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Payments for marketing agencies, including the money only passing through
An agency that buys media on behalf of clients processes far more than it earns, and an underwriter who finds that out from a statement instead of from you will freeze the account first and ask afterwards.
What an agency actually processes, versus what it earns
The gap between those two numbers is the single most common reason an agency account gets held.
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Pass-through media spend is not agency revenue
Media budgets that flow through the agency inflate processed volume without touching income, so the account is underwritten on that shape from the start rather than flagged as anomalous later.
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Retainers run on a stored credential
Monthly retainers bill on schedule against a credential the client authorized, with the authorization stored beside the transaction rather than in an email thread.
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Milestone billing is tied to a deliverable
Each milestone invoice references the deliverable that triggered it, which is also the evidence that answers a dispute months later.
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A scope change is a new authorization
Additional work is authorized as its own charge rather than by quietly increasing an existing one, because an unexpected larger charge on a familiar line is what a client disputes.
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Creative work needs deliverable evidence
Approvals, delivered files and sign-off dates are kept with the payment record, so a dispute on subjective work is answered with dates rather than with opinion.
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A client card on file for media has a ceiling
Where a client card funds media directly, the stored credential carries an agreed ceiling so a platform overspend cannot become an agency liability overnight.
What to ask before an agency changes processors
The questions that keep an account from being frozen in month three.
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Tell the underwriter about media spend before boarding
Volume that is ten times revenue looks like fraud to a model that was not told. Said in advance, it is simply the business.
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Ask what evidence a dispute response actually accepts
On creative work the winning answer is approvals with dates. Ask where the system stores them and how you export them.
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Ask how a scope change is billed
If the answer is to edit the recurring charge upward, expect disputes from clients who were not surprised by the work but were surprised by the line.
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Ask whether a client card can carry a ceiling
Without one, a platform overspend lands on the agency and the conversation happens after the money moved.
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Ask what happens to a retainer when a card is reissued
An updater keeps it running. Without one, a routine reissue becomes a missed month somebody has to notice.
Questions agency owners ask
Direct answers, no hedging.
Will pass-through media spend get our account held?
Not if the underwriter is told the shape of it before boarding. Volume that is many times revenue is normal for a media buyer and abnormal to a model that was not informed.
How do we defend a dispute on creative work?
With the approval record: who signed off, on what file, on what date. Those are kept with the payment rather than in a mailbox.
Can retainers and project milestones live in the same place?
Yes. Recurring and one-off charges settle into the same ledger and the same export.
Can a client fund media on their own card?
Yes, on a stored credential with an agreed ceiling so a platform overspend cannot become an agency liability.
Do we have to replace our project management tooling?
No. We integrate with what the agency runs and leave working tools alone.
Talk to somebody who has boarded a media buyer
Tell us about the agency and how to reach you.
Thank you. We will book a short call and bring the underwriting conversation to it up front.
We will implement whatever is right for you — including keeping what you have.
Two free tools, before you talk to anybody
Both are open to anyone, and neither asks who your clients are.
- Answer the boarding questions Say that you bill a retainer and also move client ad spend through, and it returns a starting configuration that keeps money you earn apart from money you are only passing on.
- Get a free statement audit Send a month with a large media buy on it. Pass-through volume reads very differently from fee income on a statement, and we will show you where.
Last updated: 2026-08-17