How design agencies typically bill
Most digital product design work is billed by phase or deliverable, with a defined number of revision rounds per stage stated up front.
- Discovery/UX research: a fixed fee, often the first phase billed
- Wireframes and visual design: billed per deliverable, with 1-2 revision rounds included
- Design systems: often billed separately as an ongoing or one-time deliverable given the additional documentation involved
Common invoice line items
Itemizing by deliverable, not by hour, keeps a design invoice easy for a client to evaluate against what they received.
- UX Research & User Flows — $3,000
- Wireframes (up to 8 screens) — $2,500
- Visual Design (up to 8 screens) — $4,500
- Design System / Component Library — $3,000
- Developer Handoff & QA — $1,500
Setting revision limits that actually stick
State the number of included revision rounds per deliverable on the proposal and reference it on the invoice — "2 rounds of revisions included; additional rounds billed at $[rate]/round" is worth more to a design agency's margin than almost any other single line on the page.
Client portal for an ongoing design relationship
Agencies retained for ongoing design work (a growing product, recurring feature work) benefit from a portal showing the design system status, past deliverables, and invoice history together, so a client's new stakeholder can get up to speed without a full handoff meeting.
Frequently asked questions
How many revision rounds should a design invoice or proposal state?
1-2 rounds per major deliverable is typical. State the number explicitly and price additional rounds separately — this is the most common point of dispute in design engagements.
Should design systems be billed separately from screen design?
Often yes, since a design system involves additional documentation and component work beyond the screens themselves, and it's frequently reused across future projects in a way individual screen designs aren't.
Can Hanko handle an ongoing design retainer alongside one-off project invoices?
Yes. Recurring invoices handle an ongoing retainer, while individual milestone invoices can bill specific one-off deliverables on the same client record.