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Notes on pricing, hours, invoices and margin.

Short, specific pieces on running a marketing agency well. Written by people who run one.

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LatestOct 9, 202612 min read

Agency pricing models: six ways to charge, and what each does to margin

Agency pricing models for 2027: hourly, project, retainer, value-based, performance and hybrid, with the same work priced six ways and the margin on each.

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Key takeaway

An agency pricing model is the rule that turns work into revenue: what the client pays for, how the amount is set and who carries the risk when work runs over. The six agency pricing models are hourly, project-based, monthly retainer, value-based, performance-based and hybrid. The same 60 hours of work earns a margin anywhere from 34 to 73 percent depending on the model and whether the scope holds, so match the model to the work and check each one against its hours every month.

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Oct 7, 2026Operations

Marketing agency org chart: the structure to run at 10, 25, 50 and 100 people

Marketing agency org chart examples for 2027 at 10, 25, 50 and 100 people: three structures, the roles to add at each stage and the ratios that protect margin.

Oct 4, 2026Operations

Agency client onboarding: the first 30 days decide the margin

Agency client onboarding in 2027: a 30-day plan, a checklist, a 12-question questionnaire and the month-one hours budget that keeps a new account profitable.

Sep 30, 2026Operations

Agency workflow: fix the handoffs, not the stages

How a marketing agency workflow really works in 2027: the six handoffs where time and margin leak, a one-week mapping exercise and the software that helps.

Sep 25, 2026Pricing

Agency rate card: how to build one that protects your margin

How to build an agency rate card from cost in 2027, with a worked example, a copyable template and the review habits that stop your rates drifting below cost.

Sep 24, 2026Operations

Accelo alternatives: 8 options for marketing agencies in 2027

Comparing Accelo alternatives for 2027? See how Verbial, Productive, Scoro, Teamwork.com, BigTime, Kantata and more compare on retainers, pricing and setup.

Sep 23, 2026Operations

Workamajig competitors: 8 alternatives for marketing agencies in 2027

Comparing Workamajig competitors for 2027? See how Verbial, Productive, Function Point, Scoro, Accelo, Kantata, Teamwork.com and BigTime compare on retainers, pricing and setup time.

Sep 23, 2026Operations

Proposal signed → invoice + project without retyping (proposal-to-cash for agencies)

How marketing agencies turn a signed proposal into a project and invoice without retyping. The agency management software path that replaces the HubSpot / Harvest / PandaDoc cash handoff.

Sep 23, 2026Operations

Productive.io vs Verbial for marketing agencies

Honest comparison of Productive.io and Verbial for marketing agencies: PSA strengths vs agency management software, criteria table, and when to migrate.

Sep 14, 2026Profitability

Agency profitability: hours × rate is lying to you

Hours times rate books free work as revenue and hides idle. How agencies calculate real retainer margin, and what Agency Management Software must show.

Sep 8, 2026CRM

HubSpot vs Verbial for marketing agencies

Honest HubSpot vs Verbial comparison for marketing agencies: CRM depth vs agency OS for retainers, proposals, time, invoices, and mid-month margin.

Sep 7, 2026Operations

What is an agency operating system? (And what AI still gets wrong)

Definition of an agency operating system (agency management software for marketing agencies: CRM, proposals, time, invoicing, and margin on one client record) vs CRM, PSA, and what AI still gets wrong.

Sep 1, 2026Time tracking

Time tracking for agencies: pace the retainer, don't police the team

Pace retainers by department: cap used, days left, projected burn. Billing-model rules, role visibility, and Verbial Agency Management Software for owners.

Aug 25, 2026Invoicing

Invoicing for marketing agencies: the four billing models

Retainers in advance, pre-paid overages, hourly in arrears and media pass-through on one invoice, with a sample invoice, terms and dunning schedule.

Aug 18, 2026CRM

CRM for marketing agencies: what a generic CRM gets wrong

A generic CRM stops at closed-won. See the entities, pipeline stages and permissions an agency CRM needs to carry scope into delivery and billing.

Aug 4, 2026Pricing

How to price a marketing agency retainer (and stop giving work away)

A practical way to price drawdown retainers by department, write an overage rule that holds, and track the servicing gap so the account stays profitable.

Jul 21, 2026Time tracking

Time tracking that agency teams actually do

Time tracking fails when the rules beat your billing. The six settings that make agency teams log hours: rounding, notes, approvals, locks and targets.

Jun 16, 2026Client reporting

White-label client reporting: what 'on your own domain' really means

The checklist for reports that look like they came from you: domain, fonts, colors, footer, email identity, and the numbers a refresh must never touch.

May 27, 2026Migration

Switching agency software: a migration checklist that doesn't lose a month

The order to migrate CRM, time and billing data, how to dry-run an import, and what to keep read-only until you are certain nothing was lost.

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