How to Set Up a Monthly Freelance Retainer Contract
Predictable income and a steady stream of work are a dream for many freelancers.
If you’ve looked into ways to secure long-term clients or ongoing freelance work, then you’ve probably seen the word “retainer” pop up more than a few times. But what exactly is a freelance retainer? And how does a retainer contract work between a freelancer and your client?
Let’s dive into what a freelance retainer is, the pros and cons of retainer work, and how to set up a freelance retainer for your business.
What is a Freelance Retainer?
A freelance retainer is a contract agreement between a freelancer and a client that guarantees an agreed-upon amount of work for a set rate. The agreement can include a set amount of hours or a predetermined number of deliverables and usually occurs on a monthly basis. A retainer means you must commit to being available for the agreed-upon hours or work for as long as the contract is in place.
One major benefit of a freelance retainer contract is that you don’t need to constantly pitch your services to new clients every month. With a few retainer contracts locked in you can build strong, steady relationships with the same clients on an ongoing basis. Best of all, you’ll know exactly how much work and income you’re getting from your client each month.
Retainers are especially useful if you provide freelance services to clients on a regular basis. A few types of services that typically benefit from a monthly retainer contract include:
This list isn’t exhaustive, of course. If you’re someone who typically works on a project basis, like a photographer or website developer, you can get creative if you want to explore a retainer contract. For example, perhaps you can offer regular photography for your client’s marketing channels like social media or email. Or, as a website developer, you could provide ongoing website maintenance to ensure that your client’s website is up-to-date and continues to perform well.
For more ideas on how to expand your services and offerings in this way, sign up for Wethos to explore our services library for pre-built services within your expertise.
Pros of a Freelance Retainer Contract
Retainers offer numerous benefits for freelancers, but they aren’t for everyone. To help you decide if a freelance retainer contract is right for you, here are a few pros and cons that come with this type of work setup.
1. Pro: Predictable income
This is arguably the biggest benefit — a steady, predictable income stream is one of the best things you can ask for as a freelancer.
A freelance retainer guarantees a set rate. As long as you’re making yourself available for the number of hours or responsibilities you and your client agreed to, then you’ll get paid the retainer amount. Having a predictable income from retainers can allow you to better manage your finances.
For example, let’s say you have four retainer clients and each contract is for $3,000 per month. That means you can guarantee that you’ll bring in $12,000 total for the month. When you know how much money you’ll bring in each month, you can plan for taxes, set aside money for savings, and figure out how much to pay yourself without worrying where the money is going to come from or how many more clients you need to bring in to reach your goal.
2. Pro: Steady workload
Not only do freelance retainers offer predictable income, but another benefit of these contracts is a steady workload. No more worrying about how much work you’ll be bringing in this month or what you’ll be working on a couple of months from now. If you crave stability in your work, then a retainer contract can provide that.
Your retainer contract should include a clear and specific set of deliverables that will be provided each month. Without a clearly outlined scope of work in place, you open yourself up to scope creep (more on that below).
When you have a solid scope of work, you know how much work to expect each month. This makes it much easier to schedule your work days, expand your offerings, and even plan for time off.
3. Pro: Stronger client relationships
An ongoing partnership helps you get to know a client’s business on a deeper level — this can help you produce even better work and pitch new ideas or projects that the client would benefit from.
Think about it this way: when you work on a one-off project, you’re constantly starting over with new clients or industries (this may be your style, and we’ll talk more about that below). A retainer gives you the opportunity to fully understand your client’s voice, style, or industry and tailor your work to it. This is especially important if you work with clients on social media content, blog writing, email marketing, or anything that requires you to have a deep understanding of the client’s voice and audience.
When you work closely with a retainer client, you get a better understanding of the industry. If you want to hone in on a niche for your freelance business — whether that’s a service niche or industry focus — then working with a few ongoing clients in a niche will strengthen your expertise in the area.
Not to mention, freelancing can be lonely. Having an ongoing relationship with a client can create a sense of being part of a team — while still having the benefits and flexibility of being solo if that’s something you’re looking for.
Cons of a Freelance Retainer Contract
1. Con: Scope creep
When you work with a client on a retainer, you become their go-to. They know your work and trust you with this area of their business. While this can be a good way to build a long-term relationship, this can potentially lead to problems if they start asking for things that weren’t in the original agreement. This can be additional deliverables or even asking you to attend extra meetings. Your scope can quickly become out of your control, and you may find yourself saying yes to things that you don’t want to do for the sake of maintaining the relationship. This is called scope creep.
Scope creep is a slippery slope. If you don’t establish boundaries in your client relationships, scope creep can lead to being overworked and underpaid (not to mention, can cause feelings of tension and resentment).
This is where a strong scope of work comes into play (more on setting one up below). A clear scope of work that both you and your client agree to is essential to protect you from doing more work than what you’re being paid for. In your retainer scope of work, be very clear about what’s included in your monthly deliverables and what’s not. Get specific. How many meetings are you willing to have, if any? How many pieces of content does your retainer include? How many feedback rounds come with each?
As long as you are clear about what your retainer contract does and does not include, you can protect yourself from scope creep and limit any tension or confusion.
2. Con: Limited client work
While one of the pros of retainer clients is being able to work with steady, ongoing clients, this setup can feel limiting to some freelancers — especially if you’re just starting out.
When you work with regular retainer clients, you’ll likely work with them for a long period of time, whether that’s a full quarter or even an entire year. This setup locks you in with the same clients for a set amount of time. It can also get repetitive. Some people may prefer the steadiness and predictability that comes with this routine, but other freelancers, including Webflow designer Grace Walker [link to freelance niches], feel the opposite way. In a recent episode of The Leap, Walker shared that she prefers the freshness of one-off projects compared to retainers.
“I love the turnover of new projects,” she said. “Every few months, I’m working on something different, and to me, that’s really exciting.”
Walker also pointed out a key consideration when taking on retainer work, specifically for people who are just getting started with freelancing.
“It’s really hard to grow if your entire client list is retainers,” she shared. “You get to a certain point where your schedule is full and in order to increase revenue, you either need to find new clients or increase your price with current clients, and pricing conversations can be challenging.”
If you’re a few years into freelancing and have had time to explore different services and industries, then you may be ready to settle into a niche and set up retainer contracts for more stability. But if you’re still figuring out what you want to offer or the types of clients you want to work with — or you just prefer frequent new projects — then a retainer contract may limit your opportunities. You can also experiment with a mix of both! Secure one or two retainer clients to build steadiness and take on a few one-off projects to keep things exciting.
How to Set Up a Monthly Freelance Retainer Contract (With Templates)
If a freelance retainer sounds like something you want to implement in your business, here are the steps to follow when setting up your monthly freelance retainer contract — along with a few retainer templates to use to get started.
1. Determine what the client needs
During your initial call with your client, discuss what their needs are so you can grasp what the project will entail and how you can help. If you’re a freelance social media strategist, for example, ask your client who their target audience is and what their social media goals are. This information will help you figure out which channels will be included in your social media strategy proposal.
2. Figure out how much time you can dedicate per month
If you already have a few retainer clients, then you know how much time you’re already spending and how much time you have available for new clients.
If you don’t, figure out how much time it typically takes you to execute the types of deliverables for this project. Let’s say you are proposing a social media management retainer. How long does it take you to create content for X number of channels? What about engagement? And don’t forget about monthly reporting. Taking all of these tasks into consideration, you can come up with a number of hours you’re willing and able to dedicate to each client per month which can help you refine the deliverables you include in your scope.
3. Decide what recurring deliverables to offer
Based on what the client needs and what your bandwidth is like, you can tailor your retainer scope of work to fit the project.
Be very clear and specific about what’s included in your monthly retainer. If you’re going to be available for a set amount of hours, include the types of tasks these hours can be used for. Also include a minimum or maximum amount of hours as well as your hourly rate for any additional hours the client requests (based on your availability). If your retainer is project-based, be specific about how many deliverables are included in your monthly retainer. Everything from the actual work you’ll be providing to the number of meetings you’re available to attend.
4. Decide how much to charge
Now comes the tricky part: figuring out how much to charge for your retainer fee. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our scope of work templates. These templates not only provide a breakdown of services that other freelancers typically include in this type of work, but they also include recommended pricing. Here are a few of our favorite retainer scope of work templates to use and iterate upon for a freelance retainer contract:
After you edit the scope of work template to fit your retainer’s needs, you can save it to your library, turn it into an invoice, and seamlessly send it to your client each month.
As a freelancer, it’s important to remember that you have options when it comes to how you want to set up your business. If retainers sound limiting for the type of work you offer, then figure out a set up that works best for you. If the stability and predictability of ongoing work sounds appealing to you, then explore setting up a freelance retainer contract with your next client. The choice is yours - that’s the power of being a freelancer!