Cross-border invoicing and payments for client-facing firms.

The challenge: money moving in both directions, in different currencies

A consultancy might invoice a US client in dollars while paying a subcontractor in India in rupees and a freelance designer in the eurozone in euros — all in the same month. Each of those flows involves a separate currency conversion, a separate transfer, and its own small dose of cost and timing uncertainty. Handled through a standard business bank account, each one is typically converted at whatever rate the bank quotes on the day, with limited visibility into how that rate compares to the wider market.

For firms billing by the project or the retainer, cash flow also matters more than it might first appear. A client payment that arrives a few days late, or is converted at a worse rate than expected, can create a real gap against payroll or contractor payments due the same week — even though nothing about the underlying engagement has changed.

How TimeFX helps

We help professional-services firms invoice international clients using multi-currency receiving details, so clients can pay in their own currency without you needing a local bank account in every market you work in. That also avoids the double conversion that happens when a client converts their own currency into sterling before sending it, and your bank effectively reverses part of that conversion on the way in.

For overseas contractors and subcontractors paid on a recurring basis, we help set up beneficiary details once, so monthly or fortnightly payments don't need to be re-entered and re-checked every cycle — reducing both admin time and the risk of a payment being delayed by a typo in a bank code.

Typical payment patterns we see

Professional-services firms we work with generally see either a small number of large project-based client payments, spaced months apart, or a steadier flow of retainer-style payments from several clients each month, often paired with recurring payments out to contractors, freelancers or overseas partner firms. Agencies with international teams frequently sit in between — sizeable client billing alongside a genuinely recurring payroll-like cost base spread across several currencies.

A worked scenario (illustrative)

Consider a UK-based design agency invoicing a client in Australia in Australian dollars for a fixed-fee project, while paying a freelance developer in the Philippines in US dollars each month for ongoing support work. Receiving the client payment via a multi-currency account, and holding part of that balance in US dollars to pay the developer directly, avoids converting AUD to GBP and then GBP to USD — two conversions where one might otherwise do. This is illustrative only: whether holding a foreign-currency balance makes sense depends on how regularly you have matching income and costs in the same currency.

What to prepare before applying

• The currencies you invoice clients in and pay contractors in.
• Roughly how many international clients and contractors you deal with.
• Whether payments are project-based, retainer-based, or a mix.
• Your company registration details and a short description of your services.