Stop agency leakage with practical controls: scope gates, utilization discipline, pass-through proof, and invoice-to-acceptance matching.

Primary outcomes:

• Cost reduction: reduce unplanned overages and pass-through leakage
• Risk mitigation: fewer disputes and clearer delivery accountability
• Carbon impact: not applicable

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Leakage patterns (what to look for)

1. Unlimited revisions disguised as “normal”
2. Retainer underutilization (paying for capacity not used)
3. Overages without pre-approval
4. Pass-throughs without receipts (production, freelancers, media)
5. Blended rates or vague time entries
6. Deliverables not accepted but billed
7. Scope drift across channels (“can you also do…”)

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2-week leakage cleanup sprint

Week 1

• pick top 1–2 agencies by spend
• pull last 3 invoices + SOW
• map invoice line items to deliverables/campaigns
• flag anything without a mapping or acceptance

Week 2

• dispute unsupported items
• reset scope and revision policy
• implement retainer utilization tracking
• lock pass-through approval rules

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Controls that stop leakage fast

Control 1: Deliverable acceptance required

No acceptance record = not payable.

Control 2: Change request gate

If scope changes, it becomes:

• a change request
• with cost and approval

Control 3: Retainer utilization thresholds

If utilization is consistently <70–80%, renegotiate retainer down or switch model.

Control 4: Pass-through rules

Pass-throughs must have:

• pre-approval
• receipts
• markup cap (or none)

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Templates (copy/paste)

1) Invoice-to-Deliverable Matching Log

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2) Change Request (scope creep gate)

Copyable template (TEXT)
Copy
Marketing Scope Change Request

Agency:
Requested change:
Why needed:
Impact on deliverables/timeline:
Incremental cost estimate:
Approver:
Effective date:

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3) Dispute snippet (unsupported items)

Copyable template (TEXT)
Copy
We’re requesting support for the billed items listed below.
These charges must map to an accepted deliverable/campaign and comply with pass-through and approval rules.
Please provide:
- deliverable references and acceptance evidence
- receipts for pass-throughs
- pre-approval references for overages
If not available, please issue a corrected invoice/credit.

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Related resources (guaranteed to exist)

• Marketing and Agency Spend Controls Kit (marketing-agency-spend-controls-kit)
• Pass‑Through Markup Checker (pass-through-markup-checker)
• Invoice Integrity Copy Pack (invoice-integrity)
• Disputes + Credit Recovery System (disputes-credit-recovery-system)
• Invoice and Change Order Leakage System (invoice-change-order-leakage-system)
• Marketing Retainer Utilization Calculator (marketing-retainer-utilization-calculator)

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Definition of Done

• invoices map to accepted deliverables
• scope changes require explicit approvals
• retainers are right-sized based on utilization
• pass-throughs are receipt-backed and compliant