How to price a retainer without regretting it in month three
Most retainers that go wrong were priced on a good month. The first month is busy, everyone is excited, and the number feels generous. By month three the client is asking for more, the team is doing it, and the rate hasn't moved.
Pricing a retainer is mostly deciding what you are not doing. The studios with the healthiest retainers write down three things before they send a number.
1. The hours you expect, not the hours you hope for
Look at the last three months of similar work and take the median, not the best month. If you have no history, run the first month as a paid pilot and price the retainer from what it took.
2. What falls outside
A retainer covers ongoing work. Launches, new brand systems and campaigns are projects. Name the line in the proposal: "New campaign concepts are quoted separately." It saves the conversation later.
3. What happens when a month runs over
This is the one that matters most. Pick one rule and write it down:
- Overage hours billed at the retainer's hourly rate at the end of the month, or
- A cap, after which work moves to the next month, or
- A quarterly true-up, if months vary a lot.
A clear overage rule turns an awkward conversation into an invoice line.
Review it every quarter
Put a review in the calendar for the end of each quarter. Compare the hours you expected with what happened, and adjust the rate or the scope. Clients expect it when it's in the contract from the start.
Price the retainer on your median month, name what's outside it, and decide the overage rule before the first invoice.