What Are Retainers?

• Create Retainers
• Track Retainers
• Excess Hours
• Manage Retainers
• FAQs

Create Retainers

1. Click on either:
   1. The Invoices section, then click on the Retainers sub-section and select New Retainer
   2. The Dashboard section, then click Create New, and select Retainer
   3. The Clients section, then click on your Client, and select the + button under the Retainers tab
2. In the form, select a Client if there isn’t one already selected
   
   
3. For Terms, choose a Retainer Start Date with today's date or a date in the future - this will become the earliest date Time Entries can be tracked on
4. Next, in the Retainer Period dropdown, choose from Weekly, Monthly, Yearly or Custom for the frequency
5. Then in the Fees Per Period field, indicate how much you’ll charge
6. Next, in the Hours Per Period, specify the total you’ll be working for
7. Enter a Rate for Excess Hours, which will be used on any extra hours tracked beyond the Retainer period
8. For Recurring Schedule, the Next Issue Date is automatically populated to today, or click on the calendar icon if you’d like to choose a different Issue Date
9. For Number of Invoices, select either Infinite (to never stop creating Invoices) or Periods Remaining with the number of Invoices to create
10. Then for Invoice Delivery Options, choose between Send Invoices automatically or Create Draft Invoices and send manually
11. Click on the Set and Continue button.

Your Retainer will be generated and you can now customize it like any other Invoice or Recurring Template, including adding Taxes.

• Unused time remaining in a Retainer period will not carry forward to the next Retainer period
• The Retainer will generate an Invoice on the Retainer Start Date you’ve chosen, and keep generating new Invoices at the frequency you specify until it ends
• A Retainer can be paid like any other Invoice or Invoice generated from Recurring Templates, including with Recurring Payments
• Retainers are automatically deactivated if your account becomes suspended or cancelled

Track Retainers

1. Go to the Invoices section
2. Click on the Retainers sub-section
3. Click on the Retainer you want to view details for.

Each section of the Retainers area is broken down into detail below:

• Retainer for (Client Name) - This displays details of your Retainer - the number of hours per frequency, the fee and the next Invoice to be generated
• Hours Logged - Displays hours tracked towards your Retainer budget over the duration of your Period. Your total time tracked is shown in blue, and if it’s approaching or surpassing the budget line in red, you may want to revisit the Retainer with your Client before excess hours are logged
• Remaining in Budget, Period Revenue, Remaining in Period - See how your Retainer is performing over time with total time tracked, total revenue earned, and any outstanding time entries, making it easy to see if you’re often under, on, or over budget
• More Actions - Click on this to quickly Archive or Delete the Retainer
• Edit - Click to change the look of your Retainer, or update your Retainer Terms

• Invoices - This tab shows you all Invoices generated by the Retainer, including any excess hours you’ve logged
• Time Entries - Use this tab to see all time entries tracked towards the Retainer, as well as another way to add or edit time entries if needed
• Projects - From this tab, you can add Flat Rate or Hourly Projects that will automatically have all time entries in them associated with this Retainer
• Report - Quickly access the Retainer Summary Report, where you can get a detailed breakdown of all time tracked by you and your team for any particular Retainer that can be sent to the Client

Excess Hours

1. Go to the Invoices section
2. Click on the Retainers sub-section
3. Click on the Retainer you want to view details for
4. If needed, click on the date range above the graph and choose the time period you have excess time for
5. Above the Retainer details, click on the Generate an invoice link in the banner for excess time
   
   
6. Continue with editing your Invoice as needed and click Save or Send… when you’re done.

Manage Retainers

• Active - Generates Invoices until stopped manually if set to Infinite or if Number of Invoices drops to 0 inside Retainer's Terms
• Inactive - No longer generates Invoices due to Number of Invoices being set to 0 inside Retainer's Terms

1. Go to the Invoices section
2. Click on the Retainers sub-section
3. Next, click on the Retainer you want to edit
4. Click on the Edit button
5. Then on the preview of the Retainer Invoice, hover next to the Retainer line item and click on the Edit Terms link
6. Edit your terms as needed, and click Set and Continue to finish
7. Then click Save... to apply your changes.

1. Go to the Invoices section
2. Click on the Retainers sub-section
3. Check off the box next to the Retainer you want to delete
4. Click on the More Actions button
5. Click on Delete
6. Click OK to confirm. 

FAQs

1. Go to the Projects section
2. Click on the Project you want to associate to the Retainer (or make a new Project)
3. If the Client selected on the Project has an active Retainer, you'll see the option Apply Time to Retainer appear under For (Client Name), click on this
4. Check the box off next to Apply time from this project to (Client Name)'s retainer and click Done.

1. Go to the Time Tracking section 
2. Use the Start Timer button, Recent Timers section, or click on the + button
3. Fill out your time entry details
4. Ensure the box next to Apply to Retainer is checked off
   
   
5. Hit Log Time or Save when you’re done. The time entry will now be associated with the Retainer. 

• Recurring Templates are used to bill for products or services on a recurring basis for repeat clients
• Retainers are used for reserving blocks of time or a specific budget for service-based work on a recurring basis. Excess time, if tracked, can be billed at a separate rate at the end of the Retainer period