Bookkeeping & VAT · Dortmund

Bookkeeping & VAT for Agencies in Dortmund

Running an agency means your attention belongs to clients, campaigns, and delivery, not to invoice stacks and VAT deadlines. Cove handles your ongoing bookkeeping, VAT returns, and monthly reporting with a defined scope, honest communication, and one dedicated contact who genuinely understands how your business works.

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Why Cove

More focus for your core business, bookkeeping that gives your agency real breathing room

Most agency owners do not struggle with understanding finance. They struggle with finding the time and headspace to keep on top of it alongside everything else. At Cove, we build a working relationship around clarity and genuine partnership: a single contact who knows your accounts, a defined scope you can rely on, and no surprises in your invoice. You always know what is being handled, what it costs, and who to call.

One contact who knows your agency

You work with one dedicated person at Cove, not a shared inbox or a rotating team where you repeat yourself every time. Your contact understands your billing cycles, your document flow, and the structure of your client invoices. When a question comes up mid-project, you reach someone who can give you a real answer.

Bookkeeping that keeps pace with your month

When entries fall weeks behind, your figures stop telling you anything useful. Agencies move quickly, new clients, project closures, shifting retainers, and your bookkeeping needs to reflect that in something close to real time. We process your records on a rolling basis so that what you see in your accounts matches where your business actually is.

VAT returns handled without chasing

Your VAT pre-return (Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung) is prepared and submitted electronically to the tax authority on schedule, monthly or quarterly, depending on your assigned period. Deadlines do not move, and neither does our preparation. Nothing is left waiting on your calendar.

A document workflow that fits how agencies operate

Forward invoices and receipts by app or email, from a client lunch receipt to a supplier invoice from a freelance designer. We handle classification, entry, and reconciliation from there. No end-of-month scramble, no physical handoffs, no uncertainty about what has made it into your books.

Ongoing Bookkeeping

A bookkeeping rhythm built around your agency, not the other way around

Agencies rarely have a uniform financial month. A retainer client pays on the first, a project invoice clears late, a freelancer submits an expense batch at the end of the week. When bookkeeping is treated as a once-a-month catch-up task, these details pile up and your figures fall out of step with reality. At Cove, we build the workflow so your incoming and outgoing invoices, bank transactions, and receipts are processed continuously throughout the month. Dortmund has a growing base of creative and digital agencies, many working across client sectors from logistics tech to local retail, where project timelines and payment cycles rarely align neatly. Having an accurate, current financial picture is not just useful for tax purposes. It is how you make sound decisions about capacity, pricing, and when to bring in the next hire.

A dedicated Cove advisor reviewing continuous bookkeeping records for a Dortmund-based agency, with invoices and transactions processed in real time rather than batched at month end.

A Cove tax advisor preparing and submitting a VAT return for an agency client, with all bookkeeping data already current and the electronic filing handled without any input required from the business owner.

VAT compliance that runs on schedule, whatever your agency's month looks like

For agencies, VAT compliance carries a layer of complexity that product businesses do not always face: client invoices across different service categories, reverse-charge transactions with EU freelancers or suppliers, and the occasional mixed-rate situation. The deadline for your VAT return does not adjust for any of it. Because Cove keeps your bookkeeping current throughout the filing period, the figures needed for your return are already in order before the due date arrives. We prepare the return, review it carefully, and submit it electronically. There is no last-minute document hunt, no pressure on your side, and nothing left open for you to follow up.

Monthly Reporting

A monthly BWA that gives your agency something to actually act on

A business performance report (BWA) is a practical tool, but only when the bookkeeping behind it is current and accurate. For agencies, a timely BWA can answer the questions that matter most: Are project margins holding? Is the retainer base covering fixed costs? Where is cash actually going this month? If the underlying data is weeks behind, those answers lose their value. At Cove, your BWA is delivered each month as a standard part of the service. You do not request it; it arrives. Dortmund's technology and digital services sector, which has expanded significantly alongside the city's structural economic shift away from heavy industry, is home to agencies where monthly financial visibility directly informs hiring, pitching, and investment decisions. That kind of clarity is what the BWA is for.

A monthly business performance report (BWA) delivered to a Dortmund agency owner by Cove, showing current revenue, cost trends, and margins based on up-to-date bookkeeping data.

An agency owner forwarding invoices and receipts digitally to Cove via app and email, with a dedicated contact handling all classification, entry, and reconciliation without any manual follow-up required.

Digital Workflow

From client invoice to reconciled account, without the manual back-and-forth

The friction in agency bookkeeping rarely comes from the accounting logic. It comes from getting the right documents to the right place before anything can be processed. A freelancer invoice arrives by email. A client receipt lives in a WhatsApp thread. A software subscription renews automatically and the confirmation is buried in an inbox. Cove removes that friction. You forward documents digitally, by app, email, or connected software, and we handle everything from there: classification, entry, and reconciliation. There is no end-of-month pile-up, no physical handoff, and no ambiguity about whether a record has been captured. Your dedicated contact is reachable for questions, and anything that needs clarification is resolved quickly rather than left to accumulate.

Responsible Tax Office for Agencies in Dortmund

For all tax administration matters – such as filing tax returns, complying with deadlines, or applying for extensions – your local tax office is your primary contact. Depending on your exact district or headquarters in Dortmund, a specific tax office (such as the Dortmund Tax Office) will be responsible for your business.

Finanzamt Dortmund

CLIENT TESTIMONIALS

What our clients say

With Cove, we finally have complete clarity over our finances—what we pay for and why. Everything is digital, transparent, and significantly more efficient than with traditional firms.

Klaus Wegener

CEO @35up

We used to wait weeks for answers. With Cove, everything runs digitally and proactively—they get in touch before deadlines approach. Finally, a tax advisor who thinks ahead.

Dr. Emil Kendziorra

CEO @Tomorrow Biostasis

We now save 10+ hours per month that used to be wasted on searching for receipts and email ping-pong. And when we have questions, we get answers that we actually understand.

Daniel Atanasovski

CEO @Coding Partners

FAQ

Answers to your questions

Frequently asked questions about working with Cove.

Can I manage my agency's bookkeeping with Cove entirely online?

Yes, entirely. Cove operates as a fully digital tax advisory firm, and the entire working relationship, from document submission through to monthly reporting, runs online. There is no requirement to visit an office in Dortmund or anywhere else. If you would like to start with a video call to walk through how the setup works and what it looks like for your specific agency, we are happy to arrange that. Many clients find that having a single dedicated contact available digitally gives them faster, more direct communication than they experienced with a traditional local firm.

How does the ongoing bookkeeping service work for an agency in practice?

Once your account is set up, you submit documents digitally on a regular basis, client invoices, supplier bills, freelancer receipts, bank statements. Your dedicated Cove contact processes these, categorises the entries, and keeps your accounts current throughout the month. At the end of each month, your BWA is delivered as a standard output, no separate request needed. If a document is missing or something requires clarification, your contact reaches out directly rather than letting it sit. The process is designed to be low-effort on your side and well-structured on ours, so your agency's financial picture stays accurate without becoming another item on your to-do list.

How does Cove handle VAT when our agency works with EU-based freelancers or suppliers?

This is a common situation for agencies sourcing creative, technical, or strategic support across EU borders. Cove handles intra-community transactions correctly within both your bookkeeping and your VAT returns, including reverse-charge treatment and EC sales reporting where applicable. Your dedicated contact will go through the specifics for your setup during onboarding so that the right treatment is applied from the start, not corrected later.

How is Cove's bookkeeping service priced, and will the costs stay consistent?

Pricing is based on your monthly transaction volume and the nature of your VAT situation, not a one-size-fits-all rate that may not reflect how your agency actually operates. In an initial call, we go through your setup and provide a clear, itemised proposal. You know exactly what is included and what it costs before anything is agreed. There are no onboarding fees and no scope that expands quietly without a conversation first. Predictable, agreed costs are a core part of how we work.

How does Cove communicate with us, and how quickly can we expect a response?

You work with one dedicated contact at Cove, not a general support queue. Routine questions are typically answered the same day or the next business day. If something time-sensitive comes up, a VAT query, a figure you need for a client conversation, a question about a specific transaction, your contact is reachable directly and knows your accounts well enough to give you a useful answer quickly. You are not starting from scratch each time you get in touch.

How does COVE work?