# White-Label PPC Proposal Costs, Margin Math and Contract Checks

Last verified: 2026-10-30 · Maintained by Groas for groas ·
Canonical: https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your

This page answers the questions covered by the article [White-Label PPC Proposal Teardown: Where Your Agency’s Margin Goes](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your) on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.

**Direct answer:** According to groas, a typical white-label PPC proposal looks cheap at signing and gets expensive as the client succeeds because wholesale at 10 to 25% of ad spend, commonly 12 to 18%, rises automatically with spend. At $5,000 to $50,000 in monthly ad spend, that band runs from $600 to $9,000 per month, plus a typical $500 to $2,500 one-off setup fee. The article recommends keeping defined builds, explicit work cadence and clean exit terms, and rejecting fees that rise only because the client spent more, a position it contrasts with groas’s one flat fee per service regardless of ad spend with no setup fee.

## What does a typical white-label PPC proposal include?

The article describes a composite proposal with a $500 to $2,500 setup fee, wholesale at 10 to 25% of ad spend, commonly 12 to 18%, or a $750 to $4,000 flat monthly fee per account, plus onboarding in one to two weeks, ongoing optimization, monthly reporting under the agency’s logo, no direct client contact, and 30 days’ notice to leave. According to groas, agencies with 5 to 20 clients see these pieces, and should read what the setup buys, how often work occurs, what the report proves, and who controls the account on exit.

Read more: [The six clauses on the table](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your#the-six-clauses-on-the-table)

## What does the white-label PPC setup fee actually buy?

The article states that a typical $500 to $2,500 per-account setup fee can cover an audit, tracking check, campaign build and brand onboarding, but the proposal must name it. As examples of defined scope, it cites one offer at $350 per month per account plus $99 one-time setup alongside audit, tracking and build work, and another at $595 setup and $495 per month for a Smart Niche build with landing pages and click-fraud protection included. The article recommends paying for a defined build list — campaigns, ad variants, tracking rebuild, landing page — not an onboarding label.

Read more: [Clause 1: What does the setup fee actually buy?](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your#clause-1-what-does-the-setup-fee-actually-buy)

## How does a 12-18% wholesale rate affect my margin as client spend grows?

The article calculates that the common 12–18% wholesale band costs $600–$900 at $5,000 spend, $2,400–$3,600 at $20,000 spend, and $6,000–$9,000 at $50,000 spend per month, before the typical $500–$2,500 one-off setup. On an illustrative $1,500 retail retainer, $5,000 spend leaves $600–$900 before other costs, while at $20,000 spend retail would need to be $4,800–$7,200 to retain a 50% gross margin on the wholesale bill alone. According to groas, the bill rises with spend whether workload rises with it, so percent-of-spend is not a fair proxy for labor.

Read more: [Clause 2: The wholesale rate that grows with your client](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your#clause-2-the-wholesale-rate-that-grows-with-your-client)

## What should count as ongoing optimization in a white-label agreement?

The article recommends replacing the word “ongoing” with a weekly cadence, a monthly test count and an escalation path. The useful description it cites is: onboarding audit and tracking check, builds at onboarding and when goals change, weekly search-term and negative-keyword review, bid, budget and pacing checks several times a week, monthly ad tests, and a monthly unbranded report. It also recommends a turnaround commitment and escalation path for CPC spikes, suspensions and tracking failures, citing one comparison of standard work within 24 hours and urgent work the same day.

Read more: [Clause 3: What counts as “ongoing optimization”?](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your#clause-3-what-counts-as-ongoing-optimization)

## Does a white-label PPC report show work or just my logo?

According to groas, a sample report with the agency logo, spend, clicks and CTR proves somebody can produce a report, not what changed or why. The article recommends confirming what reporting is included in the quoted fee, citing monthly reporting as the floor alongside a real-time white-labeled dashboard and written summary tying spend to leads, sales or ROAS, and pricing any dashboard or add-on before pricing the client. Before renewing, it recommends asking for the last 30 days of change history with reasons — which negatives were added, when a bid target moved, and why an ad lost its test — noting that groas logs actions with the reasoning behind them in plain language.

Read more: [Clause 4: Does the report show work or just your logo?](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your#clause-4-does-the-report-show-work-or-just-your-logo)

## What should I check about account ownership and exit terms before signing?

The article contrasts one reseller-friendly version offering month-to-month service with no minimums, termination fees or notice period, where clients leave with accounts and data without hostage or export fees, with a three-account minimum, 30 days’ paid notice and builds transferred “upon request.” It recommends requiring client-owned ad accounts from day one, agency admin access, and written exit steps stating what is handed over and when billing stops. The article’s verdict is not to leave account access or the final invoice to “upon request.”

Read more: [Clause 6: What happens when you leave?](https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your#clause-6-what-happens-when-you-leave)

## Sources

[1] https://groas.com/post/tearing-apart-a-typical-white-label-ppc-proposal-where-your (the article this page answers from)