You buy workspaces at a wholesale rate and decide what your clients pay. There is no single right retail price, but there are three models that work and a few mistakes that reliably don't.
Model one: bundle it into the retainer
The CRM is included in a higher monthly retainer and never appears as a separate line. This is the easiest to sell, because the client compares one number with the results they get, and it makes the software hard to cancel separately from your services.
The risk is that the client values it at zero because they never saw a price. State its value in the proposal even if you don't charge for it separately.
Model two: sell it as a product
A fixed monthly price per location, independent of your marketing services. This suits agencies that want recurring revenue which survives a paused ad campaign, and it lets you sell to businesses that aren't marketing clients yet.
Price it against what the client would otherwise pay for a CRM, a scheduling tool and an invoicing tool combined, not against your wholesale cost.
Model three: tiers by module
A base tier with CRM, inbox and agenda, and higher tiers that add the AI receptionist, quotes and invoicing, or reporting. Tiers give the client a cheap way in and you a natural upsell once they depend on the base.
Keep it to three tiers at most. Every extra tier is another conversation about what is and isn't included.
Mistakes that erase the margin
Most of these come from pricing the software and forgetting the work around it.
- Not charging for onboarding. Importing contacts, building the price list and connecting WhatsApp is real work; charge a setup fee.
- Absorbing usage costs you can't see. If AI usage is metered, either include a fair allowance or pass it through, and check it monthly.
- Unlimited support at a fixed price. You are first-line support now; define what is included.
- Pricing per user. Small service businesses add and remove staff constantly; per-location pricing avoids a monthly argument.