can be handed to an AI assistant, dropped into a project repository, or used as the basis for a design document.
The skill files are deliberately short. They are checklists for people who already know the domain, not tutorials. Each one names the roles that own the process, the flow, the rules, what to verify before go-live, and the failure modes that recur.
Methodology note. This reflects the Agency Standard edition as applied by Azdan across its NetSuite delivery in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Module availability differs by edition and license, so confirm against your own before treating any rule as available. Where a point is a recommendation from delivery experience rather than a documented rule, it is labeled as one.
The 14 Process Areas
Master Data Management → Item Management → Lead to Quote → Order to Cash → Project Management → Resource Management → Time and Expense → Project Billing → Procure to Pay → WIP Management → Revenue Management → Return to Credit → Return to Debit → Financial Management
Process area
Primary owner
What it covers
Master Data Management
Controller
Accounts, clients, vendors, employees and items.
Item Management
Controller
Items carry the accounting for everything an agency sells or rebills, including the WIP account a cost enters and how it leaves.
Lead to Quote
Account Director
Pitching and estimating.
Order to Cash
Account Director
From the approved estimate to cash, with billing driven from the project rather than the order.
Project Management
Project Manager
Templates, plans, budgets and close-out.
Resource Management
Resource Manager
Who works on what, matched by skill and measured against target utilization.
Time and Expense
Employee Center
Timesheets and expense reports, the two sources of cost an agency controls directly.
Project Billing
Billing A/R
Charge-based billing.
Procure to Pay
Sourcing A/P
Buying third-party work and paying for it, often only once the client has paid the agency.
WIP Management
Controller
Holding pass-through cost in a WIP account until the client is invoiced.
Revenue Management
Controller
Revenue recognition tied to how each project bills.
Return to Credit
Account Director
Credits, refunds and the corrections that follow reduced scope or price claw backs.
Return to Debit
Sourcing A/P
Vendor credits and refunds for third-party work that missed its terms.
Financial Management
Controller
Structure, allocations and the close, including the intercompany moves an agency with several offices makes every month.
1. Master Data Management
Accounts, clients, vendors, employees and items. Agencies add two structures most industries do not: clients in parent and child pairs, and contractors who are vendors and resources at once.
Define segments → Load accounts → Load clients as parent and child → Load vendors and contractors → Create employees with costs → Validate
Leading practice rules
Load clients at the right level of their parent and child structure, such as product and brand, and flag the parents eligible for consolidated invoicing.
Set contractors up as vendors with both the Contractor and Resource boxes checked, and fill the time approver on the vendor record.
Define a standard blended labor cost per job function on the employee record before any time is entered, or that time carries no cost.
Skill file: Master Data Management
---
name: agency-master-data-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for Master Data Management in marketing agencies
---
# Master Data Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Controller, Account Director, Administrator, Billing A/R
## Process flow
Define segments → Load accounts → Load clients as parent and child → Load vendors and contractors → Create employees with costs → Validate
## Leading practice rules
- Load clients at the right level of their parent and child structure, such as product and brand, and flag the parents eligible for consolidated invoicing.
- Set contractors up as vendors with both the Contractor and Resource boxes checked, and fill the time approver on the vendor record.
- Define a standard blended labor cost per job function on the employee record before any time is entered, or that time carries no cost.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Labor cost on every employee record before the first timesheet
- [ ] Parent clients flagged for consolidated invoicing where they need it
## Known failure modes
- Employees loaded without labor cost, so every project shows full margin on its time
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
2. Item Management
Items carry the accounting for everything an agency sells or rebills, including the WIP account a cost enters and how it leaves.
Define item strategy → Set item types → Assign income, expense and WIP accounts → Link billing classes → Set tax schedules
Leading practice rules
Use service items for what the agency sells, non-inventory for resale for costs rebilled to clients, non-inventory for purchase for internal costs, and expense items for billable expense categories.
Set item accounts so a rebillable purchase knows its expense or WIP account and the income account its rebill posts to.
Keep service items and billing classes one-to-one, such as an Account Director item with an Account Director billing class, so rate cards price them cleanly.
Define revenue recognition accounts on items, so revenue fields default without editing revenue arrangements.
Start with a small set of items and use segments for reporting dimensions rather than multiplying items.
Skill file: Item Management
---
name: agency-item-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for Item Management in marketing agencies
---
# Item Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Controller, Chief Financial Officer, Billing A/R, Sourcing A/P
## Process flow
Define item strategy → Set item types → Assign income, expense and WIP accounts → Link billing classes → Set tax schedules
## Leading practice rules
- Use service items for what the agency sells, non-inventory for resale for costs rebilled to clients, non-inventory for purchase for internal costs, and expense items for billable expense categories.
- Set item accounts so a rebillable purchase knows its expense or WIP account and the income account its rebill posts to.
- Keep service items and billing classes one-to-one, such as an Account Director item with an Account Director billing class, so rate cards price them cleanly.
- Define revenue recognition accounts on items, so revenue fields default without editing revenue arrangements.
- Start with a small set of items and use segments for reporting dimensions rather than multiplying items.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Every rebillable item mapped to its WIP and relief accounts
- [ ] One billing class per service item
## Known failure modes
- Items multiplied per office or client when a segment would have reported the same thing
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
3. Lead to Quote
Pitching and estimating. Agencies often scope the work as a project before the client says yes, and the edition supports that directly.
Roles: Account Director, General Manager (Executive)
Process flow
Lead → Opportunity → Scope as a project → Refresh items from project → Final estimate → Approve → Sales order
Leading practice rules
To scope before quoting, build a project with tasks, generic resources and billing rules, then use Refresh Items from Project to fill the estimate.
Estimates often run in parallel versions while pricing is negotiated. Enter only the final estimate into the system.
Attach the final estimate to the right client level, set the rate card, and route it to Billing A/R and the Controller for approval.
Skill file: Lead to Quote
---
name: agency-lead-to-quote
description: NetSuite leading practice for Lead to Quote in marketing agencies
---
# Lead to Quote - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Account Director, General Manager (Executive)
## Process flow
Lead → Opportunity → Scope as a project → Refresh items from project → Final estimate → Approve → Sales order
## Leading practice rules
- To scope before quoting, build a project with tasks, generic resources and billing rules, then use Refresh Items from Project to fill the estimate.
- Estimates often run in parallel versions while pricing is negotiated. Enter only the final estimate into the system.
- Attach the final estimate to the right client level, set the rate card, and route it to Billing A/R and the Controller for approval.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Final estimate approval routing in place before go-live
## Known failure modes
- Every pitch version entered as an estimate, so the pipeline counts the same work several times
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
4. Order to Cash
From the approved estimate to cash, with billing driven from the project rather than the order.
Approved estimate → Sales order → Approval → Project from order → Invoice from charges → Account Director approves → Consolidate → Collect
Leading practice rules
Generate the sales order from the final approved estimate, and always keep a project on the order.
Bill from the project: create the project from the approved order and set billing parameters there.
Before each bill run, check the Billing Forecast report by client and project.
Have the Account Director approve the client invoice before it goes out, since they own the relationship.
For parent and child clients, use the Consolidated Invoicing bundle, and apply payments to the individual invoices.
Skill file: Order to Cash
---
name: agency-order-to-cash
description: NetSuite leading practice for Order to Cash in marketing agencies
---
# Order to Cash - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Account Director, Billing A/R, Controller, Project Manager
## Process flow
Approved estimate → Sales order → Approval → Project from order → Invoice from charges → Account Director approves → Consolidate → Collect
## Leading practice rules
- Generate the sales order from the final approved estimate, and always keep a project on the order.
- Bill from the project: create the project from the approved order and set billing parameters there.
- Before each bill run, check the Billing Forecast report by client and project.
- Have the Account Director approve the client invoice before it goes out, since they own the relationship.
- For parent and child clients, use the Consolidated Invoicing bundle, and apply payments to the individual invoices.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] A project on every sales order
- [ ] Account Director approval of client invoices in the workflow
## Known failure modes
- Payments applied to consolidated invoices, so aging by brand stops reconciling
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
5. Project Management
Templates, plans, budgets and close-out. The template carries the stock charge rules, which makes it the most consequential record an agency designs.
Copy template → Set parent campaign → Plan tasks with service items → Budget by activity code → Manage changes → Close out
Leading practice rules
Build templates with tasks, items, durations, resource assignments and stock charge rules. Include more tasks than needed, since deleting is easier than creating.
Group projects into a portfolio, or job jacket, such as a campaign: create the parent first and set its own parent field to itself.
Tie a service item to every task, so time, charges, revenue and cost link up and rate cards price the time correctly.
Budget by project and activity code only, one line per activity code, because tasks are not available on invoices, revenue arrangements or journals.
For more scope and price, create a new project with its own charge rules. For less, use Return to Credit.
Before closing, enter all costs, run final billing and revenue recognition, disable time and expenses, then set the project to Closed and inactive.
Skill file: Project Management
---
name: agency-project-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for Project Management in marketing agencies
---
# Project Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Project Manager, Account Director, Controller
## Process flow
Copy template → Set parent campaign → Plan tasks with service items → Budget by activity code → Manage changes → Close out
## Leading practice rules
- Build templates with tasks, items, durations, resource assignments and stock charge rules. Include more tasks than needed, since deleting is easier than creating.
- Group projects into a portfolio, or job jacket, such as a campaign: create the parent first and set its own parent field to itself.
- Tie a service item to every task, so time, charges, revenue and cost link up and rate cards price the time correctly.
- Budget by project and activity code only, one line per activity code, because tasks are not available on invoices, revenue arrangements or journals.
- For more scope and price, create a new project with its own charge rules. For less, use Return to Credit.
- Before closing, enter all costs, run final billing and revenue recognition, disable time and expenses, then set the project to Closed and inactive.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Stock charge rules on every project template
- [ ] Close-out sequence in the month-end checklist
## Known failure modes
- Added scope bolted onto the original project, so the original estimate stops being comparable
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
6. Resource Management
Who works on what, matched by skill and measured against target utilization.
Roles: Resource Manager, Project Manager, Account Director
Process flow
Review capacity → Allocate generic resources → Replace with named resources → Assign at project level → Optimize
Leading practice rules
Allocate generic resources on templates, mapped to a billing class and labor cost, then replace them with named people.
Report generic allocations as unfulfilled staffing with a saved search.
Assign resources at project level, not directly to tasks.
Enter target utilization on the employee record. Available hours in utilization reports are the target applied to the work schedule.
Skill file: Resource Management
---
name: agency-resource-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for Resource Management in marketing agencies
---
# Resource Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Resource Manager, Project Manager, Account Director
## Process flow
Review capacity → Allocate generic resources → Replace with named resources → Assign at project level → Optimize
## Leading practice rules
- Allocate generic resources on templates, mapped to a billing class and labor cost, then replace them with named people.
- Report generic allocations as unfulfilled staffing with a saved search.
- Assign resources at project level, not directly to tasks.
- Enter target utilization on the employee record. Available hours in utilization reports are the target applied to the work schedule.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Target utilization on every billable employee
## Known failure modes
- Generic resources left on live projects, so staffing gaps stay invisible
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
7. Time and Expense
Timesheets and expense reports, the two sources of cost an agency controls directly.
Roles: Employee Center, Project Manager, Controller, Sourcing A/P
Process flow
Enter weekly time → Approve → Lock period → Enter expenses against a project → Policy check → Approve → Pay
Leading practice rules
Show only projects when entering time, and limit time and expenses to resources on the project.
Lock timesheet periods weekly with a grace period, and set minimum and maximum hours per day, week and entry.
Project managers approve time on client projects and supervisors on internal ones. Reject with a note so the reason reaches the employee.
Classify internal projects: pre-sales and training as productive, admin and bench as neither, holidays as exempt.
Use one project per expense report, and expense report policies by category, such as a required memo and receipt for business meals.
If out-of-pocket expenses enter WIP, the project must be a WIP project and the expense category must carry a WIP account and a relief account.
Skill file: Time and Expense
---
name: agency-time-and-expense
description: NetSuite leading practice for Time and Expense in marketing agencies
---
# Time and Expense - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Employee Center, Project Manager, Controller, Sourcing A/P
## Process flow
Enter weekly time → Approve → Lock period → Enter expenses against a project → Policy check → Approve → Pay
## Leading practice rules
- Show only projects when entering time, and limit time and expenses to resources on the project.
- Lock timesheet periods weekly with a grace period, and set minimum and maximum hours per day, week and entry.
- Project managers approve time on client projects and supervisors on internal ones. Reject with a note so the reason reaches the employee.
- Classify internal projects: pre-sales and training as productive, admin and bench as neither, holidays as exempt.
- Use one project per expense report, and expense report policies by category, such as a required memo and receipt for business meals.
- If out-of-pocket expenses enter WIP, the project must be a WIP project and the expense category must carry a WIP account and a relief account.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Timesheet lock and grace period set
- [ ] Expense policies set for the categories that need them
## Known failure modes
- Time booked to clients instead of projects, so it never reaches project profitability
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
8. Project Billing
Charge-based billing. Each project's charge rules decide how work becomes an invoice and, through Revenue Management, how it becomes revenue.
Copy stock charge rules → Set rate card → Forecast charges → Actual charges → Ready, hold or non-billable → Bill run → Invoice
Leading practice rules
Use charge-based billing for all projects: fixed fee rules bill on a date or milestone, time-based rules bill approved time, expense-based rules rebill costs with an optional markup.
Rate cards hold client or project rates by billing class, with effective dates. For negotiated project rates, copy the client card and name it after the project.
Where a time rule points at a rate card, the card's rate overrides the service item and billing class rates.
Bill in hours where possible, to avoid the rounding issues of day rates.
Charges generate daily or on demand. Set pending charges to ready, hold or non-billable before invoicing.
Run invoices from the billing operations center with unlinked charges checked, on a layout that breaks out each charge.
A markup on pass-through cost needs an expense category used both for the invoice and for WIP relief.
Skill file: Project Billing
---
name: agency-project-billing
description: NetSuite leading practice for Project Billing in marketing agencies
---
# Project Billing - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Billing A/R, Project Manager, Account Director, Controller
## Process flow
Copy stock charge rules → Set rate card → Forecast charges → Actual charges → Ready, hold or non-billable → Bill run → Invoice
## Leading practice rules
- Use charge-based billing for all projects: fixed fee rules bill on a date or milestone, time-based rules bill approved time, expense-based rules rebill costs with an optional markup.
- Rate cards hold client or project rates by billing class, with effective dates. For negotiated project rates, copy the client card and name it after the project.
- Where a time rule points at a rate card, the card's rate overrides the service item and billing class rates.
- Bill in hours where possible, to avoid the rounding issues of day rates.
- Charges generate daily or on demand. Set pending charges to ready, hold or non-billable before invoicing.
- Run invoices from the billing operations center with unlinked charges checked, on a layout that breaks out each charge.
- A markup on pass-through cost needs an expense category used both for the invoice and for WIP relief.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Every charge rule paired with its revenue rule
- [ ] A naming convention for rate cards
## Known failure modes
- Different rates on one service item averaged on the invoice, because the layout does not break out charges
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
9. Procure to Pay
Buying third-party work and paying for it, often only once the client has paid the agency.
Purchase request → PO approval → Receive → Match → Vendor bill against project → Check project cash → Pay
Leading practice rules
Purchase orders within the requestor's limit auto-approve. Above it, the next role up the chain approves.
Require approval for vendor bills without a purchase order, with separation of duties.
Use 2-way matching (an add-on) or 3-way matching, with tolerances checked by percentage of amount.
With the Sequential Liability SuiteApp, review the A/P to A/R summary by client, project and vendor, and pay vendor bills once client cash covers them.
Keep one bill per project, with expenses and items on separate bills.
Vendor bills on a WIP project take their WIP and relief accounts from the item.
Skill file: Procure to Pay
---
name: agency-procure-to-pay
description: NetSuite leading practice for Procure to Pay in marketing agencies
---
# Procure to Pay - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Sourcing A/P, Project Manager, Account Director, Controller
## Process flow
Purchase request → PO approval → Receive → Match → Vendor bill against project → Check project cash → Pay
## Leading practice rules
- Purchase orders within the requestor's limit auto-approve. Above it, the next role up the chain approves.
- Require approval for vendor bills without a purchase order, with separation of duties.
- Use 2-way matching (an add-on) or 3-way matching, with tolerances checked by percentage of amount.
- With the Sequential Liability SuiteApp, review the A/P to A/R summary by client, project and vendor, and pay vendor bills once client cash covers them.
- Keep one bill per project, with expenses and items on separate bills.
- Vendor bills on a WIP project take their WIP and relief accounts from the item.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] One bill, one project, from the first vendor bill
## Known failure modes
- Vendors paid with no view of project cash, so the agency finances its clients' third-party costs
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
10. WIP Management
Holding pass-through cost in a WIP account until the client is invoiced. It is an optional add-on in the edition, not native architecture.
Flag WIP project → Costs enter WIP → Bill run relieves WIP → Reconcile → Age and report
Leading practice rules
Agency WIP is not native. A customization handles it, with an advanced WIP bundle at extra cost.
The project manager flags WIP projects at initiation. Approved expense reports and vendor bills on those projects are then held as WIP.
Coordinate invoicing, revenue recognition and WIP relief monthly or at milestones, overseen by the Controller.
Run WIP reconciliation at each bill run, so the cost billed matches the WIP relieved.
Aim to keep WIP aging within 90 days, and review WIP aging by vendor, project and client with executives each quarter.
The automation covers fee and progress billing of non-labor cost. Retainers, advance billing, write-offs and late costs need manual handling.
Skill file: WIP Management
---
name: agency-wip-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for WIP Management in marketing agencies
---
# WIP Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Controller, Project Manager, Billing A/R, Sourcing A/P
## Process flow
Flag WIP project → Costs enter WIP → Bill run relieves WIP → Reconcile → Age and report
## Leading practice rules
- Agency WIP is not native. A customization handles it, with an advanced WIP bundle at extra cost.
- The project manager flags WIP projects at initiation. Approved expense reports and vendor bills on those projects are then held as WIP.
- Coordinate invoicing, revenue recognition and WIP relief monthly or at milestones, overseen by the Controller.
- Run WIP reconciliation at each bill run, so the cost billed matches the WIP relieved.
- Aim to keep WIP aging within 90 days, and review WIP aging by vendor, project and client with executives each quarter.
- The automation covers fee and progress billing of non-labor cost. Retainers, advance billing, write-offs and late costs need manual handling.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] WIP accounts on items and expense categories
- [ ] WIP aging in 30-day buckets on the Controller dashboard
## Known failure modes
- WIP left unrelieved on projects that closed early, so the balance sheet carries old liabilities
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
11. Revenue Management
Revenue recognition tied to how each project bills. The edition offers two paths, and the choice depends on whether the agency uses sales orders.
Roles: Controller, Chief Financial Officer
Process flow
Choose project or sales order recognition → Pair revenue rule with charge rule → Revenue plans → Recognize monthly → Reclassify → Waterfall
Leading practice rules
Without sales orders, use project revenue rules. Use sales order recognition for products sold alongside services or fulfillment-driven revenue.
Pair the rules with billing: As Charged with time-based billing, Fixed Amount with fixed fee billing at milestones, Percent Complete with fixed fee billing by progress.
Percent complete comes from approved time over estimated hours, or from a manual override by period.
Do not use Direct Revenue Posting. Where it is unavoidable, isolate those items on their own sales order.
Run recognition journals and deferred revenue reclassification at month end before locking A/R, and reconcile with the Deferred Revenue Waterfall.
Skill file: Revenue Management
---
name: agency-revenue-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for Revenue Management in marketing agencies
---
# Revenue Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Controller, Chief Financial Officer
## Process flow
Choose project or sales order recognition → Pair revenue rule with charge rule → Revenue plans → Recognize monthly → Reclassify → Waterfall
## Leading practice rules
- Without sales orders, use project revenue rules. Use sales order recognition for products sold alongside services or fulfillment-driven revenue.
- Pair the rules with billing: As Charged with time-based billing, Fixed Amount with fixed fee billing at milestones, Percent Complete with fixed fee billing by progress.
- Percent complete comes from approved time over estimated hours, or from a manual override by period.
- Do not use Direct Revenue Posting. Where it is unavoidable, isolate those items on their own sales order.
- Run recognition journals and deferred revenue reclassification at month end before locking A/R, and reconcile with the Deferred Revenue Waterfall.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Every charge rule mapped to a revenue rule before configuration
## Known failure modes
- Charge and revenue rules combined in ways that error, found at the first close
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
12. Return to Credit
Credits, refunds and the corrections that follow reduced scope or price claw backs.
Roles: Account Director, Controller, Billing A/R
Process flow
Zero unbilled charges → Return authorization → Merge with revenue arrangement → Credit memo → Apply or refund
Leading practice rules
For reduced scope or a claw back, zero out charges not yet billed and credit those already billed.
Where an order was used, create a return authorization and merge it with the revenue arrangement so revenue is corrected, then issue the credit.
Create return authorizations from the sales order so the records link, and refunds from credit memos.
Skill file: Return to Credit
---
name: agency-return-to-credit
description: NetSuite leading practice for Return to Credit in marketing agencies
---
# Return to Credit - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Account Director, Controller, Billing A/R
## Process flow
Zero unbilled charges → Return authorization → Merge with revenue arrangement → Credit memo → Apply or refund
## Leading practice rules
- For reduced scope or a claw back, zero out charges not yet billed and credit those already billed.
- Where an order was used, create a return authorization and merge it with the revenue arrangement so revenue is corrected, then issue the credit.
- Create return authorizations from the sales order so the records link, and refunds from credit memos.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Claw-back procedure tested end to end, revenue included
## Known failure modes
- Standalone credit memos for scope reductions, leaving revenue overstated
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
13. Return to Debit
Vendor credits and refunds for third-party work that missed its terms.
Roles: Sourcing A/P, Controller
Process flow
Vendor credit from original bill → Apply to bills → Vendor refund
Leading practice rules
Create vendor credits from the originating transaction for violated terms, returns, or discounts negotiated after billing.
Apply credits to vendor bills before payments are made.
Record refunds with Make Deposit and associate the deposit with the credit.
Skill file: Return to Debit
---
name: agency-return-to-debit
description: NetSuite leading practice for Return to Debit in marketing agencies
---
# Return to Debit - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Sourcing A/P, Controller
## Process flow
Vendor credit from original bill → Apply to bills → Vendor refund
## Leading practice rules
- Create vendor credits from the originating transaction for violated terms, returns, or discounts negotiated after billing.
- Apply credits to vendor bills before payments are made.
- Record refunds with Make Deposit and associate the deposit with the credit.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Credits applied before every payment run
## Known failure modes
- Credits from production vendors left unapplied while bills are paid in full
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
14. Financial Management
Structure, allocations and the close, including the intercompany moves an agency with several offices makes every month.
Define segments → Allocations and amortization → Post time decision → Intercompany adjustments → Close → Report
Leading practice rules
Use allocation schedules to spread expenses across segments, and amortization schedules for prepaid expenses.
Decide whether to post time to the ledger. Firms that journal payroll instead should include approved time as actual cost in project profitability.
Move revenue earned by staff working outside their subsidiary by intercompany journal or invoice, and post intercompany time and expense adjustments at period end.
Have project managers and Account Directors run project profitability weekly, with access limited to the roles that need it.
Skill file: Financial Management
---
name: agency-financial-management
description: NetSuite leading practice for Financial Management in marketing agencies
---
# Financial Management - Marketing Agencies
## Roles
Controller, Chief Financial Officer, Sourcing A/P
## Process flow
Define segments → Allocations and amortization → Post time decision → Intercompany adjustments → Close → Report
## Leading practice rules
- Use allocation schedules to spread expenses across segments, and amortization schedules for prepaid expenses.
- Decide whether to post time to the ledger. Firms that journal payroll instead should include approved time as actual cost in project profitability.
- Move revenue earned by staff working outside their subsidiary by intercompany journal or invoice, and post intercompany time and expense adjustments at period end.
- Have project managers and Account Directors run project profitability weekly, with access limited to the roles that need it.
## Check before go-live
- [ ] Post time decision made before go-live
## Known failure modes
- Time posted and payroll journaled, doubling labor cost without an adjusting journal
## Scope note
Agency Standard edition. Confirm against your licensed modules.
Where to Start
Design the project templates before anything else, because they carry the stock charge rules, and the charge rules decide the rate card, the revenue rule and the WIP treatment. Item management comes with them, since items hold the WIP and relief accounts and the billing class each rate card prices. Then the estimate-to-order path, so every sales order arrives with a project on it. Time and expense, procurement and WIP follow, because they produce the costs the charge rules bill. Revenue management is configured last but decided first: pair each charge rule with its revenue rule on paper before configuration starts.
Once the system is running, the highest-value habit is a monthly billing review that looks at three reports together: the Billing Forecast before the bill run, WIP reconciliation after it, and the A/P to A/R position by project before vendors are paid. Recommendation: hold it as one meeting with the Account Director, Billing A/R and the Controller, because each report shows a different side of the same project. The value chain view, including where agency margin sits and why pass-through cost distorts billings, is covered in the companion end-to-end guide.
Published by Azdan, an Oracle NetSuite Solution Provider operating across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt. Guidance in this article reflects Azdan's process design work with marketing and advertising agencies. Content checked November 2026.
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