Working with retainers
🟩 Sell your customers hourly quotas
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Working with retainers: efficient billing of monthly hourly packages
Retainers are a clever solution for service providers who regularly work with their customers. Instead of billing each hour worked individually, a monthly quota of hours is agreed in advance - usually at a reduced hourly rate. Leadtime offers an integrated retainer function that fully automates the management and billing of these packages.
What is a retainer?
A retainer is a fixed package of hours that a customer accepts on a monthly basis. In return, they receive these hours at a reduced price.
Example:
- 10 hours of support per month
- Normal price: €100/h → €1,000 per month
- Retainer price: 80 €/h → 800 € per month
The hours are reserved in the system - regardless of whether the customer uses them in full or not.
Configuration of a retainer
Retainers are configured in the project under
Settings > General billing settings.
You can make the following entries there:
- Title of the retainer (e.g. "Flat rate")
- Fixed monthly price (e.g. €800)
- Number of hours per month (e.g. 10 hours)
- Reduced hourly rate (used internally for comparative calculation)
- Option: Transfer unused hours (yes/no)
⚙️ Important: An activated retainer automatically affects the billing - both in terms of price and calculation.
Billing of a retainer
Billing takes place automatically as part of the monthly invoice verification. Leadtime distinguishes between three cases:
1. the customer uses all or more than the booked hours
- The agreed flat rate (e.g. €800) is invoiced
- All hours in excess of this are billed at the regular hourly rate
2. the customer uses fewer hours and no carryover is permitted
- The flat rate is still charged in full
- Unused hours are forfeited
3. the customer uses fewer hours, but carryover is permitted
- The flat rate is charged
- Unused hours are carried over to the next month
- In the following period, the customer has a correspondingly higher volume of hours available - at no extra cost
Example calculation
A customer has a retainer for 20 hours at 50 €/h (1,000 €).
He has used 26.75 hours of support.
The invoice then looks like this:
Service | Amount |
Retainer (20 hours at 50 €) | 1.000 € |
6.75 hours at the normal price (100 €) | 675 € |
Total net amount | 1.675 € |
This breakdown is automatic and is shown transparently in the invoice.
Conclusion
Retainers offer:
- Planning security for both sides
- Discounted conditions for regular cooperation
- Fully automatic billing and comparison calculation in Leadtime
Whether for support, consulting or maintenance - retainers are the ideal middle ground between project-based billing and genuine subscription models.