Two fulfillment proposals can use the same client price and produce very different economics for your agency. A wholesale model charges you an agreed supplier fee. A revenue-share model divides defined receipts. Compare the cash your agency keeps after its responsibilities, rather than comparing percentages alone.
Start with the same example
Suppose a client pays $2,000 per month. A hypothetical wholesale supplier charges $1,100, leaving $900 before your other costs. A hypothetical 45% agency revenue share also leaves $900 before those costs. The apparent equality disappears if one provider handles sales and support while the other only builds the account.
Write down the work included in each option: prospect qualification, proposal preparation, onboarding, implementation, monitoring, support and reporting. Estimate your retained workload. These are illustrative calculations, not a forecast or accounting advice.
Define the revenue base
Ask what the percentage applies to. Is it invoiced revenue or collected revenue? How are discounts, refunds, taxes and usage charges treated? Are setup fees split differently from subscriptions? An attractive percentage on an unclear base is not a usable commercial term.
Separate recurring receipts from one-time setup. A large first-month payment can hide an unprofitable recurring service. Model both the launch period and a normal month after onboarding ends.
Stress-test lower adoption
Use several adoption scenarios and include zero new sales. Consider delayed collections and one client leaving. The point is to understand obligations when things go slowly, not to make the spreadsheet look exciting.
Also test a high-activity client. If communications usage or support demand rises, determine which party pays. A fixed retail price with unbounded delivery costs deserves a clear usage policy before sale.
Include the exit
Document what happens to active clients, ongoing subscriptions, account access and unfinished work if the partnership ends. Commercial alignment during growth does not automatically produce an orderly transition later.
ScaleGHL’s published pilot describes a 45% agency share of collected expansion subscriptions and a separate 25% agency share of setup fees, subject to its written terms. Existing agency revenue is outside that expansion split. Evaluate those terms against the actual delivery scope and your agency’s remaining effort.
The useful decision is not whether revenue share is inherently better. It is whether the arrangement allocates work, costs and incentives in a way your team can explain and sustain.
Sources and further learning
Pricing and Scoping for Agencies, episode 180 — Parakeeto. Publisher show notes distinguish price, delivery cost and delivery risk. The recommendations here apply that distinction to agency operations.
Examples and checklists are proposed operating practices, not claims of measured ScaleGHL client results. Sources reviewed October 12, 2026.
Related agency guides
- How to run a white label fulfillment pilot you can learn from
- Client ownership in a white label partnership: the operational questions
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