Retainers can provide predictable revenue for service businesses, but they also create a challenge: How do you know exactly how much work you’re providing?
Imagine a client has purchased a 40-hour monthly retainer. Your team completes requests throughout the month, but nobody closely tracks the time. By the end of the month, 50 hours have been used. Those additional 10 hours could directly reduce your profit.
Track Retainer Usage
A good retainer management process should make it easy to see:
Hours Purchased: 40
Hours Used: 28
Hours Remaining: 12
This gives your team an immediate understanding of the client’s remaining capacity.
Prevent Over-Servicing
Without visibility, employees may continue accepting requests without realizing how much of the client’s retainer has already been used. Tracking usage helps managers identify potential overruns before they become a problem. It also gives you an opportunity to discuss additional work with the client before the hours are exhausted.
Connect Time to Client Work
Retainer tracking becomes even more useful when employee time is connected to projects and client requests.
You can understand:
- Which projects used the most hours
- Which employees worked on the account
- How much time was spent
- How many hours remain
This information helps businesses understand the actual cost of servicing each client.
Improve Client Communication
Retainer conversations are easier when they’re based on clear numbers. Instead of saying, “You’ve used most of your hours,” you can provide a simple breakdown of usage. That creates greater transparency and helps build trust.
Vluxeo combines retainer management with project management, time tracking, client portals, ticketing, and reporting.
Want better control over your retainers? Explore Vluxeo.