This year gave us a front-row seat to how creative businesses are really operating behind the scenes—not just what they post on Instagram, but how they manage money, clients, and growth.
From wedding photographers and event planners to designers and consultants, one theme kept coming up again and again: creatives are done with overcomplicating their business. They want clarity. They want systems that feel professional but not rigid. And they want payments to stop being the most stressful part of the process.
Here's what we learned—and how many creative businesses are simplifying the way they get paid.
Creatives are no longer just "doing the work." They're building real businesses with real workflows.
This year, we saw more creatives actively setting clearer boundaries with clients, standardizing their processes, and treating admin as part of the job, not an afterthought.
What surprised us most wasn't that creatives care about professionalism—it's that they want it without sacrificing their creative identity. They don't want cold, corporate systems. They want tools that feel aligned with their brand and are genuinely easy to use.
For wedding photographers charging $2,000–$8,000 per wedding, or event planners managing multiple vendors simultaneously, that mindset shift changed how they think about everything—especially payments.
For a long time, payments were treated as the final step: send the invoice, hope the client pays, follow up awkwardly if needed.
But creatives are realizing that how you get paid is part of the client experience.
This year, we saw more business owners ask: "Does my invoice look as professional as my work?" "Is this payment process clear for my client?" "Why am I losing money to fees I don't understand?"
Payments are no longer just about receiving money—they're about trust, clarity, and credibility. When a client receives a professionally branded invoice with clear payment options and flexible scheduling, it reinforces the quality of your work.
Here's what actually changed this year: creatives discovered ACH.
For years, payment processing meant credit card fees—typically 2.9% plus per-transaction costs. On a $5,000 wedding photography invoice, that's $145 gone. On a $10,000 event planning deposit, it's $290.
But ACH transfers cost between $0.20 and $1.50 per transaction—roughly 95% cheaper than credit cards. That same $10,000 deposit now costs just $1.50 instead of $290.
One photographer saving $100+ per wedding across 20 weddings per year? That's $2,000 back in the business without raising a single price. This year, creatives started asking their clients about ACH options, and clients were happy to oblige. It's faster, cheaper, and more straightforward than credit cards.
The challenge? Most payment platforms still charge high fees on ACH, defeating the entire purpose. That's where smart creatives shifted toward platforms offering real ACH solutions—where the financial benefit actually stays with the creative.
Another big lesson: more tools don't equal better systems.
Many creatives came into the year juggling one tool for invoices, another for contracts, another for payments, and spreadsheets to track it all. The result? Missed follow-ups, payment delays, and unnecessary stress.
What worked better was consolidation: fewer tools, clearer workflows, one place to see what's paid, pending, and overdue. Creatives don't want to "manage finance." They want finance to quietly work in the background while they focus on their actual craft. Platforms that consolidated contracts, payments, invoices, and timelines into a single dashboard started gaining real traction because they removed context-switching and reduced errors.
As businesses became more intentional about their numbers, processing fees became impossible to ignore.
This year, many creatives finally did the math—and the numbers were staggering. A wedding planner charging $3,000–$5,000 in deposits, paying 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction? That's $87–$145 per deposit, or $1,300–$2,000+ per year on deposits alone.
That awareness changed behavior: more questions about fee structures, more interest in ACH, more frustration with "small" percentages that compound quickly. Keeping more of what you earn isn't about being greedy—it's about sustainability. Creative industries already operate on tight margins, so transparent pricing with no hidden surcharges became a requirement, not a nice-to-have.
One fear we heard often was: "If I automate this, will it feel impersonal?"
But the opposite turned out to be true. When payment reminders, invoices, and due dates are clear and automated, creatives don't have to awkwardly chase clients, communication becomes more consistent, and relationships actually improve.
Automation, when done right, removes friction—not humanity. A photographer spending 5 hours per month chasing late payments can spend that time shooting, editing, or growing their business instead. The most successful creatives this year used automation to protect their time and mental energy, not replace their voice.
By the end of the year, one thing became crystal clear: creatives need platforms built specifically for them—not generic finance tools adapted after the fact.
Platforms like Maroo deliver on everything we just discussed. Branded invoices that reflect your professionalism. Zero processing fees on ACH transfers so you keep more. Flexible payment scheduling so clients can pay how they want. One dashboard for contracts, payments, invoices, and timelines so you're not juggling five different tools. No hidden fees, no surprise surcharges—just clarity.
And when creatives find the right partners to work with—photographers connecting with planners through That's The One—they can collaborate with someone who shares their values. Clear contracts, transparent pricing, reliable payment schedules, shared professional standards.
That's the ecosystem creatives are building in 2026: simpler systems, transparent pricing, tools that respect their time, and partners who actually get it.
If this year taught us anything, it's that creative businesses are evolving—and they're doing it intentionally.
They're choosing simpler systems that actually work, more transparency in how money flows, and tools that respect both their time and their work. Payments don't need to be stressful. Admin doesn't need to be overwhelming. And running a creative business doesn't have to mean giving up control or losing margins to hidden fees.
The future of creative work looks a lot more streamlined. Creatives are building real businesses with real systems, connecting with vendors who share their values, and using platforms designed specifically for them to handle the financial side—so they can focus on the creative side.
That's a win for everyone.
