Source: https://billingmart.com/solutions/freelance-agency Creative Studio & Tech Retainer Billing • Freelance & Agency # Invoicing for freelancers and agencies 50% project deposits, milestones & monthly retainers Turn accepted design and engineering proposals into invoices, take a 50% deposit, bill monthly advisory retainers, and rebill production expenses. 50% Deposit Pre-Kickoff Commitment Net 14 Agile Agency Cash Flow Milestones Phase-Gated Deliverables Industry Terminology Project · Scope change · Client Priced for Lines Design · Development · Monthly retainer Standard Settlement Net 14 days [Start free with the Freelance & Agency preset](https://app.billingmart.com/sign-up?industry=freelance-agency) [See all features](https://billingmart.com/features) A sample document ## How an invoice looks in the real world An illustrative invoice with Freelance & Agency line items and terms. The names, amounts and notes on it are made up; the notes are the business’s own wording, not BillingMart’s. How it bills ## The freelance & agency billing flow From the estimate to the payment, the steps this kind of work usually follows. Phase 1 Step 01 ### Proposal & 50% Upfront Kickoff Deposit Send a scope proposal the client accepts in one click from their portal. Invoice a 50% deposit before reserving agency sprint capacity and onboarding resources. Phase 2 Step 02 ### Sprint Milestones & Production Pass-Throughs Bill sequential milestone deliverables (e.g. 25% wireframes approved, 25% deployment) and pass through third-party font, asset, and cloud infrastructure fees. Phase 3 Step 03 ### Monthly Retainers & Autopay Rollovers Keep clients on predictable recurring monthly creative and support retainers, issued on the 1st of each month and charged to a saved card where the client turns on autopay. Built for this trade ## Engineered for Digital Studios, Product Agencies & Consultants Eliminate scope creep and late client payments with milestone-gated billing Creative studios and engineering agencies frequently suffer from scope creep: delivering extensive work before clients approve additional phases or settle outstanding invoices. BillingMart structures project billing around firm milestones: a 50% deposit before kickoff, milestone invoices as each phase lands, and recurring monthly retainers for ongoing support. Clients see every invoice in their client portal and pay by card in seconds. ### What it does for this trade - A 50% deposit invoice by default against each project - Project, milestone, and PO # fields on every invoice - Recurring monthly advisory and engineering retainer billing with card autopay - Reimbursable production expense and software pass-through itemization ### Instant Configuration Selecting this industry profile pre-populates all terminology, custom fields, and dunning cadences in your workspace. You retain complete control to edit or expand any setting at any time. The preset ## It already knows the words Pick this trade when you sign up and everything below is pre-filled. Every value is fully customizable in your settings. ### What things are called job Project change order Scope change client Client invoice Invoice estimate Proposal ### On every invoice - Project - Milestone - PO # First-class structured fields rather than an unstructured notes box, printed on the invoice and its PDF. ### Terms it starts with Payment terms Net 14 days Numbering INV-2026-0001 Deposit 50% up front Reminders day 3, day 10, day 21 after the due date Deposits, progress draws and retainage are part of jobs: included in the trial, then on the plans that list jobs. ### Common Line Item Presets Frequently billed items for freelance & agency work. Click-to-add on any invoice to save repetitive typing. - + Design - + Development - + Monthly retainer - + Milestone - + Reimbursable expenses Questions ## Frequently asked questions about freelance & agency invoicing What people ask before they bill this way, answered from what the product does. **How do 50% upfront deposits work for agency projects?** The agency model defaults to a 50% deposit invoice against the project total. The client pays it by card, and progress invoices billed by percent complete count the deposit as already billed. **Can agencies bill monthly recurring retainers automatically?** Yes. A recurring monthly schedule issues the retainer on the 1st of each month, and charges the client’s saved card where they have turned on autopay. **Can reimbursable expenses (fonts, cloud servers, licenses) be added to invoices?** Yes. Log the expense, with its receipt and an optional agency markup, and rebill it onto the client’s invoice exactly once. **What happens if a client is late on an agency milestone payment?** Automated dunning cadences send polite reminder emails on days 3, 10, and 21 after the due date, maintaining project momentum without awkward debt-collection calls. ## Start billing your freelance or agency business Start on the free plan, with no credit card required to sign up. Every plan and its monthly send limit are on the pricing page. [Start free](https://app.billingmart.com/sign-up?industry=freelance-agency) [Compare all plans](https://billingmart.com/pricing) --- This is the Markdown copy of https://billingmart.com/solutions/freelance-agency. Live plans, prices and limits are published as JSON at https://billingmart.com/plans.json and https://billingmart.com/agent-info.json.