Retainer
The client pays a recurring fee to reserve your availability or an ongoing scope.
Best for: Long-term relationships and smoothing out feast-or-famine months.
Avoid when: The work is genuinely one-off and there's nothing to do next month.
How it works
A fixed monthly fee buys either a defined scope of ongoing work or a reserved block of your capacity. Bill in advance, define what's included, and state plainly whether unused time rolls over — it usually shouldn't.
What it looks like
£3,000/month for up to 20 hours of ongoing development and a two-day response guarantee, billed on the 1st, reviewed quarterly.
Example project
Ongoing product support for a funded startup
A seed-stage team needs a senior engineer two days a week but can't justify a hire yet. £4,800 a month buys eight days of your time, next-business-day response, and a monthly written report. Reviewed quarterly, billed on the 1st, and unused days don't roll over.
Where it wins
- Predictable revenue you can plan a life around.
- No re-selling the same client every few weeks.
- Deep context makes the work faster over time.
Where it hurts
- Quiet months invite clients to question the value.
- Scope drifts upward unless you police it.
- Concentration risk if one retainer is most of your income.
Retainer: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a retainer and a subscription?
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A retainer is negotiated per client and reserves your capacity or an agreed scope. A subscription is productized: the same service, price, and terms for everyone. Retainers are relationships; subscriptions are products.
How much should I charge for a retainer?
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Price the scope or the capacity, then add a premium for the availability you're holding. A common approach is your day rate times the days reserved, less a modest discount for the commitment — not the deep discount clients often ask for.
Should unused retainer hours roll over?
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Generally no, and say so upfront. The client is paying for reserved availability, not a bank of hours. Rollover turns quiet months into a liability and eventually into a very awkward invoice.
How do I stop a retainer turning into unlimited work?
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Define the scope or the hour cap in writing, report against it monthly, and treat overage as billable rather than absorbing it. Review the arrangement quarterly so the price can follow the work.
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