> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://netpartners.marketing/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Raising Prices for Agency Clients in January: How to Do It Without Losing Them - URL: https://netpartners.marketing/raising-agency-prices-january-highlevel/ - Published: 2026-11-04T07:22:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-04T07:22:04.000Z - Description: How to set a new agency price, decide who gets it, tell clients the right way and update SaaS Mode and Stripe billing without double-charging anyone. - Author: Zoltan Juhasz - Tags: White Label and SaaS Mode Plenty of agencies go years without raising their prices. Their own costs went up, the work got bigger and the client list grew, but the retainer stayed the same because asking for more felt awkward. So the margin quietly shrinks every month. January is the easiest month of the year to fix that. This guide walks through how to decide on the new price, who gets it, how to tell clients and how to update billing in HighLevel and Stripe without double-charging anyone. *Disclosure: I am an independent entity from HighLevel. I am not an agent or employee of HighLevel and have no authority to make binding contracts or represent HighLevel. I receive referral payments from HighLevel, including through the links in this post. The opinions expressed here are my own and shall not be interpreted as representations, guarantees or statements made by HighLevel.* ## TLDR - January works because many clients set new budgets and a new price lines up with a fresh invoice cycle. - Start from your real cost per client, including HighLevel usage, not from what feels polite. - Decide up front who gets the increase, who is grandfathered and what new clients pay. - Give written notice well before the first new invoice and call your biggest clients personally. - In Stripe, an existing subscription has to be moved to the new price on purpose. Get it wrong and the client can end up with both prices active. 💼 **Try HighLevel Free for 30 Days** Run your client billing, contracts and price-change emails from one place. [Start your free trial](https://www.gohighlevel.com/details-ai-agency-white-label?fp%5Fref=details) ## Why Is January a Good Time to Raise Agency Prices? A price change lands better when it lines up with something the client already expects to change. January has a few of those: - **New budgets:** clients who plan their spending by calendar year can build a new price into the new budget instead of finding room for it mid-year. - **A clean break:** "starting with the January invoice" is simple to explain and simple to bill. - **A natural review:** the end of the year is when you can show clients what you delivered, which is the best case for a new price. If you missed the window, the same approach works at any contract renewal date. What matters is that the change has a clear start date and a reason. ## How Much Should You Raise Your Prices? Start with your real cost to serve each client, not with a percentage you read somewhere. For a HighLevel agency that means: - **Your platform cost:** HighLevel's plans are $97, $297 or $497 a month, per [the pricing page](https://www.gohighlevel.com/pricing?fp%5Fref=details). Divide your plan by your number of active clients. - **Usage costs:** texts, calls, email and AI are billed by use. LC Email, for example, is $0.675 per 1,000 emails and a US local phone number is $1.15 a month. If you don't rebill these, a busy client costs more every month. - **Your time:** hours on reporting, calls and fixes that crept in without a matching fee. - **Tools and contractors:** anything else you pay for on the client's behalf. Once you know what each client costs, set the margin you want and work back to the price. Our guide to [pricing HighLevel retainer clients](https://netpartners.marketing/how-to-price-gohighlevel-retainer-clients/) covers the math in more detail. Keep it to one new number per package. Custom increases for every client turn into custom negotiations for every client. ## Who Should Get the Increase? Decide this before you write a single email. There are three common approaches: - **Everyone, same date:** the simplest to run and the easiest to explain. - **Grandfather a few:** keep your longest or most loyal clients on their current price for a set period, then move them. - **New clients first:** new clients pay the new price from today and existing clients move in January. Whatever you choose, write it down. In HighLevel, a tag like "price-2027" on the affected contacts makes the rest of the process easy to automate and easy to check. ## How Should You Tell Clients About a Price Increase? Check your contracts first. If an agreement includes a notice period for price changes, that sets your minimum timeline. Beyond that, more notice is kinder and gives clients time to budget. A good price-change message is short and covers four things: 1. **What's changing:** the old price, the new price and the package it applies to. 2. **When:** the exact invoice date it starts. 3. **Why:** a plain reason, such as rising platform and usage costs or more work than the original scope. 4. **What they get:** a short recap of what you delivered this year and what's coming next. Here's how to run it in HighLevel: - **Personal calls first:** create a task for each of your biggest clients so you tell them on the phone before the email arrives. - **Email the rest:** a workflow triggered by the tag sends the notice and a reminder a couple of weeks before the change. - **Updated agreement:** [Documents & Contracts](https://help.gohighlevel.com/support/solutions/articles/155000000594?fp%5Fref=details) lets you send a new agreement with a pricing table and e-signature. A workflow trigger can fire when a document is signed, so you know who has agreed. This is also a good moment to look at churn risk. Our post on [agency client churn and the client portal](https://netpartners.marketing/agency-client-churn-white-label-client-portal-highlevel-saas-mode/) covers ways to make your value more visible before you ask for more. ## How Do You Update Billing in HighLevel and Stripe? This is where price increases go wrong. How you update billing depends on how you charge. ### If you bill through SaaS Mode - **Special Prices:** HighLevel's [Special Prices](https://help.gohighlevel.com/support/solutions/articles/155000006380?fp%5Fref=details) let you give a single sub-account a custom price without changing your standard plans. That's useful for grandfathered clients. - **Moving existing subscribers:** creating a new price doesn't move anyone onto it. According to [Stripe's documentation](https://docs.stripe.com/billing/subscriptions/change-price), you have to replace the price on the existing subscription item. If you add the new price without naming the item, both prices end up active on the subscription. - **Timing and proration:** Stripe usually prorates a mid-cycle price change. To start the new price on the next billing date instead, Stripe suggests a subscription schedule, or you can turn prorations off. - **Test first:** change one client, check the next invoice preview in Stripe, then do the rest. Our guide to [SaaS Mode billing and rebilling](https://netpartners.marketing/highlevel-saas-mode-stripe-billing-rebilling/) covers the Stripe setup behind this. ### If you bill with recurring invoices HighLevel's [changelog](https://highlevel.canny.io/changelog/recurring-invoices-editing-now-enabled) says you can edit an existing recurring invoice's products, frequency and dates, and the changes apply to scheduled invoices going forward. When auto-payment is on, the client gets an email about the change, which you can customize in Invoice Settings. Make sure that email matches what you already told them. 🤖 **Add Value Before You Raise the Price** An AI Employee that answers your clients' leads around the clock is an easy upgrade to bundle into a new package. [See HighLevel's AI Employee](https://www.gohighlevel.com/ai?fp%5Fref=details) ## What If a Client Pushes Back? Some will. Have your answers ready before you send the first email: - **Offer a smaller package:** less scope at a lower price, not the same scope at a discount. - **Offer annual prepay:** a client who pays for the year up front can lock in a better rate. - **Delay, don't waive:** if a good client needs time, move their start date by a month rather than cancelling the increase. - **Let some go:** a client who only stays at the old price may not be a client worth keeping. ✅ **Run Your Agency on HighLevel** Contracts, invoices, SaaS billing and client follow-up in one platform. [Get 30 days free](https://www.gohighlevel.com/details-ai-agency-white-label?fp%5Fref=details) ## More From NetPartners - [The HighLevel Unlimited plan explained](https://netpartners.marketing/gohighlevel-unlimited-plan-explained-2026/): what your own platform cost covers. - [How to price your SaaS packages](https://netpartners.marketing/how-to-price-your-saas-packages-for-maximum-recurring-revenue/): tiers and margins for SaaS Mode. - [Where SaaS Mode money leaks](https://netpartnersmarketing.substack.com/p/where-saas-mode-money-leaks): the billing edition on Substack. - [r/highlevelaffiliates](https://www.reddit.com/r/highlevelaffiliates/): our small community for HighLevel users and affiliates. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### When is the best time to raise agency prices? January or a contract renewal date. A new year often brings new budgets and a change that starts with a specific invoice is easy to explain and bill. ### How much should an agency raise its prices? Work it out from your real cost per client, including platform fees, usage costs and time, then add the margin you want. Use one new number per package rather than a custom increase for each client. ### How much notice should I give clients? At least what your contract requires. Beyond that, more notice is better, and a personal call before the email helps with your biggest clients. ### Should I grandfather existing clients? It's a choice, not a rule. Some agencies keep loyal clients on the old price for a set period. In SaaS Mode, HighLevel's Special Prices let you give one sub-account a custom price without changing your standard plans. ### Does changing a price in Stripe update existing subscriptions? No. Creating a new price doesn't move current subscribers. You have to replace the price on each existing subscription item, or the new price is added and both stay active. ### What should I do if a client refuses the new price? Offer a smaller package or annual prepay instead of a discount. If a client will only stay at the old price, it may be time to let them go.