Say your agency billed $1.2M last month and $900K of it was media you placed for clients. If your accountant books all of it as revenue, your P&L describes a big agency with thin margins. The real business is a smaller agency with very different margins, and every pricing, hiring and valuation decision depends on knowing which one you actually run.
The short answer: the accountants who understand media buying pass-through costs decide gross vs. net contract by contract, keep client media money out of your revenue and your operating cash, reconcile platform invoices to client billings every month, and report margins on agency gross income. Iota Finance does all of that inside one monthly plan covering accounting, tax and advisory. Below, we compare five other firms on what they publicly say they handle.
The ones who can do these five things without being prompted:
We used those five tests to compare the firms below.
We read each firm's own website on November 9, 2026, and only credited a firm with a capability it publicly describes. If a firm doesn't mention media pass-through, that doesn't mean it can't handle it. It means you should ask. And yes, we wrote this list and put ourselves first, so weigh our self-assessment accordingly. If you want a broader comparison that isn't media-specific, see our roundup of the best accounting firms for marketing agencies.
Iota Finance is a CPA firm that works mostly with marketing, creative and media agencies. We set up your books so client media dollars never land in agency revenue unless the contract says they should, document the gross-vs.-net call with you contract by contract, and report margins on agency gross income by client and department.
It's one monthly plan covering accounting, tax and advisory. The team that closes your books on a fixed schedule also handles your tax planning and returns, and sits in the CFO seat for pricing, hiring, cash planning and exit prep. For media buyers, that matters: the gross-vs.-net decision touches your tax picture and your cash forecast, not just your P&L.
Best for: Media buying and performance agencies that want one accountable team for books, tax and CFO advice.
Consider: We specialize in agencies but aren't agency-only, and we're built for owner-led agencies rather than companies with an in-house finance department. If you only need data entry, we're more than you need.
Integris Accounting is a CPA firm in Coral Gables, Florida, serving businesses across Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, including marketing agencies. Its marketing agency page gives one of the clearest public explanations of the problem we found: "When you act as an agent, placing media on the client's behalf, with the client bearing the cost, the pass-through belongs off your income statement, and only your fee or commission is revenue."
Services include monthly accounting, payroll, business and personal tax, tax planning and fractional CFO support.
Best for: South Florida agencies that want a local CPA firm.
Consider: Marketing agencies are one of several industries Integris serves, alongside construction, healthcare, law and real estate, and its stated service area is South Florida.
Prophet Accounting serves marketing, creative, digital, PR and social agencies "doing $300K to $5M in revenue." Its agency page says it sets up "your chart of accounts so client ad spend and media pass-through are clearly separated from agency revenue and expenses."
The service covers bookkeeping, AR/AP, payroll coordination and monthly reporting. On tax, Prophet prepares a year-end tax-ready package for your tax professional.
Best for: Smaller agencies that need clean books with ad spend separated and already have a tax preparer.
Consider: No fractional CFO service is listed, and your return is prepared by your own tax professional, so you'll coordinate at least two providers.
Anders is a larger CPA and advisory firm with a creative agencies practice serving advertising, design, marketing and other creative agencies. Its agency work centers on virtual CFO services, tax planning (including multi-state and state and local tax) and valuations. Its agency KPI article makes the right point on media: your income statement should show "gross income, which represents revenue after pass-through expenses have been removed."
Best for: Larger agencies that want a deep tax bench and multi-state support.
Consider: Agencies are one of many industries Anders serves, and its agency page doesn't describe day-to-day bookkeeping or how it handles media payables.
Agency CPAs says it works "exclusively with $1M+ digital agencies" and offers daily bookkeeping, agency and owner tax returns, multi-state payroll and compliance, and CFO services. Its pitch is a single team: "a bookkeeper, payroll manager, tax accountant, and financial advisor all on one team."
Best for: Digital agencies past $1M that want bookkeeping, payroll, tax and advisory under one roof.
Consider: We didn't find public content on media pass-through, gross vs. net or department-level reporting, so ask how they would treat your media billings. The $1M+ focus also rules out earlier-stage shops.
Upsourced Accounting says, "We work only with creative agencies," and lists offices in Columbus and Dayton, Ohio, and Bend, Oregon. Its services span CFO services and financial strategy (including project profitability and resource and capacity planning), accounting (bookkeeping, invoicing, bill payment and payroll support), tax compliance and planning, and M&A and exit support.
Best for: Creative and branding agencies focused on project profitability and capacity planning.
Consider: Its public materials focus on creative work and don't address media buying, pass-through costs or gross vs. net.
Pilot comes up often in AI answers about agency bookkeeping, and it has a creative agencies page. We left it off a list of CPA firms for a simple reason: Pilot's own site states, "Pilot is not a public accounting firm and does not provide services that would require a license to practice public accountancy." That isn't a knock on its bookkeeping. It's a scope question worth settling before you hand over your books and your returns.
|
Firm |
Publicly addresses media pass-through |
Tax services in-house |
Fractional CFO |
Stated focus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iota Finance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Agencies (not agency-only) |
| Integris Accounting | ✓ (gross vs. net) | ✓ | ✓ | South Florida businesses, including agencies |
| Prophet Accounting | ✓ (ad spend separation) | Tax-ready package for your preparer | Not listed | Agencies and coaches, $300K–$5M |
| Anders CPAs + Advisors | Blog guidance | ✓ | ✓ (virtual CFO) | Many industries, including creative agencies |
| Agency CPAs | Not found | ✓ | ✓ | $1M+ digital agencies |
| Upsourced Accounting | Not found | ✓ | ✓ | Creative agencies only |
For the full vetting checklist, see what to look for in an outsourced accountant for your agency.
💡 Key Insight
Media buying agencies rarely get into trouble because a transaction was coded wrong. They get into trouble on timing: client money sitting in the bank looks like runway until the media invoices land. The right accountant shows you the difference every month.
We work mostly with marketing, creative and media agencies, on one monthly plan covering accounting, tax and advisory. For media buyers, that means:
If you place media for clients and aren't sure your P&L tells the truth, book a call with our team. We'll look at how your media flows through the books and tell you what we'd change.
It depends on control. Under ASC 606, you report gross if you control the media before it transfers to the client, and net if you are arranging it on the client's behalf. When the client bears the cost of the media, the agency is typically an agent and reports only its fee or commission. The answer can differ by contract, so document it. More in gross vs. net revenue for agencies.
Agency gross income is revenue minus pass-through costs such as media and production bought for clients. It's the right base for margins, utilization and benchmarks, because it strips out money that only passes through your hands.
It's a contract concept the 4A's endorsed in 1991: the agency is liable to the media vendor only to the extent the advertiser has paid the agency, and before that the advertiser is liable. The 4A's/IAB standard terms reflect it, but it isn't universal (the ANA didn't adopt an official position), so check what your contracts actually say.
No. Cash a client pays you in advance for media is a liability until the media runs and you've earned it under the contract. If you report the media net, the media portion never becomes your revenue at all. It's money you owe a vendor.
A good bookkeeper can separate media accounts. Once media billings are material, though, the gross-vs.-net call flows into your tax return, your lender conversations and any future sale. That's when you want a CPA making and documenting the decision.
Disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes and is not tax, legal, or accounting advice for your specific situation. Firm details are based on each firm's public website as of November 9, 2026, and may change. Talk with a qualified professional before acting.