7 Questions to Ask Before Signing a White Label Provider

Why These 7 Questions Matter Before You Sign

Once a white label provider is embedded into your client delivery, changing partners becomes costly and risky. You’ve shared client data, built workflows around their processes, and your reputation now depends on their execution.

Asking structured questions upfront avoids issues like missed deadlines, brand damage, and hidden costs later on. The global white label services market continues growing at 15-20% annually, driven by agencies seeking scalable service expansion without building expensive in-house teams. At the same time, privacy regulations have tightened, and clients expect faster turnaround with higher quality standards.

Each of the seven questions below should become a mini due diligence checklist. Whether you’re exploring white label solutions for SEO, web development, content, or specialized verticals like online casinos and betting platforms, these questions apply across the board.

Question 1: What Proven Experience Do You Have in Our Industry and Service Type?

This is usually the first question to ask on a discovery call or RFP response. A provider’s ability to handle your specific niche matters more than their general portfolio size.

Ask for concrete proof:

• Number of years operating (e.g., “since 2015”)

• Number of active agency partners they currently serve

• Typical client sizes—do they work with freelancers, boutique agencies, or 50+ person firms?

Request 2–3 recent case studies dated within the last 18–24 months, ideally matching your niche. If you serve B2B SaaS companies, a portfolio full of local restaurant websites won’t tell you much. If you’re in the online gaming space, look for experience with casino platforms, betting interfaces, or mascot gaming integrations.

Specific KPIs to ask about:

Check whether the provider focuses on particular services or tries to do everything. A company claiming expertise in SEO, PPC, web development, content, VoIP, and iGaming platforms might be spreading too thin. Leading providers often specialize.

Verify claims via LinkedIn profiles of their team, independent reviews on Clutch or G2, and public portfolio pieces. If they can’t show you work, that’s your first red flag.

Question 2: How Will You Protect Our Brand and Stay Invisible to Our Clients?

True white label means the provider acts as a ghost team, never confusing who owns the client relationship. Your clients should never know a third party vendor exists.

Operational details to confirm:

• Can they use your agency’s email domain for client-facing communication?

• Will they create branded reporting templates with your logo and colors?

• Do team members use neutral video call backgrounds when joining client meetings?

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) should be signed before sharing any client data. Make sure clauses explicitly prevent the provider from:

• Soliciting or marketing to your agency’s clients directly

• Using client work in their own portfolio without written consent

• Disclosing the partnership to anyone outside the working relationship

Request examples of white label deliverables. Ask for a sample SEO audit, campaign report, or platform admin panel where only your brand identity is visible. If they can’t produce one, they may not have true white label experience.

Communication handling matters:

• How do they manage support tickets so clients never see the subcontractor?

• Do they have explicit “no logo / no mention” policies for slide decks, dashboards, and platform URLs?

Your own brand is what clients trust. Protect it by ensuring the provider has systems to stay invisible.

Question 3: What Does Your Delivery Process Look Like from Onboarding to Reporting?

A predictable process is crucial for agencies already working with tools like Asana, ClickUp, Monday, Jira, or Trello. You need to know exactly how work flows from request to delivery.

Break down the provider’s typical project flow:

1. Discovery and requirements gathering

2. Scoping and proposal approval

3. Production phase

4. QA and quality control

5. Revision rounds

6. Final hand-off and reporting

Onboarding questions to ask:

• What does the kick-off meeting cover?

• What documentation and training do they provide for their tools?

• Who will be your day-to-day contact person?

• How quickly can you start sending work after signing?

Clarify timelines with concrete examples:

Revision policies need clarity:

• How many rounds of edits are included?

• How are change requests logged?

• What counts as out-of-scope work requiring additional fees?

• 
  

Reporting cadence matters for client relationships. Ask whether the provider can create agency-branded monthly or weekly reports pulling metrics from Google Analytics 4, Search Console, CRM systems, or iGaming back-office platforms.

Question 4: What Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and Quality Controls Do You Offer?

SLAs are the backbone of any white label relationship, especially once you begin reselling services at scale. Without documented commitments, you have no recourse when things go wrong.

Key SLA elements to review:

Quality assurance steps to confirm:

• Peer reviews before deliverables reach you

• Senior sign-off on complex projects

• Automated testing for web builds

• Cross-browser and mobile testing with specific devices

Ask whether the provider offers remedies if SLAs are missed. Credible partners provide credits on future invoices, priority handling, or free rework when they fall short.

Urgent issue handling:

For time-sensitive campaigns or 24/7 platforms like online gaming sites, understand how problems are addressed outside normal business hours. A provider in one time zone with no after-hours coverage could leave your clients stranded.

Request a sample SLA document to review with legal counsel before signing. If they don’t have one, they’re not operating at a professional level.

Question 5: How Do You Handle Data Security, Compliance, and Confidentiality?

The regulatory environment has intensified since 2018. GDPR covers the EU, CCPA/CPRA applies in California, and sector-specific rules govern payments (PCI-DSS) and gambling (Malta, Curacao licensing requirements). Your provider must meet industry standards.

Data storage questions:

• Where is data stored (country, data centers, cloud providers)?

• Can they sign a Data Processing Agreement (DPA)?

• Which cloud infrastructure do they use—AWS, GCP, Azure?

Security practices to verify:

Compliance certificates to request:

• ISO 27001 certification

• SOC 2 reports

• PCI-DSS compliance (if handling payments)

• Gaming licenses (for betting and casino platforms)

Ask how the provider handles client PII, ad accounts, and analytics properties. Specifically: do they ever duplicate or reuse client data for other projects? This should be a hard no.

Account ownership is critical:

Ensure that ad accounts, GA4 properties, and platform logins are created under the agency or client—never locked inside the provider’s ecosystem. If you are looking to build an online casino platform, consider using the Casino Frontend Builder for iGaming Websites. You need to maintain control even if the partnership ends.

Question 6: How Is Pricing Structured and What Will Our Real Margins Look Like?

Clear pricing is essential for agencies planning to resell white label services with predictable markups. Your revenue depends on understanding what you’re actually paying.

Common pricing models:

Ask for specific, current examples:

• “What’s the 2024 pricing for a 20-page website?”

• “What’s the monthly cost for managing a $10,000 ad spend?”

• “What’s the casino platform license plus GGR revenue share structure?”

Identify hidden costs before they appear:

• Rush fees for expedited timelines

• Extra revision charges beyond included rounds

• Integration costs for third-party tools

• Licensing for premium plugins or modules

• Ongoing maintenance not included in production costs

Calculate a sample margin scenario:

Take a representative project, subtract the provider cost from your resale price, then factor in your internal time for coordination and client management. If the margin isn’t healthy after that math, the partnership won’t support growth.

Verify billing terms: minimum contract length, payment schedules (net 15 / net 30), currency, and what happens with unpaid invoices or paused client projects. These details matter for operational efficiency.

Question 7: What Happens If We Need to Scale Up, Pause, or Exit the Partnership?

Agencies often underestimate how hard it is to unwind a white label relationship if it stops working. Before you sign white label agreements, understand the full lifecycle.

Scaling capacity:

• How quickly can they ramp up during busy periods (Q4 campaigns, seasonal spikes, major game launches)?

• Are there resource caps or team size limits?

• Can they handle 3x your current volume if needed?

Data from agency surveys shows that partners with elastic teams—able to scale from 5 to 50 resources quickly—support 40% faster revenue growth for their agency clients.

Minimum commitments to clarify:

• Monthly minimum spend requirements

• Required number of projects per month

• Retainer obligations

• Can you pause services temporarily without penalties?

Exit clauses to negotiate:

Ask for real-world examples of how the provider handled a partnership ending in the last 1–2 years. Focus on how smooth the transition was for clients. If they’ve never had one company leave amicably, that’s concerning.

Intellectual property ownership should be explicit in your contract. You risk losing client work if ownership isn’t transferred at project completion.

Red Flags to Watch for When Evaluating a White Label Provider

Knowing what to avoid is as important as knowing what to ask. These warning signs should make you pause before committing.

Documentation red flags:

• Vague or outdated case studies (nothing from the last 2 years)

• Refusal to sign NDAs or DPAs before seeing your client data

• Reluctance to provide sample work or references

• No written SLAs or quality standards

Promise red flags:

• “Guaranteed rankings” or “guaranteed profits” claims

• Unrealistic timelines that experienced professionals would question

• Pricing that seems too good compared to market rates

• Offering comprehensive solutions with no proof of specialized expertise

Communication red flags:

• Slow replies during the sales process (if they’re slow now, expect worse later)

• No clear point of contact identified

• Evasive answers about team size, location, or capacity

• Inability to schedule calls during overlapping business hours

Control red flags:

• Insisting on holding admin access to client accounts

• Platform logins that the agency cannot easily reclaim

• Branded products that require their backend indefinitely

• Content management systems locked to their hosting

Start with a small pilot project before committing to a 6–12 month contract. Test their process, communication, and product quality on something with lower stakes.

How to Turn These Questions into a Practical Vetting Checklist

Agencies should turn these seven questions into a repeatable checklist for all future providers. Consistency in evaluation leads to better partner selection over time.

Create a comparison sheet:

Build a simple spreadsheet where each short-listed provider is scored on:

• Industry experience (1-5)

• Process documentation (1-5)

• SLA clarity (1-5)

• Security and compliance (1-5)

• Pricing transparency (1-5)

• Scalability and exit terms (1-5)

Run reference calls:

Contact at least two existing or former agency clients of the provider. Use the same set of questions for consistency:

• How long have you worked with them?

• What’s their on-time delivery rate in your experience?

• How do they handle problems?

• Would you recommend them to another agency?

Involve the right stakeholders:

Both operational and leadership team members should participate in final selection:

• Account managers assess communication fit

• Project managers evaluate process alignment

• Founders or directors review pricing and strategy implications

Document everything:

Once you select your right white label partner, capture agreed terms in a master services agreement (MSA) plus clear statements of work (SOWs) for each project. This protects both two parties and creates accountability.

Your long term success with white label partnerships depends on finding the right partner through systematic evaluation—not gut feelings or the lowest price. Take the time to ask these questions, and you’ll build partnerships that help you sell more services, serve new clients effectively, and expand your market reach without sacrificing the quality your brand stands for.

Conclusion

Choosing the right white label provider is crucial for your agency’s growth, reputation, and efficiency. Asking the seven key questions in this guide ensures you partner with a provider who has proven industry experience, protects your brand’s invisibility, maintains high quality standards, and offers transparent pricing without hidden costs.

A dependable white label partner helps you expand services seamlessly with tailored solutions, specialized expertise, and scalable resources, letting you focus on client relationships and growth. Providers like KodeDice offer cutting-edge technology and flexible pricing, enabling faster market entry and long-term success. The right partnership acts as an extension of your team, ensuring control, efficiency, and sustained growth in online gaming.

FAQ

How many white label providers should I evaluate before choosing one?

Evaluate at least 3 providers in parallel to compare pricing, processes, and responsiveness under similar conditions. This gives you a baseline for what’s standard in the market versus what’s exceptional. Shortlist down to 2, then run a small paid pilot with 1–2 live client projects before signing a long-term contract. The pilot reveals whether their execution matches their sales pitch.

Is it better to pay per project or on a monthly retainer?

Per-project pricing suits agencies with irregular or seasonal work where volume fluctuates significantly. Monthly retainers fit agencies with steady volumes and long-term clients who need ongoing services. Model your cash flow and average project volumes over the last 6–12 months to decide which structure yields more predictable margins. Many agencies use a hybrid: retainers for core services, project pricing for overflow or specialized work.

How can I test a white label provider with minimal risk?

Start with a low-stakes but representative project—a small website build, a limited PPC campaign, or a single feature development—for a real paying client. Define clear success criteria in advance: timeline, quality benchmarks, communication patterns, and client feedback. This plan lets you evaluate their technology, process, and expertise before committing larger accounts or longer contracts.

What if I already have in-house staff—do I still need a white label provider?

Agencies with internal teams often use white label partners to handle overflow during busy periods, access niche skills (complex tracking, Web3 development, iGaming compliance for blackjack platforms), or provide round-the-clock support across time zones. Position the provider as an extension of your in-house team rather than a replacement. Focus them on specialized tasks or lower-margin work that would otherwise limit your ability to take on new clients and focus on growth. Consult our experts for detailed understanding of the strategy.