This feature is designed for billing clients who pay a fixed monthly retainer in exchange for a preset number of service hours.
Included Service: You provide a specific number of hours at no additional charge.
Overage: Hours exceeding the preset limit are automatically billed at the regular hourly rates assigned to the case.
Minimum Billing: If you work fewer than the preset hours, the client is still billed the full monthly retainer amount.
Custom Rates: You can maintain different hourly rates for various timekeepers within individual cases.
To set up a case for retainer billing, follow these instructions:
Go to Cases (Projects) and select the specific case.
On the right-side pane, click the Other Info tab.
Set the Retainer Amount: * Create a field named: MONTHLY_RETAINER
Enter the numeric value only (e.g., 1450.50 or 2500). Do not include currency symbols.
Set the Included Hours:
Create a field named: MONTHLY_RETAINER_HOURS
Enter the number of hours included in the retainer fee.
Fixed Fee Only: If the client pays a fixed amount regardless of the work performed, set the MONTHLY_RETAINER_HOURS to a very high number (e.g., 1000).
Fixed Fee Plus All Hourly Work: If the client pays a base fee plus their usual hourly rate for all work done, set the MONTHLY_RETAINER_HOURS to a near-zero value (e.g., 0 or 0.1).
Monthly Invoicing: Invoices must be created for a single month at a time. Do not combine multiple months into one invoice, as the retainer logic will not calculate correctly.
Document Export: Retainer billing calculations are applied and reflected specifically on PDF and Word invoices.
Strict Monthly Invoicing: To ensure the retainer calculates correctly, always generate a separate invoice for each month. Never mix time entries from two different months on a single invoice.
Review the Export: The retainer calculation is applied during document generation. Always download the PDF or Word version of the invoice to verify the final totals before sending it to your client.
Custom Rate Overrides: If you have a specific timekeeper who should be billed at a premium rate for overages, set their individual rate within the Case settings before generating the invoice.