Agency Scorecard Template: Criteria, Weights and a Worked Example

Updated October 19, 2026. Written by the Agency Review Guide editorial team.

An agency scorecard is a table that lists the criteria you care about, assigns each a weight, and records a 1-5 score plus one piece of evidence for every agency you compare. The template below uses six weighted categories that total 100%, a worked example with the arithmetic shown, and a lighter monthly version for agencies you already work with. Copy it into a spreadsheet and adjust the weights to your own priorities before the first pitch.

TL;DR

• Use two scorecards, not one: a selection scorecard for choosing between shortlisted agencies, and a performance scorecard for reviewing the one you hire.
• Weight the criteria so they total 100%, and give the most influence to the factors that decide whether the work succeeds, not to pitch polish.
• Record a concrete observation beside every number, and have each evaluator score alone before the group compares results.
• Aim for roughly 15 to 25 criteria at most, scored on a 5-point scale where 3 means “meets expectations.”
• Treat trends as the signal: a single weak month matters less than three consecutive months of decline.

Table of Contents

• What an agency scorecard does, and what it does not
• The selection scorecard template
• A worked example with the arithmetic
• How to run the scoring so it holds up
• Scoring the team behind the pitch
• Adapting the template to your situation
• Perspective: what we look for in an agency
• The monthly performance scorecard
• Common mistakes
• Build your shortlist before you score
• FAQ
• Sources

What an agency scorecard does, and what it does not

A scorecard does not pick the agency for you. Its job is to create a record of how each option performed against criteria agreed before anyone saw a slide. According to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) insight brief on agency performance management, the criteria are usually grouped into sections, and stakeholder buy-in should be secured while the scorecard is being built, not after the scores come in.

The most useful side effect is disagreement. When marketing rates an agency’s strategy highly and finance rates its commercial terms poorly, the scorecard shows the gap on paper, which forces a conversation about what the business actually needs at its current stage. That conversation is cheaper before a contract than after.

The same structure serves two moments that are often confused:

The selection scorecard template

The six categories below reflect the dimensions that PM Society’s procurement guidance and similar buyer guides return to: understanding of the brief, team and presentation, and proof of capability. The weights are our starting point, not a standard. Change them before you see any proposals.

These six sit within the guidance on building scorecards around strategic understanding, capability depth, past results, team structure, measurement and commercial transparency. If your project has a specific risk, such as a regulated industry or a tight launch date, split that into its own line and take the weight from the categories you care about least.

Using a 1-5 scale

Keep the scale short and define it in writing so every evaluator reads it the same way:

1. Does not meet the requirement. No evidence, or evidence that contradicts the claim.
2. Partly meets it. Some evidence, with significant gaps.
3. Meets expectations. Evidence is adequate and the requirement is covered.
4. Exceeds expectations. Specific, verifiable evidence beyond the baseline.
5. Exceptional. Strong, verified evidence and a clear edge over the other options.

The ANA brief notes that 55% of surveyed companies use a 5-point scale, with 3 typically meaning expectations are met. Leave a score blank when the agency did not answer a question. A blank is information, and a guessed 3 hides it.

A worked example with the arithmetic

The formula for each category is: score multiplied by weight, divided by 100. Add the six results for the total. The numbers below are illustrative, not real agencies.

Agency C wins despite the weakest strategic presentation, because it scores highest on the team and on commercial clarity. Agency B, the most impressive pitch, finishes last. That is the situation weighting is designed to expose: a strong presentation cannot outvote operational fit.

If a scale of 100 reads more naturally to your stakeholders, multiply by 20. Agency C would then score 83 out of 100.

Minimum thresholds

A high total can hide a fatal weakness. Public-sector evaluators solve this with qualifying thresholds. The University of California’s procurement office, for example, explains weighted scoring by category, with percentages that add up to the total score, and its model sets minimum scores for individual categories before totals are compared. You can borrow the idea: decide that any agency scoring below 3 on delivery team or commercial transparency is out, whatever its total.

How to run the scoring so it holds up

The template is the easy part. Most of the value comes from how it is used.

1. Fix the criteria and weights before the pitches. Changing weights after you have seen the agencies is how a favorite wins. The IAPI pitch guidelines recommend sharing the scorecard with agencies in advance, alongside the brief, including the marks available for each section.
2. Choose three to five evaluators from different functions. Marketing, finance and procurement or operations usually see different risks.
3. Score independently, then compare. Evaluators should record numbers and written evidence before any group discussion, which is what surfaces real divergence rather than a consensus shaped by the loudest voice, as PM Society advises.
4. Write one observation beside every score. “4, because the lead strategist cited our churn data without prompting” is defensible. “4, good vibe” is not.
5. Discuss the largest gaps first. Where one evaluator gave a 2 and another a 5, find out why before averaging.
6. Archive the sheet. It is your decision record if leadership or a procurement team asks later.

Larger organizations can follow the structure of state procurement evaluation score sheets, which separate technical points from cost points. Doing the same for a marketing hire keeps price from drowning out quality, or the reverse.

Scoring the team behind the pitch

The most common gap in agency scorecards is the operating model. Buyers meet senior people in the pitch and then discover that junior staff or freelancers do the work. Practitioners writing on marketing agency scorecards and red flags stress assessing who will actually perform the day-to-day work and how stable that team is.

Turn that into questions you can score:

• Who will be on the account day to day, and what percentage of their time is allocated to it?
• How long have those people been with the agency?
• Which work is done in-house and which is handled by freelancers or partner firms?
• What happens if the account lead leaves?

If your internal team is also unsure how the agency’s work will fit into your existing workflows and tools, it helps to map those workflows first. This guide to assessing readiness by mapping revenue workflows shows one way to document how work currently flows before you hand part of it to an outside team, which makes the operating-model questions above much easier to score.

Adapting the template to your situation

Startups and small budgets

When budget is the binding constraint, raise commercial transparency to 20 or 25% and lower process polish. Add a line for “fit with our stage,” asking whether the agency has worked with companies of your size or only with enterprises that have in-house teams to manage them.

Specialty-specific projects

A scorecard for an SEO agency should weight measurement logic and technical depth differently from one for a branding project, where strategic understanding and creative evidence carry more. If you are still deciding between disciplines, our guide to agency specialties explains what each type does. For a branding search, the criteria we use are laid out in how US buyers evaluate a branding agency.

Buying across borders

If you are comparing agencies in different countries, add currency, time zone overlap and local-market evidence as explicit lines. A strong record in one market is not proof of competence in another.

Perspective: what we look for in an agency

We build agency profiles for a living, and the pattern we see most often is that buyers score what is easy to see. A pitch is visible. Delivery is not. For that reason we treat every agency claim as one of two things: verified against a source, or marked as unverified. A scorecard works the same way. A number with no evidence next to it is an opinion, and a total made of opinions only looks like a measurement.

Our own 100-point methodology is a weighted scorecard, and we publish it so readers can see how it works. We would encourage you to do the same internally: write the weights down, share them with the agencies where appropriate, and keep the evidence column. If an agency cannot or will not supply evidence for a claim, that absence is itself a score.

We also suggest running the scorecard twice: once with the agency’s claims taken at face value, and once counting only what you could verify. The size of the difference is a useful measure of risk.

— Quincy

The monthly performance scorecard

Once you have hired, the scorecard changes shape. Scale Growth Digital’s free template, for instance, reviews agencies monthly across six dimensions, including KPI delivery, deliverable completion, communication quality and strategic value. A simplified version for your own use:

The shift in weights follows the same source’s advice that early engagements should concentrate on communication and deliverables, then move toward strategic value and return on investment as the partnership matures.

The same source advises tracking trends rather than single months. A decline across three consecutive months is a warning sign, and a six-month downward trend is often treated as a formal signal to review or end the contract. Use those as prompts to investigate, not as automatic triggers: check first whether the brief, budget or your own approvals changed.

Common mistakes

• Too many criteria. The ANA brief points to roughly 15 to 25 criteria as a workable range. More than that tires evaluators and dilutes the weights.
• Equal weights by default. If every category counts the same, the score rewards being average at everything.
• Scoring from memory. Score during or immediately after each session, with notes.
• Mixing up selection and performance. A pitch rating is not a track record. Do not reuse the selection sheet as a review sheet.
• Ignoring price entirely, or letting it decide everything. Score cost separately and combine it only at the end.

Build your shortlist before you score

A scorecard is only as good as the agencies on it. If you are starting from zero, our agency directory lets you filter by specialty, market, budget and client fit, and each profile marks claims as verified or unverified so your evidence column starts with something concrete. You can also browse our rankings and editorial shortlists, such as digital marketing agencies, or the top US marketing and branding agencies. Agencies cannot buy a higher ranking, so the order reflects the scoring, not the advertising.

FAQ

What should an agency scorecard template include?

At minimum: a list of weighted criteria totaling 100%, a defined 1-5 scale, a column for the evidence behind each score, and a space for each agency’s weighted total. Add a notes column for unresolved questions so they carry into the next round.

How many criteria should I use?

Between 15 and 25 is a reasonable ceiling, in line with the ANA’s guidance. For a small project, the six categories above, each with two or three questions, are enough.

Is a vendor scorecard the same as an agency scorecard?

The mechanics are the same: weighted criteria, a scale, and evidence. The criteria differ. A supplier scorecard usually leans on delivery, quality and cost metrics, while an agency scorecard puts more weight on strategic understanding, team quality and measurement, which are harder to quantify.

How often should I score an agency I already work with?

Monthly is common, with a deeper review each quarter. Look at the trend over several months, not at one result, and revisit the weights after the first year.

Can I share the scorecard with agencies?

Yes, and in a formal pitch it is good practice. Sharing the criteria and the marks available for each section, as the IAPI guidelines suggest, lets agencies respond to what you actually value and makes your decision easier to defend.

Sources

• ANA Insight Brief: Agency Performance Management
• PM Society
• UC Procurement: Weighted Scoring and How the Percentages Are Calculated
• IAPI Media Pitch Guidelines
• Arkansas Evaluation Score Sheets
• Prose: Marketing agency scorecard and red flags
• Scale Growth Digital: Agency Performance Scorecard

Recommended

• How we evaluate agencies — 100-point methodology
• Questions to Ask Agencies, Scored with a 100 Point Rubric
• Procurement: Download Marketing Agency RFP Template & Scorecard
• Agency rankings and editorial shortlists