What makes agency books hard
Two rules shape an agency’s books more than any expense category. The first is about people: a freelancer who invoices you can still bring a status, super, withholding or reporting obligation, and the rule is different in every country. The second is about software: the US tools an agency runs on rarely carry local tax, and when they do it usually means a registration number was never entered.
What ExpenseFlow checks on an agency invoice
Freelancer and contractor payments are flagged with your country’s question:
- Australia. The personal services income position, and whether super applies to a contractor engaged mainly for their labour.
- United Kingdom. Off-payroll working (IR35) status where the worker supplies services through their own company.
- New Zealand. Whether the work is a schedular activity needing an IR330C and withholding before you pay in full.
- Canada. Fees for services likely reportable on a T4A slip, with a prompt to capture the supplier’s business number and annual total.
- Singapore. Whether the contractor is non-resident, since payments to non-residents for services can attract withholding tax.
Overseas software and subscriptions are flagged as imported services under the reverse charge or self-assessment rules for your country, not as a local tax credit.
Everything else it does on every invoice
- Captures invoices and receipts by email forward, upload or phone photo.
- Reads line items and the invoice currency.
- Codes each line to an account and tax code, with a written reason and a confidence score.
- Splits entertainment at the statutory 50% in Canada and New Zealand, and flags the rule elsewhere.
- Routes uncertain lines to a review queue with roles and per-row approvals before anything posts.
- Syncs after approval to Xero with the source document attached, or to QuickBooks Online as a coded bill.
What it does not do
It does not decide IR35 status, apply the PSI tests, run payroll, withhold tax, issue T4A slips or compute the reverse charge on your return.