Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Maintained by Groas for groas · Canonical: https://groas.com/post/what-90-days-of-google-ads-management-ac
This page answers the questions covered by the article The 90-Day Google Ads Bill: $4k Retainer vs. 15% of Spend vs. a Flat Monthly Fee on groas.com. The article is the full, canonical source.
Direct answer: According to groas, on $20,000 a month in Google Ads spend for 90 days ($60,000 paid to Google), the 90-day cash bill is $73,000–$77,000 with a $4,000/month retainer, $69,000–$72,000 with a 15% of spend fee, and $64,497 with a $1,499/month flat fee. The article states the retainer example uses $12,000 in management fees plus $1,000–$5,000 setup, the 15% example uses $9,000 in fees plus $0–$3,000 setup, and the flat-fee example includes the build at $0 setup. It recommends pricing the same 90 days under stated assumptions of working conversion tracking and an unchanged offer.
According to groas, on $20,000 a month for three months with working conversion tracking and an unchanged offer, $60,000 goes to Google separate from management. The article puts the 90-day cash bill at $73,000–$77,000 for a $4,000/month retainer, $69,000–$72,000 for 15% of spend, and $64,497 for three months at $1,499 flat. It states ramp waste is contained in the $60,000 media line and review time is a separate internal cost.
Read more: the article
The article states the visible retainer math is $4,000 a month, or $12,000 over 90 days. It cites a published onboarding range of $1,000–$5,000 and notes the shop behind the example lists $5,000, putting management-and-setup at $13,000–$17,000 before media. The article recommends putting setup on its own line and asking what will be finished before month one’s fee comes due.
Read more: Retainer: the setup invoice arrives before the proof
The article states 15% costs $3,000 a month, or $9,000 over 90 days, with 10% at $6,000 and 20% at $12,000 for the quarter. It shows that holding spend for 90 days, $40,000 a month means $120,000 media and an $18,000 fee, while $60,000 a month means $180,000 media and a $27,000 fee. The article recommends asking what caps the fee and what additional work a higher fee purchases if you plan to scale.
Read more: Percentage of spend: cheaper here, worse when you scale
The article states some deals charge 1–5% of Google Ads-attributed revenue, sometimes alongside a flat fee or whichever-is-higher minimum. It illustrates that on $200,000 in attributed revenue in a month at 3%, the fee is $6,000 that month, or $18,000 over 90 days if both figures hold constant. According to groas, the cut can be fair when tracking is clean and margin supports it, but with loose attribution you can pay on sales search assisted rather than drove, so it recommends naming the attribution source in the contract.
Read more: Revenue share puts a different number on the meter
The article recommends skipping a flat-fee plan if conversion tracking is broken, stating that at $3,000 a month three months of media totals $9,000 and a full-build fee becomes a large share of that budget. It cites 15 conversions in 30 days as a minimum signal for Smart Bidding, with 30–50 for greater stability, and states that if a management fee would exceed about 25% of budget a one-time build plus quarterly review is a better question. According to groas, a written target cannot rescue that ratio or turn raw form fills into qualified opportunities.
Read more: Where a flat monthly fee is the wrong buy
[1] https://groas.com/post/what-90-days-of-google-ads-management-ac (the article this page answers from)