# What can I find out about an agency before I make contact?

**Short answer.** More than you think, and most of it is public: founding year, address, services, reference clients, awards, group structure and the filed annual accounts. IKAg puts that per agency on a factsheet.

More than most people think, and almost all of it is public. A Belgian agency is a company, and a company leaves a trail anyone may read for free.

## The four sources

**IKAg's factsheets.** One page per agency with services, sectors, reference clients, awards, the group it belongs to, and key figures from the annual accounts next to the market medians. You reach them through the [overview](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/) or by [expertise](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/expertises), [sector](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/sectoren), [location](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/plaatsen) and [group](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/groepen).

**The National Bank.** Every Belgian company files annual accounts, freely searchable on the company number. They show revenue or gross margin, headcount, equity and result.

**The Crossroads Bank for Enterprises.** Says whether the company is still active, since when it has existed, and which activities it declares.

**The Belgian Official Gazette.** Publishes director changes, name changes, mergers, capital changes and wind-ups. This is the source that tells you what happened over recent years.

## What a factsheet holds

- **Overview:** who the agency is, since when, where, and the group above it.
- **Expertise:** which services and sectors they state.
- **Financials:** the figures from filed accounts, with the sector median beside them, so a number has a benchmark.
- **People:** who works there, as far as that is publicly findable.
- **Awards & Partners:** award-winning work and official partnerships.

## What you will not find there

What an agency would charge you for your assignment, how it works under pressure, and whether the people you met are the people you get. Those are exactly the three things to extract in a meeting, and it is why a factsheet is preparation and not a replacement.

See also: [how to know whether an agency is financially healthy](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/is-een-bureau-financieel-gezond), [who owns it](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wie-is-de-eigenaar-van-een-bureau) and [whether an agency still exists](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/bestaat-dit-bureau-nog).

## Related questions

- [How do I know whether an agency is financially healthy?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/is-een-bureau-financieel-gezond): Four of the five numbers you need are free at the National Bank: EBITDA margin, gross margin per employee, the three-year trend and equity. Only the share of the largest client has to be asked.
- [Who owns an agency?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/wie-is-de-eigenaar-van-een-bureau): Shareholders are not in the annual accounts, but directors and every change to them appear in the Belgian Official Gazette, free of charge. A holding above it tells you the rest.
- [Which clients does an agency have?](https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq/welke-klanten-heeft-een-bureau): Stated reference clients are on the factsheet, but the questions that matter are which client left recently and which one sits in your category. That last one decides whether they may take your brief at all.

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IKAg is the business consultant for marketing and agencies in Belgium and the Netherlands. Market figures come from the Agency Barometer, calculated on the annual accounts agencies filed with the National Bank themselves. Figures on pitches and satisfaction come from IKAg-guided processes, and are always presented as such.

- All questions: https://www.ikag.be/en/factsheets/faq
- Last updated: 2026-08-19