What Are Retainers?

Retainers are ongoing service agreements where you bill clients regularly (monthly, quarterly, etc.) for continuous services. Common examples:

Website maintenance
Marketing support
Consulting hours
Social media management
Ongoing development support
Advisory services

Benefits of Retainers

For Your Business

Predictable revenue - Know what's coming each month
Better cash flow - Regular income stream
Client relationships - Deeper, long-term partnerships
Reduced sales time - Less constant prospecting
Higher lifetime value - Clients stay longer

For Clients

Priority access - First in line for your attention
Consistent support - Ongoing relationship
Budget predictability - Known monthly cost
Better rates - Often discounted vs project work

Setting Up a Retainer

Step 1: Create the Quote

Go to Quotes > New Quote
Select the client
Name it clearly (e.g., "Website Maintenance Retainer")
Add line items for monthly services:
- Example: "Monthly Maintenance - 10 hours @ $150/hour"
- Include specific deliverables in description
Set variance buffer (typically lower for retainers, 5-15%)
Apply profit margin
Send for approval

Step 2: Create the Contract

From approved quote, click "Create Contract"
Choose contract type (Service Agreement recommended)
Add an Ongoing Services block:
- Name the service
- Set billing frequency (monthly, quarterly, etc.)
- Choose start date
- Set end date (optional) or "ongoing"
- Configure due days (when invoice is due after issue)
- Enable auto-send if desired

Step 3: Configure Billing

In the Ongoing Services block:

Frequency Options:

Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly
Biannually
Annually

Invoice Settings:

Auto-send: Automatically email when generated
Invoice status: Draft or Sent
Due days: Days until payment due (e.g., 15, 30)

Line Item Template:

Define what appears on each recurring invoice:

Service name and description
Quantity (e.g., monthly hours)
Unit price

Step 4: Use Smart Variables

For invoice titles, use variables:

{clientName} - {month} {year} Retainer

Generates: "Acme Corp - January 2025 Retainer"

Available variables:

{clientName} - Client company
{month} - Current month
{year} - Current year
{monthYear} - Combined
{quarter} - Q1, Q2, etc.

Step 5: Send Contract for Signature

Preview the contract
Send for signature
When signed, recurring billing begins automatically

Managing Retainers

Viewing Active Retainers

Go to Contracts > filter by "Signed"
Or view Payment Plans for recurring schedules
Dashboard shows MRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)

Modifying Retainers

Changing the Price:

Create a new quote with updated pricing
Create new contract to replace existing
Cancel old recurring schedule
Start new one from new contract

Pausing Temporarily:

Go to the payment instance
Set status to "Paused"
Resume when ready

Ending the Retainer:

Set an end date on the recurring schedule
Or cancel the payment instance
Final invoice generated if applicable

Tracking Performance

In Analytics:

Total MRR/ARR
Retainer vs project revenue
Client retention rate
Average retainer value

Automatic Payments

For truly hands-off billing:

Setting Up Auto-Pay

Client saves payment method when paying first invoice
Client grants consent for automatic payments
Configure consent level:
- "Recurring only" - Auto-pay just retainer invoices
- "All invoices" - Auto-pay everything

Safety Features

Maximum amount per invoice limit
Client can revoke consent anytime
Notification before each charge
Failed payment alerts

What Happens Each Month

Invoice generated on schedule
If auto-send enabled, client notified
If auto-pay enabled, payment attempted
Success: Invoice marked paid, receipts sent
Failure: Retry attempted, you're notified

Retainer Structures

Fixed Monthly Fee

Most common structure:

Same amount every month
Covers defined scope of services
Unused hours don't roll over

Example: "$2,000/month for website maintenance"

Hourly Retainer

Pre-purchased hours:

Client buys block of hours
Track usage throughout month
Notify when hours running low

Example: "20 hours/month @ $150/hour"

Tiered Retainer

Multiple service levels:

Basic: Essential services
Standard: Additional features
Premium: Full support

Example:

Basic: $500/month - Updates only
Standard: $1,500/month - Updates + support
Premium: $3,000/month - Full management

Hybrid (Retainer + Projects)

Combine ongoing support with project work:

Base retainer for maintenance
Separate quotes for new projects
Client gets priority on projects

Invoice Naming Best Practices

Clear, consistent naming:

Good:

"Acme Corp - January 2025 Retainer"
"Monthly Website Maintenance - Jan 2025"
"Q1 2025 Marketing Support"

Avoid:

"Invoice" (too vague)
"Monthly" (which month?)
"Services" (what services?)

Use smart variables for consistency:

{clientName} - {month} {year} {projectName}

Handling Scope Changes

Mid-Month Requests

If client asks for work outside retainer scope:

Clarify it's outside the agreement
Offer to quote separately
Or apply to next month's hours

Scope Creep Prevention

In your contract, clearly define:

What's included
What's excluded
How to request additional work
Pricing for out-of-scope work

Annual Reviews

Schedule retainer reviews:

Assess scope vs actual work
Adjust pricing if needed
Renew or modify terms

Common Retainer Mistakes

Underpricing

Not accounting for communication overhead
Forgetting admin time
Too few hours for actual needs

Overcommitting

Promising more than you can deliver
Not setting boundaries
Accepting scope creep silently

Poor Communication

Not sending regular updates
Surprising clients with unused hours
Not documenting what was done

Best Practices

Document everything - Track time and deliverables
Send monthly summaries - Show value provided
Set clear boundaries - Define what's included
Review annually - Adjust pricing and scope
Enable auto-pay - Reduce collection friction
Use smart variables - Consistent invoice naming

Related: Contracts | Invoicing | Smart Variables