Retainer invoicing software
- Retainer billing
- Recurring
- Overage calculations
- Automated
- Client reports
- Clear
Retainer billing
Overage calculations
Client reports
What this means
Retainer invoicing bills a set monthly fee in advance, coupled with detailed reports of the actual tracked hours delivered against that allowance.
Marketing agencies, IT support firms, and lawyers who charge clients recurring monthly retainers and must account for their hours.
Calculating retainer overages by hand is a billing bottleneck
If you bill a set retainer but track overages separately, compiling the monthly invoice is complex. You must calculate the hours worked, check if they exceeded the retainer limit, and bill the overage hours at different rates by hand.
Signs this is happening on your team
- Finance manually reviews logs to find retainer overages
- Clients dispute overage charges because they lack reports
- Recurring retainer invoices are delayed by timesheet checks
- Retainer hours and overage billing are calculated separately
- You forget to bill overages because checking is too complex
What this costs you
Poor retainer billing processes delay recurring revenue, lose money from unbilled overages, and cause client distrust due to unclear timesheets.
Automated recurring retainer invoicing and reports
TimeTracker automates retainer invoicing. It bills the set fee on a schedule, compares actual hours to the retainer limit, calculates overages at contract rates, and appends detailed timesheets automatically.
From problem to outcome
- Problem
Unbilled retainer overages
FeatureInvoicingOutcomeAutomatic overage pricing on invoices
- Problem
Manual hours compilation
FeatureReports and DashboardsOutcomeAutomated monthly retainer reports
- Problem
Repetitive monthly invoice creation
FeatureInvoicingOutcomeAutomated recurring billing setup
How it works in TimeTracker
Set monthly retainer fees and hour limits
Log team hours against the retainer project
Calculate retainer overages automatically from logs
Send retainer invoices with usage reports attached
Built for teams like these
Agencies
Tailored timesheets and billing tools designed specifically for Agencies workflows.
Explore→IT services
Tailored timesheets and billing tools designed specifically for IT services workflows.
Explore→Consulting firms
Tailored timesheets and billing tools designed specifically for Consulting firms workflows.
Explore→
Retainer Invoicing by industry
Popular features
Invoicing software that bills from tracked hours
Approved time turns into itemised invoice lines with tax and multiple currencies handled for you. Check it over, then send it.
Explore Invoicing→See where the time really goes
Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.
Explore Reports & Dashboards→Bill for every hour you earn
Mark each entry billable or non-billable while you work. Approved hours roll straight into reports you can bill from.
Explore Billing→Related free tools
Frequently asked questions
- How does the system calculate overage billing?
- Once actual hours exceed the retainer limit, any additional hours are multiplied by the override overage rate and added as a line item.
- Can we bill retainers in advance?
- Yes. You can configure invoices to bill the flat retainer at the start of the month, and bill overages at the end of the month.
- Does it support tiered retainers?
- Yes. You can set up custom tier structures where rates adjust as the client consumes more hour blocks.
- Can we roll over unused hours?
- Yes, you can configure rollover rules that transfer unused retainer hours to the next billing cycle.
Automate retainer billing
Bill monthly retainers on time and capture overages automatically. Set up retainer invoicing with TimeTracker.
Invoice retainers now