Finance and HR services for creative agencies
Financial rigor that protects the creative engine instead of smothering it — built by people who have run finance and people functions inside full-service and boutique creative shops.
Schedule a ConversationWe know the economics of creative work
Creative agencies live and die on project profitability, utilization, and scope. A brilliant idea delivered over budget is a loss; a well-run studio turns the same creativity into margin. We bring the WIP reporting, project profitability analysis, and financial infrastructure that let you see, in real time, which work is actually paying for itself — without turning the place into a stopwatch culture.
The goal is never to constrain the creative. It is to give you the operational clarity that lets it run harder — clean books, forecasts you can trust, and pricing that holds up under pressure.
Experience from inside the shops you know
Our team has led People & Culture at Column Five for over a decade and held finance leadership across full-service creative agencies through growth and acquisition. We have managed the P&Ls and built the reporting systems at creative businesses — so we understand the culture, not just the accounting.
Services we provide for creative agencies
One team covers the whole finance and HR function. For creative agencies, we most often lead with:
Common questions
Do you handle accounting and bookkeeping for creative agencies?
Yes. Accounting for creative agencies is a core part of what we do, kept the way creative work actually runs — project and client profitability, WIP, and pass-through costs separated from fee revenue. Because your bookkeeper, controller, and CFO sit on one team, nothing is recorded one way and analyzed another.
When does a creative agency need a fractional CFO?
Usually between $2M and $20M in revenue, or whenever pricing, utilization, or cash starts outrunning gut feel. A fractional CFO gives you senior financial leadership — forecasting, project profitability, and the numbers behind big decisions — without a full-time hire.
How do you measure project profitability at a creative agency?
By tracking fees against the hours and pass-through costs each engagement actually consumes, every month — so scope creep and under-priced work show up while you can still fix them, not at year-end.
A financial partner who already speaks creative agencies.
No ramp-up, no learning your model on your dime. Let's talk about what your finance and HR function should look like.
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