Marketing Agency Billing Software
Marketing agency billing is monthly retainer subscriptions plus project add-ons plus occasional one-off scope. A typical 10-client agency runs $20k-150k in MRR across retainers ($2k-15k/month), then bills another $5k-30k in project add-ons quarterly (campaign launches, branded asset packages, custom landing pages). Smarfle handles all three on one engine: recurring monthly retainer auto-charge, project milestone invoicing, and one-off scope billing without a separate FreshBooks or HoneyBook to reconcile.
7 days free · No credit card · Built in Florida
$8,420
47
Acme Office Park
Monthly maintenance
$485
Riverside Apartments
Quarterly service
$1,200
Downtown Plaza
Monthly recurring
$320
West End Hotel
Bi-weekly contract
$680
Real Smarfle UI · Live data from your marketing agency CRM
Why generic billing software fails marketing agency owners
Generic billing tools weren’t built for marketing agency. Smarfle was.
Generic billing software
What everyone else gives you
- Monthly retainers billed inconsistently in busy weeks
- Project fees + change-orders not invoiced separately
- Ad-spend pass-through invoicing manual = AR drags monthly
Smarfle for Marketing Agency
Built for your actual workflow
- Monthly recurring auto-charge against saved card eliminates the chase
- Each milestone + change order is separate invoice tagged to project
- Add ad-spend as line item on monthly retainer; auto-charges saved card
How marketing agency billing works in Smarfle
From the first touch to the closed loop. No missing pieces.
- 1
Client signs the engagement letter and gets enrolled
Account manager creates the client in Smarfle, configures the retainer subscription ($5k/month for SEO + content + paid). Captures the card. First charge runs at the configured start date.
- 2
Monthly retainer auto-charges on the 1st
Stripe Connect off-session charge runs on the 1st of each month for $5,000. Failed charge triggers immediate owner notification + client SMS with card-update link. Owner doesn't discover the gap weeks later.
- 3
Project add-on invoiced separately when client approves
Client approves a $12k brand-refresh project. Account manager creates a project invoice in Smarfle (33 percent at start, 33 percent at midpoint, 34 percent at delivery). First charge runs at project start.
- 4
Scope creep tracked as additional invoice line items
Client asks for 3 extra ad creatives beyond contracted 4. Account manager adds a $1,500 line item to the next project invoice. Client sees the addition on the invoice, signs off, scope creep gets billed instead of absorbed.
- 5
Per-client monthly reports show retainer + project + scope billed
Owner runs the per-client monthly report. Each client shows: retainer charged ($5k), project milestones ($4k), scope add-ons ($1.5k), total $10.5k. Account managers see their book-of-business health instantly.
- 6
Annual revenue forecast based on retainer MRR
Reports view rolls up MRR across all active retainers, projects per quarter, and historical scope-creep rate. Owner forecasts annual revenue with reasonable confidence for planning hires, software, and growth investments.
Where marketing agency billing breaks down
The friction every marketing agency owner recognizes.
Retainer + project + scope-creep billing live in 3 different tools
Retainers in FreshBooks, project invoicing in HoneyBook, scope creep tracked in Excel. End of month you reconcile across three systems to figure out what each client actually owes. Slow, error-prone, leaves money on the table.
Failed retainer auto-charges discovered weeks later
Client's card expired in October. November's $5,000 retainer auto-charge failed silently. You don't notice until early December when the AR report shows the gap. Awkward conversation, often 2-3 months of free work before catch-up.
Scope creep doesn't get billed because tracking is manual
Client asked for 4 ad creatives, you delivered 7. The extra 3 are scope creep but nobody invoiced for them because tracking lives in a Notion doc your account manager doesn't update. Easy 10-20 percent of revenue lost to unbilled scope.
Capture 10-15 percent more revenue from billed scope creep
Agencies typically eat 10-20 percent of project scope as unbilled creep. On $50k of project work, that's $5-10k absorbed. Smarfle's per-client line-item tracking makes scope additions visible and billable. Realistic recovery: 60 percent of historically unbilled creep gets invoiced, equals $3-6k per project recovered.
60%
Scope creep recovery rate
<14 days
Monthly AR cycle vs manual
5 hrs/wk
Owner time saved on reconciliation
Based on typical marketing agency operations. Your numbers may vary.
Features powering marketing agency billing
Each one a deep-dive in its own right.
Recurring client subscriptions for monthly retainers
Retainers configured as client subscriptions with monthly auto-charge via Stripe Connect. Failed charge alerts trigger instant owner + client notifications. Saved-card management lives in the client record.
Learn moreProject milestone invoicing
Create multi-milestone project invoices (33/33/34 percent typical for brand projects). Each milestone fires at the configured date or trigger. Saved card charges automatically.
Learn moreTime tracking with billable hours conversion
Account managers and designers log time per client. Billable hours auto-convert to invoice line items at the configured hourly rate for over-cap or hourly engagements.
Learn morePer-client revenue and AR reporting
Reports show per-client retainer + project + scope billing for the month, quarter, and year. AR aging report flags clients with overdue invoices. Reports view rolls everything up for owner forecasting.
Learn moreMarketing Agency Billing Software CRM questions
Other marketing agency tools
Smarfle ships billing software alongside the rest of your CRM.
Billing Software for other industries
Same billing engine, tuned for each vertical.
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