Stage two never gets invoiced
The advance was billed on day one. The approval stage happens on a call, and nobody raises the next invoice.
40% of a ₹3,00,000 project sits unbilled for a month.
PikZiy Books / FOR CREATIVE AGENCIESFOR CREATIVE AGENCIES
Billing software for creative agencies. Projects in, retainers on time.
Estimates your clients approve on their phone, invoices for every project stage, monthly retainers that invoice themselves, and your whole team in the same books, each with the right access. Made by a branding, design and web studio in Pune, for studios like it.
Sign-ups open November 2026 · 14-day free trial · No card needed to start
What is billing software for a creative agency?
Billing software for a creative agency turns approved work into invoices and invoices into cash: estimates, milestone and retainer billing, payments, reminders, studio expenses and client balances, with the whole team working in one place.
PikZiy Books is made by PikZiy Studio, a branding, design and web studio that bills clients too, so it starts where studio work starts: with the quote.
WHERE STUDIOS LEAK MONEY
Great work. Late money.
Retainers billed by memory
Six clients on monthly retainers, each billed on a different day by whoever remembers.
October's social media retainer goes out on 19 November.
Nobody knows who owes what
The founder asks; the account manager checks the inbox; the designer was told the client paid.
A ₹63,720 invoice is overdue for weeks before anyone follows up.
HOW A STUDIO RUNS IT
From estimate to retainer.
Screenshots of the real app with a sample studio, Ember & Oak Studio in Pune.
- 01
Estimate, approved online
Send an estimate with the deliverables, rounds of changes, timeline and payment stages. The client accepts by typing their name; you're told straight away.
- Viewed and accepted, with the time
- Expires on its valid-until date
- Separate quote numbering
- 02
Bill each milestone
Create an invoice from the accepted estimate for each stage: the advance, approval and delivery. Lines, taxes and terms are copied; you set the share due.
- Linked back to the estimate
- Advances and part payments
- GST checked against the client's state
- 03
Retainers that invoice themselves
Turn a retainer invoice into a subscription: every month, quarter or year, issued and emailed on its date, or created as a draft for you to check.
- Weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly
- An end date for fixed-term contracts
- Clients pay each invoice as usual
- 04
Your team, with the right access
Invite your designers, account managers and CA. Admins run everything; Accountants and Staff create and change records; Viewers only look.
- 3 people on Growth, 10 on Business
- Extra users without changing plan
- Your CA counts as one user
- 05
Know who owes the studio
Collections puts overdue invoices first, with promises to pay, notes and the next follow-up date, so whoever picks it up knows where things stand.
- Ageing by client
- Disputes pause reminders
- 13-week cash forecast
FREE CALCULATOR
Will this project make money?
Enter the fee, the hours each person will spend and what they cost you, and any outside costs. See the margin, what you earn for each hour of team time, and the fee that would reach your target.
PROJECT MARGIN
46%
The project leaves ₹1,39,000.00 after the team's time and outside costs, at or above your 40% target.
- Team time
- 120 hours · ₹1,31,000.00
- Total cost
- ₹1,61,000.00
- You earn per hour of team time
- ₹2,250.00
Fees and costs before GST. The margin also has to pay for pitching, admin and quiet months, so set the target with that in mind. Nothing you type is saved.
Before you quote: tracking profitability for creative projects and financial mistakes new agencies make.
SPREADSHEETS OR SOFTWARE?
Why the studio sheet stops scaling.
| Spreadsheets and Word | PikZiy Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Estimate approval | “Looks good” on WhatsApp | Accepted online, with a name and time |
| Milestone invoices | Retyped from the estimate | Created from it, linked |
| Retainers | Someone remembers | Invoiced and emailed on schedule |
| Who can see what | Everyone, or no one | Roles for each person |
| Overdue clients | A colour in a cell | Collections, with follow-ups |
| Your CA | Files by email | Works in your books |
WHAT YOU GET
Everything a studio bills, in one place.
Estimates and quotes
Approved online, turned into invoices.
Milestone billing
An invoice for each stage, linked to the quote.
International clients
Invoices in dollars, euros, pounds and more.
Online payments
Into your own gateway; no fee from us.
Team with roles
Admin, Accountant, Staff and Viewer.
Growth plan and aboveStudio expenses
By category, with repeating costs.
Growth plan and aboveCollections
Follow-ups, promises to pay and ageing.
Growth plan and aboveGST returns
GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B tools.
Growth plan and aboveRetainers
Recurring invoices, issued and emailed for you.
Business plan and aboveClient statements
Everything billed and paid, for any period.
Business plan and aboveEmails in your name only
No PikZiy Books branding.
Business plan and aboveYour books
Profit and loss, TDS and bank reconciliation.
Business plan and abovePLANS
Which plan you need.
Small studios start on Growth for the team and collections. Business adds retainers, client statements and books.
| Feature | Starter | Growth | Business | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| People who can sign in | 1 | 3 | 10 | 25 |
| Estimates, milestone invoices and payments | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Collections and cash forecast | Not included | Included | Included | Included |
| Retainers that invoice themselves | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Client statements | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
| Double-entry books and TDS | Not included | Not included | Included | Included |
Every plan has unlimited invoices, customers and items, and starts with a 14-day free trial. Prices are published when sign-ups open in November 2026. Businesses that sign up from 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027 and pay for a year get 18 months for the price of 12. Compare every feature
QUESTIONS
Asked, and answered.
What is billing software for creative agencies?
Billing software for creative agencies handles the money side of studio work: estimates clients approve, invoices for each project stage, monthly retainers that bill themselves, payments and reminders, what the studio spends, and which clients owe what. It should let the whole team work in it, each with the access their job needs.
How do I bill a branding project in stages?
Write one quote with the stages in its terms, such as 40% to start, 40% on approval and 20% on delivery. When the client accepts, create an invoice from the quote for each stage and edit it to the share due. Each invoice links back to the quote. Our design quotation guide has an example.
Can PikZiy Books invoice monthly retainers automatically?
Yes, on Business. Turn any invoice into a subscription that invoices the client every week, month, quarter or year. Each invoice can be issued and emailed on its date without anyone touching it, or created as a draft for you to check first. See managing monthly retainers.
Can my whole team use it?
Yes. Growth includes 3 people and Business 10, and you can add more with the extra user add-on. Each person gets a role: Admin, Accountant, Staff or Viewer. Staff can create quotes and invoices but can't change settings, payment methods or the team.
Can I see how profitable each project is?
Not inside PikZiy Books yet: there is no time tracking or project costing. Use the calculator on this page to check a project's margin before you quote, and see the business's profit and loss from your books on Business. Our guide to tracking creative project profitability shows a simple method.
How do I keep track of which clients owe us money?
Every invoice shows Unpaid, Partly paid, Paid or Overdue, and the dashboard totals them. On Growth, Collections lists overdue invoices with promises to pay and follow-up dates, and ages each client's balance. On Business, a statement for any client shows everything billed and paid.
Can we invoice international clients?
Yes, in their currency, such as US dollars, euros, pounds or dirhams, with the place of supply shown as outside India. Add your LUT declaration in the notes.
Can our emails go out without PikZiy Books branding?
Yes, on Business and Enterprise. Quotes, invoices and reminders go out with your studio's name only.
Can we record studio expenses?
On Growth and above: software, freelancers' fees, printing, rent and salaries by category, with repeating expenses for the monthly ones. On Business, expenses and supplier bills post to your books.
Can our CA work in the same books?
Yes. Invite them with the Accountant role; they count as one of your users. On Business they get the journal, ledgers, profit and loss, TDS report and bank reconciliation.
Make the work. Get paid for every stage of it.
PikZiy Books opens for sign-ups in November 2026. Join the waitlist and we will tell you the day you can start.
Join the waitlist