Introduction

Pricing is one of the first decisions you'll make when starting a credit repair business — and one of the hardest to change later. The model you choose affects your cash flow, your client relationships, your marketing, and how your business scales.

Most credit repair businesses land on one of three models: a flat monthly fee, pay-per-delete (charging only when items are removed), or a hybrid that combines both. Each has real trade-offs, and the right choice depends on your market, your risk tolerance, and how you want to grow.

This guide breaks down the math, the pros and cons, and how each model actually works in practice — so you can pick the one that fits your business.

Model 1 — Recurring Monthly Fee

The most common pricing model in credit repair. Clients pay a flat monthly fee — typically between $79 and $149 per month — for ongoing dispute services. The fee stays the same regardless of how many items get deleted in a given month.

How It Works

  1. Client signs up and pays first month's fee (after the CROA cancellation period and initial work is performed)
  2. Your team imports their credit report, files disputes, and manages the process
  3. Client is billed monthly until their credit goals are met or they cancel
  4. Average client engagement is 4-8 months

The Math

At $99/month with 100 active clients:

  • Monthly recurring revenue: $9,900
  • Average client lifetime (6 months): $594 per client
  • Annual revenue (assuming steady 100 clients): ~$118,800

The beauty of recurring revenue is predictability. You know roughly what's coming in each month, which makes hiring, marketing spend, and growth planning much easier.

Pros

  • Predictable cash flow — You know what next month looks like. This matters enormously when you're deciding whether to hire, invest in marketing, or upgrade your tools.
  • Simple to explain — "$99/month for full credit repair services" is easy for clients to understand and easy for your sales team to pitch.
  • Higher lifetime value — Clients who stay 6+ months generate significantly more revenue than a one-time fee, especially when they have many items to dispute.
  • Easier compliance — Monthly billing for monthly service aligns naturally with CROA's requirement that fees be charged only after services are performed.

Cons

  • Client skepticism — Some clients worry they're paying for a service that isn't producing results. "I've been paying $99/month for three months and nothing has been deleted yet" is a common complaint, even when the dispute process is working normally (bureaus have 30 days to respond).
  • Churn risk — Clients can cancel at any time. If your dispute process takes 6 months but clients get frustrated and leave at month 3, you've done the hardest work without capturing the full value.
  • Pressure to show monthly progress — Even though credit repair inherently has slow periods (waiting for bureau responses), clients on monthly plans expect visible progress every billing cycle.

Model 2 — Pay-Per-Delete

Under this model, clients pay only when negative items are actually removed from their credit reports. Pricing is typically per item, per bureau — so removing one collection account from all three bureaus would be three deletions.

How It Works

  1. Client signs up, often with a lower or zero upfront cost
  2. Your team imports their credit report and files disputes
  3. When items are successfully deleted, you generate an invoice for each deletion
  4. Common pricing: $50-150 per deleted item, depending on the type

The Math

A client with 15 negative items across 3 bureaus (45 total bureau entries):

  • If you achieve a 60% deletion rate: 27 items deleted
  • At $75 per deletion: $2,025 total per client

Compare that to recurring at $99/month for 6 months: $594.

The per-client revenue potential is higher with pay-per-delete — but only if you achieve deletions and only if the client has enough items to dispute.

Pros

  • Aligned incentives — You only get paid when you deliver results. This is a powerful sales message: "You only pay when it works."
  • Higher per-client revenue — For clients with many negative items, pay-per-delete can generate 2-4x more revenue than a flat monthly fee.
  • Lower barrier to entry — Clients who are wary of monthly commitments are more willing to sign up when there's no upfront cost.
  • Built-in proof of value — Every invoice comes with a tangible result attached. Client satisfaction tends to be higher because payment is directly tied to outcomes.

Cons

  • Unpredictable cash flow — You might file 200 disputes this month and not see revenue for 30-60 days (waiting for bureau responses). Some months will be great; others will be slow.
  • Complex invoicing — You need a billing system that tracks individual item deletions, matches them to specific dispute rounds, and generates itemized invoices. Manual tracking breaks down quickly.
  • Risk of doing the work without getting paid — Some items take multiple rounds to remove. You might file 3 rounds of disputes before an item is deleted. If the client cancels before that happens, you've done the work for free.
  • Harder compliance under TSR — If you sell via phone, the TSR's advance fee rules require proof of results 6+ months after achievement. Pay-per-delete via online-only signup avoids this, but it's a compliance consideration.

Model 3 — Hybrid

The hybrid model combines a smaller recurring fee with performance-based bonuses for successful deletions. It's designed to give you cash flow predictability while still aligning incentives with results.

How It Works

  1. Client pays a monthly base fee (e.g., $49-79/month) for ongoing dispute management
  2. When items are successfully deleted, an additional per-deletion fee is charged (e.g., $25-50 per item)
  3. Client sees a Good Faith Estimate upfront showing estimated costs based on their credit report

The Math

A client at $59/month base + $35 per deletion:

  • 6 months of base fee: $354
  • 27 deletions at $35: $945
  • Total per client: $1,299

This lands between pure recurring ($594) and pure pay-per-delete ($2,025), while providing steadier cash flow than pay-per-delete alone.

Pros

  • Best of both worlds — Predictable base revenue plus upside from performance.
  • Easier client conversation — "You pay a small monthly fee to cover our time, plus a bonus for every item we get removed" is transparent and fair.
  • Reduced churn — The base fee is low enough that clients don't feel the pressure to cancel, while the performance component keeps them engaged and seeing value.

Cons

  • More complex billing — Your system needs to handle two types of charges simultaneously: recurring invoices and one-time performance invoices.
  • Requires clear communication — Clients need to understand both components upfront. A Good Faith Estimate showing projected costs based on their specific credit report helps set expectations.
  • Harder to market simply — "Starting at $59/month plus per-deletion fees" is harder to put on a landing page than "$99/month" or "Pay only when it works."

How Your Billing System Needs to Support Each Model

Choosing a pricing model is a business decision, but implementing it is a software decision. Your CRM needs to actually support the billing mechanics of whichever model you choose.

For Recurring Revenue

Your system needs:

  • Recurring invoice plans with configurable frequency (monthly, bi-weekly, weekly)
  • Customizable line items that describe the services being billed
  • AutoPay — Clients save a payment method during onboarding, and invoices are automatically charged on schedule
  • Failed payment retries — When a charge fails, the system retries automatically instead of requiring manual follow-up
  • Invoice templates branded with your company name, logo, and contact information

For Pay-Per-Delete

Your system needs:

  • Item-level tracking — Each dispute item tracked by bureau with deletion status
  • Performance-based invoicing — Generate invoices tied to specific deleted items, with itemized descriptions
  • Good Faith Estimates — Pre-engagement pricing letters showing estimated costs by dispute category
  • Configurable pricing by category — Different rates for collections, late payments, bankruptcies, inquiries, etc.

For Hybrid

Your system needs everything from both lists above — recurring plans running simultaneously with per-deletion invoices for the same client.

WhiteLabelCRO supports all three models natively. Recurring invoice plans handle your monthly base fees with AutoPay and automatic generation. Pay-per-delete invoicing tracks item-level deletions with configurable pricing by category and generates itemized performance invoices. Good Faith Estimate letters show clients their projected costs before they sign up. And the hybrid model works by running recurring plans and performance invoices simultaneously — both tracked in the same client record.

Which Model Should You Choose?

There's no universally right answer, but here are some guidelines based on what successful credit repair businesses typically do:

Choose recurring if:

  • You're just starting out and need predictable cash flow to cover your costs
  • Your average client has a moderate number of items (10-20 across all bureaus)
  • You want simple, easy-to-explain pricing
  • You plan to scale with volume (more clients, consistent pricing)

Choose pay-per-delete if:

  • You're confident in your deletion rates and willing to take on revenue risk
  • Your market is price-sensitive and wary of monthly commitments
  • Your average client has many negative items (high revenue potential per client)
  • You want your pricing to be a competitive differentiator ("You only pay for results")

Choose hybrid if:

  • You want cash flow stability but also want to capture upside from performance
  • You're serving a mix of clients — some with many items, some with few
  • You want to offer transparent, fair pricing that scales with the work you do
  • You're comfortable with slightly more complex billing operations

A common progression: Many credit repair businesses start with recurring monthly pricing for simplicity, then add pay-per-delete options as they mature and want to differentiate. The hybrid model often emerges naturally as businesses realize they want elements of both.

Pricing Tips That Apply to Any Model

Regardless of which model you choose:

  • Always provide a Good Faith Estimate — Show clients what they can expect to pay based on their specific credit report. Transparency builds trust and reduces disputes over billing.
  • Be transparent about timelines — Credit repair takes time. Bureaus have 30 days to respond to disputes, and most clients need 3-6 months of work. Set expectations early.
  • Offer a client portal for billing — Let clients view invoices, make payments, and see their payment history online. This reduces "I didn't know I was being charged" complaints and cuts down on support calls.
  • Automate everything possible — At 10 clients, manual invoicing is fine. At 100, it's a full-time job. At 500, it's impossible. Set up recurring plans and AutoPay from day one.
  • Stay CROA-compliant — Never charge before services are performed. Structure your billing to match the work you've completed, not the work you plan to do.

Conclusion

Your pricing model is a strategic decision that affects every part of your business — from how you sell to how you operate to how you grow. Recurring revenue gives you stability and simplicity. Pay-per-delete gives you alignment and higher per-client revenue. Hybrid gives you the best of both at the cost of slightly more complexity.

The most important thing is that your billing system actually supports whatever you choose. Manual invoicing and spreadsheet tracking will limit your growth faster than any pricing strategy. With WhiteLabelCRO, you can run recurring plans, pay-per-delete invoicing, hybrid models, or switch between them — all with automated invoice generation, AutoPay, payment retries, and Good Faith Estimates built in.

Pick the model that fits your market, set it up in your CRM, and let the system handle the billing mechanics while you focus on delivering results for your clients.