Step 1: Sort every tool into three buckets
- Client-specific: bought for one client and used only for them, such as a dedicated hosting account or seats you pay for on a client's own tool.
- Shared: used across several clients, such as your project management tool, design software, SEO suite and email platform.
- Overhead: keeps the business running but is not tied to client work, such as accounting and internal chat.
Client-specific costs go straight to that client. Overhead stays in the business. Shared costs are the ones that need a rule.
Step 2: Choose a rule for splitting shared tools
There is no single right answer. Pick one, apply it every month, and write it down so it stays consistent:
- Equal split across active clients. Simple, and fine when clients are similar in size.
- By hours worked. Fairer when workloads differ, but needs time tracking.
- By revenue share. Larger clients carry more of the cost.
For example, a $240-a-month SEO suite shared across four active clients costs $60 each on an equal split. If one client accounts for half of the hours, splitting by hours gives that client $120.
Step 3: Put software cost next to revenue
Once each client has an allocated software cost, compare it with what they pay you. Here is an illustration:
| Client | Monthly revenue | Software allocated | Software as % of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client A | $2,000 | $310 | 15.5% |
| Client B | $1,200 | $180 | 15.0% |
| Client C | $800 | $190 | 23.8% |
Made-up numbers to show the method.
In this example, Client C is the smallest account but carries the heaviest software load. That is a pricing conversation, and you would never see it without the allocation.
Step 4: Clean up when a project ends
Licenses outlive projects more than anything else. Keep a short offboarding checklist and run it every time a client ends:
- Remove or reassign the client's seats in every shared tool.
- Cancel client-specific tools, or transfer ownership to the client.
- Note the final billing date so you are not charged for another cycle.
- Save any exports or files the client is owed.
Step 5: Price it into your quotes
Use your allocation to quote with real numbers. Either build the tool cost into your retainer, or show it as a separate line item. Either way, you are charging for the tools you actually use instead of absorbing them.
Review once a month
New tools get added all the time. A ten-minute monthly review catches new subscriptions, seats that nobody uses and tools that duplicate each other. Our guides on auditing your subscriptions and finding duplicates show how.
Subastian's planned Agency Maestro plan is aimed at exactly this: up to 20 client accounts with white-label reporting. It is not on sale yet, but roster members get launch pricing locked in.