Social Media Manager Invoice and Retainer Template
A social media manager's invoice should bill the monthly retainer in advance, state the deliverables the tier covers by platform and post count, and itemize extra content, ad management, reporting, and out-of-scope hours — with client ad spend billed to the client's own card, never yours. ShowTheReceipts bills the retainer automatically each month against a card on file and saves each tier as a reusable line.
Header block
- Your business name, address, tax ID
- Client business name and billing contact
- Month covered, retainer tier
- Invoice number, due date, terms
Service lines
- Monthly retainer — tier and deliverables, billed in advance
- Platforms covered — named, not implied
- Content produced — posts, reels, stories, per month
- Community management — hours or minutes/day included
- Ad management fee — flat, or % of spend with a minimum
- Reporting — monthly, included or add-on
- Out-of-scope hours — hourly, stated rate
Retainer tiers
| Tier | Typical deliverables |
|---|---|
| Starter | 1 platform, 8–12 posts, monthly report |
| Standard | 2 platforms, 16–20 posts, stories, community mgmt |
| Growth | 3+ platforms, video content, ad management |
The posts are the visible part. The strategy, the community management, and the report are most of the hours — price the tier, not the post.
Keep ad spend off your card
Client ad spend goes on the client’s own payment method. Your invoice carries the management fee only. Fronting spend has ended more freelance social businesses than bad content ever has.
Content creation is its own line
Shooting and editing original video is not the same service as scheduling and captioning supplied assets. Separate them on the invoice so a client who stops supplying photos is buying an upgrade, not getting one free.
What not to do
- Don’t price per post
- Don’t front ad spend
- Don’t leave platforms and post counts off the invoice
- Don’t fold unlimited community management into a flat tier
Frequently asked questions
How should a social media manager bill — monthly or per post?
Monthly retainer, billed in advance, with the deliverables stated. Per-post pricing invites haggling over individual pieces and hides the strategy, community management, and reporting time that make up most of the work.
Should ad spend go on my invoice?
No — put the client's ad spend on the client's own card and bill only your management fee. Fronting spend makes you an unsecured lender to your client, and a paused or disputed campaign turns into your cash problem, not theirs.
How do I charge for ad management?
A flat monthly management fee, or 10–20% of ad spend with a stated minimum. Percentage-only pricing pays you nothing on a small account that still takes a full day a month, which is why the minimum matters more than the percentage.
What stops scope creep on a social retainer?
Deliverables written on the invoice: platforms covered, posts per month, stories, reels, and how much community management is included. Once '12 posts, 2 platforms, 30 min/day community management' is on the invoice, the thirteenth post is a line item rather than an argument.