How to Transition Clients from Agency to Self-Managed Billing: A Case Study

The Challenge

Transferring billing for an existing website with CMS content presents several technical challenges. Simply changing the billing contact on an existing site risks losing content or causing site downtime. Our client needed a seamless transition without disrupting their online presence.

The Solution: A Step-by-Step Process

Here’s a cleanly formatted, numbered version of your workflow for use in Webflow Rich Text:

Billing Transfer Workflow

1. Initial Client Consultation
   Schedule a call with the client to explain the transfer process and set expectations. Ensure they understand the temporary duplicate site stage and the possibility of brief downtime.
2. Site Duplication
   Instead of modifying the existing site (which could risk CMS content), create a complete duplicate of the client's website. This will act as a staging ground for the billing transfer.
3. Transfer Billing to the Duplicate
   Transfer billing to the duplicate site so client billing can later be added to the original.
   • The invite will prompt them to create their own account
   • Complete a short questionnaire about their business
   • Enter their payment information
4. Adjust Original Site Settings
   Mark the original site as “Paid by Client” in your internal systems.
5. Domain Management
   Once payment is confirmed:
   • Ensure a DNS backup has been made
   • Remove the custom domain from the duplicate site (temporary downtime begins)
   • Update the client's DNS with a new one-time TXT verification
   • Wait for DNS propagation and publish the site
6. Cleanup
   After confirming the site is live and functioning correctly:
   • Remove billing from the temporary copy
   • Archive the copy site
   • Cancel your agency’s invoice in your billing system (we use Bonsai)
7. Financial Considerations
   This process introduces some billing complications:
   • Refunds: Request a refund for the duplicate site (Webflow allows this within 7 days; our copy was live for only ~15 minutes)
   • Prorated Charges: Calculate prorated refunds for the original site's remaining paid period. Either refund this to the client or bank it as credit.
   • Rollover Credits: We typically apply any potential refunds as credit toward future work rather than issuing a cash refund.
8. Real-World Example
   For our test client, we followed this exact process:
   • Scheduled a call to walk through the process
   • Attempted to downgrade from CMS, but couldn’t do so without deleting CMS items
   • Duplicated the site and transferred billing to the copy
   • Client completed their questionnaire and payment setup

Let me know if you'd like a bullet-style version or Webflow-specific HTML embed version.

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You will receive this notification when the client completes their setup process.

• We briefly took the site offline while updating DNS settings
• After confirming everything was working properly, we archived the duplicate site
• We processed a refund for the temporary duplicate charges

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The dashboard your client sees will look like this. With an All Sites, and Payments Tab in the sidebar.

The Payments tab will list invoices, including any Addons such as localization.

Lessons Learned

This process taught us several valuable lessons:

• Document Everything: Keep detailed records of all steps, including screenshots of billing confirmations and transfer steps.
• Client Communication: Set clear expectations about the process, including potential brief downtime during the DNS transition.
• Financial Planning: Build the refund process into your workflow to ensure you're not double-charging clients during transition periods.
• Only the client can apply addons: This won’t be accessible to you so I recommend handling this at the same time as your billing transition to avoid delays

Conclusion

Transferring billing responsibility to clients doesn't have to be complicated or risky. With careful planning and the right process, you can transition clients to self-managed billing while maintaining site integrity and client satisfaction.

By following this proven workflow, you'll ensure a smooth handoff that preserves all site content while properly transitioning financial responsibility—a win-win for both your agency and your clients.

Working with Addons while using Client Billing

Once the client billing transfer is complete, Addons become the responsibility of the client billing account holder. They need to login and add (localization) for example.

Manage add-ons