What Is a Retainer Fee?

A retainer fee is a payment a client makes in advance to reserve your time or services for an agreed period. Most freelance and consulting retainers are monthly: the client pays a fixed amount at the start of each month, and you commit a set number of hours or a defined scope of work in return.

Retainers suit ongoing work such as bookkeeping, marketing, IT support, design or development maintenance. For you, they bring predictable income and fewer sales calls. For the client, they guarantee your availability and often a lower rate than ad hoc work.

There are two common types. A pay-for-access retainer buys availability, whether or not the client uses all the hours. A pay-for-work retainer is a prepayment that you draw down as you work, with any extra hours billed separately. Write down which one you agreed, plus what happens to unused hours, how overage is billed and how either side can end it. Legal retainers follow their own professional rules, so this page covers freelance and consulting retainers.

In SolidInvoice, a recurring invoice can bill the retainer on the same day each month, and a one-off upfront retainer can be recorded as a deposit against the invoice.