How does retainer billing work in Time & Mat?

Log your team's hours against the project phases (Strategy, Creative, Campaign, etc.). Time & Mat tracks how many hours have been drawn against the retainer and flags when you exceed it, so you can add an overage line item when invoicing.

Can I pass through paid media spend on the same invoice?

Yes. Log paid media, production costs, photography, and other pass-through expenses with amounts and categories. They appear automatically as expense line items on your client invoice alongside the time charges.

What billing phases are pre-set for marketing agencies?

When you pick the Marketing Agency workspace, Time & Mat creates Strategy, Creative, Production, Campaign, and Reporting phases for your first project. You can rename or add phases at any time.

Marketing Agency Billing Software for Retainer + T&M Work

Track retainer drawdown, flag hour overages, and pass through paid media spend -- all on one invoice. No spreadsheet required.

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Retainer drawdown tracking

Log team hours against your retainer budget. See at a glance how many hours remain and when the client is at risk of overage -- before you send the invoice.

Overage line items

When monthly hours exceed the retainer, add an overage line item with the excess hours and rate. It appears cleanly on the same invoice as the retainer.

Paid media pass-through

Log paid media spend, production costs, photography, and software tools as expenses. They appear as pass-through line items on your client invoice automatically.

Phase-based time tracking

Track time by phase -- Strategy, Creative, Production, Campaign, Reporting -- so you know where your team's hours go and can bill accurately by workstream.

Default phases for marketing agency projects

Strategy Discovery, audience research, competitive analysis, brief development. Often the highest-margin phase and worth tracking separately.

Creative Concepting, copywriting, design, and art direction. Tracks the hours your creative team spends before production begins.

Production Execution of creative assets -- video production, photography, web build, print. Often involves pass-through vendor costs.

Campaign Campaign management, paid media buying, optimization, A/B testing. Typically paired with pass-through media spend expenses.

Reporting Analytics review, performance reporting, and client presentations. Track time separately so you can show clients the value of your reporting work.

Frequently asked questions

How does retainer billing work in Time & Mat?: Log your team's hours against project phases (Strategy, Creative, Campaign, etc.). Time & Mat tracks how many hours have been drawn against the retainer and flags when you exceed it, so you can add an overage line item when invoicing.
Can I pass through paid media spend on the same invoice?: Yes. Log paid media, production costs, photography, and other pass-through expenses with amounts and categories. They appear automatically as expense line items on your client invoice alongside the time charges.
What billing phases are pre-set for marketing agencies?: When you pick the Marketing Agency workspace, Time & Mat creates Strategy, Creative, Production, Campaign, and Reporting phases for your first project. You can rename or add phases at any time.