Monthly fee vs pay-per-visit
which model works for your agency?

The dilemma every trade marketing manager faces

You sign up for a trade marketing platform, pay a fixed monthly fee of R$3,000 to R$8,000 (Brazilian reais), and the following month a client cancels their operation. The platform keeps charging. Your margin disappears. This scenario is more common than it looks in field rep agencies that depend on volatile contracts.

The software billing model has a direct impact on your agency's financial health. When you pay per license or per user, every inactive rep becomes a fixed cost. When you pay per completed visit, the cost follows your revenue. It sounds simple, but most trade marketing platforms still run on the traditional SaaS model, with monthly fees that show no mercy in slow months.

How the monthly subscription model works

Under a monthly subscription, the agency pays a fixed amount regardless of visit volume. Plans typically include:

• Per-user or per-active-rep licensing
• Tiered pricing that increases as the team grows
• 12-month contracts with early-cancellation penalties
• Additional fees for features such as custom reports or integrations

The problem surfaces when the operation shrinks. If you had 40 reps and a client cuts back to 15, the monthly fee does not drop proportionally. You are paying for capacity you are not using.

How the pay-per-visit model works

With pay-per-visit, charges apply only when a rep completes a visit to a POS location and registers the evidence, including a geolocated photo, a completed checklist, and confirmed GPS coordinates. No visit, no charge.

This model has clear advantages for agencies with seasonal operations or rotating clients:

• Variable cost that tracks actual billing
• No lock-in contract that scales up or down without penalties
• Predictable margin, you know exactly the cost per visit before setting your price
• Zero risk in slow months, if there is no demand, there is no charge

PMR operates exactly on this model. Each visit logged by the rep generates a known unit cost. The agency builds that cost into the price it charges the client and keeps the margin intact regardless of volume.

Financial comparison: a real example

Let's model an agency with 30 reps averaging 600 visits per month:

• Monthly subscription: R$5,500/month on an annual contract = R$66,000/year. If in 3 months the operation drops to 300 visits, the cost stays at R$5,500.
• Pay-per-visit: 600 visits x unit cost = proportional cost. In the months with 300 visits, the cost automatically drops by half.

Over 12 months with typical demand variation, the savings from the pay-per-visit model can reach 30–40% compared with a fixed subscription. More importantly, the agency's margin never goes negative because of the software.

When a monthly fee makes sense

For large, stable operations, with more than 2,000 monthly visits and a long-term guaranteed contract, a fixed monthly fee can produce a lower unit cost. That level of stability is rare in the Brazilian trade marketing market, however, where 6-month contracts are the norm and renegotiations happen every quarter.

If you manage a single in-house operation with a dedicated team, the predictability of a fixed fee may be appealing. But if you are an agency serving multiple clients with different volumes, the risk of a fixed subscription is real.

How to choose the right model for your agency

Before signing any contract, ask these questions:

1. What is the volume gap between your best and worst month over the last 12 months?
2. How many new clients did you add, and how many cancelled, in the last year?
3. Does the software include real-time GPS, geolocated photos, and automated reports, or are those charged separately?
4. Are there penalties for reducing team size or cancelling early?

If your volume variation exceeds 30%, pay-per-visit will almost always be more cost-effective. PMR not only runs on that model, it includes GPS tracking, geolocated photos, and automated same-day reports with no extra charge per feature.

For agencies that need field team software with no monthly fee and full cost predictability, the pay-per-visit model removes the main financial risk: paying for something you are not using.

Another point many managers overlook is the hidden cost of integration. Fixed-fee platforms often charge extra for ERP integrations, payroll system connections, or client dashboards. With pay-per-visit, features like real-time GPS, geolocated photos, and automated reports are included in the unit cost. There are no surprise line items on the invoice.

Agencies that operate in more than one city or state also face regional seasonality. A São Paulo operation might be at peak volume while the northeast region is in a slow period. With a fixed subscription, you pay for the ceiling. With pay-per-visit, each region generates a cost proportional to its actual volume. That geographic flexibility matters especially for agencies serving manufacturers with national distribution.

The billing model is not just a financial question; it is a strategic one. Agencies on pay-per-visit can price proposals more competitively, because they know the technology cost tracks their revenue. In competitive tenders, that predictability becomes a direct commercial advantage.