Marketing Services Agreement Template

What is a marketing services agreement?

A marketing services agreement is the contract between a marketing agency or freelancer and a client. The questions that cause trouble later are nearly always the same: what exactly is included each month, who approves the ads, whose card pays the ad platforms, what happens if the budget is overspent, who owns the ad accounts and the creative, and what results were promised.

This template answers each of them. You describe the services, channels, deliverables and goals; set an approval deadline; choose a monthly retainer, fixed project fee or hourly rate; and choose whether the client pays the platforms directly or you re-bill the spend at cost or with a management fee, with an optional monthly ad budget cap. It sets how often you report, says plainly that results aren't guaranteed, keeps ad accounts and data with the client, passes paid-for creative to the client, and covers confidentiality, data protection, notice and a liability cap.

When to Use a marketing services agreement

• An agency starts a monthly retainer for paid search and paid social
• A freelancer runs a one-off product launch campaign
• A consultant manages a client's email marketing and landing pages
• An agency re-bills ad spend and charges a management fee on it
• A business hires an outside team to run marketing alongside its own staff

What You Fill In

21 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: agency, client.

What the marketing services agreement Covers

1. Services
2. Term
3. Working together and approvals
4. Fees
5. Advertising spend
6. Reporting
7. Results
8. Ownership
9. Confidentiality and data
10. Ending the agreement
11. Liability
12. General

Using the marketing services agreement, step by step

1 Describe the services

List what you'll do, the channels and platforms, and the deliverables each month or campaign. Add goals if you have them — the agreement treats them as targets to work towards, not guarantees.

2 Choose the fee and how ad spend works

Pick a retainer, fixed fee or hourly rate. Then choose how advertising is paid: the client's own card on the platforms (the simplest), or you pay and re-bill at cost, or at cost plus a management percentage. Add a monthly ad budget to cap spend without new approval.

3 Set approvals and reporting

Choose how many business days the client has to approve work, and how often you report — weekly, every two weeks, monthly or at the end of each campaign.

4 Send it

Tick "This is me" for the agency, add the client's signer and send. Both of you sign with job titles and initial every page; the signed agreement is filed in Files and emailed to both.

Tips Before You Send It

• Set ad accounts up in the client's name from day one — it avoids painful handovers if you part ways.
• Put the monthly ad budget in writing. It is the easiest overspend dispute to prevent.
• Agree one person at the client who can approve work, so feedback doesn't arrive from five directions.
• If you re-bill ad spend, invoice it separately from your fees so the client can see both clearly.

Marketing services agreement: frequently asked questions

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This template is a general starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries and states — have a lawyer review the agreement for your situation before you rely on it. Page last reviewed 2026-09-29.