Sell a retainer to a client
A retainer is an agreement for hours up front. You can sell one from a plan in your catalogue, which Stripe then renews and charges automatically, or type one in by hand for a client you bill some other way.
Everything here is on the client page, Overview tab, in the Hours card. Only Admins and the Owner (shown as Portal admin in the app for now) see these buttons, and they're hidden for clients set to Hourly only.
Sell a plan
You need Stripe connected and at least one published plan in the client's currency and tier. See Set up plans, bundles and tiers.
- Click Sell a plan.
- Pick the plan.
- Choose how they pay: - Charge card on file — starts the plan now on the client's default card. Available only if they have one under Payment methods on the same tab. See Keep a client's card on file. - Payment request — gives you a Stripe link to send them. Nothing is charged and no retainer exists until they complete it. The link works for about a day.
The hours arrive when the first payment clears, not when the plan is created. A card is usually instant; a bank debit can take up to four business days. While money is on its way, the Hours card shows Awaiting payment, and you can click Release hours now to add the hours without waiting. They aren't added a second time when the payment lands.
Clients can also subscribe themselves from their portal. See Buy more hours.
From here you can put a client on a second plan while one is already running, and both renew. From their portal a client can only hold one plan.
Change plan
Click the arrows icon next to the retainer, pick the new plan, then choose when:
- Now — only for a bigger plan that costs more. The client is invoiced the full difference in price today, and the extra hours arrive when that invoice is paid. The period doesn't restart, so the dialog shows when those hours expire and warns you if that's soon.
- At renewal — nothing is charged or changes until the next renewal. A smaller plan can only start this way, so the client keeps the hours they already have for this period.
A change booked for the renewal shows under the retainer; click Keep current plan to call it off.
Stop a plan
Click the pencil next to the retainer, then Stop renewing. The plan ends at the end of the current period, and the hours already bought stay until they expire. Keep renewing undoes it.
While Stripe renews a retainer, its name is the only thing you can edit. Hours, price, billing and dates change only through Change plan.
If a renewal payment fails, the retainer shows Payment failed. Stripe retries on its own, and no new hours arrive until a payment goes through.
Add a retainer by hand
For a client you invoice outside Stripe, or an agreement you're bringing over:
- Click New retainer.
- Fill in Name, Hours, Price, Billing (or One-off) and Rollover. Starts and Ends are optional.
- Click Create retainer.
Creating a retainer adds no hours by itself, and a recurring one doesn't top itself up. Add each block with Add hours, choosing this retainer under Retainer. See How balances work.
Rollover on a retainer typed in by hand has no effect: each block of hours expires on the date you set under Expires when you add it.
Work dated outside Starts and Ends doesn't draw on the retainer; it bills as overage. End retainer marks the agreement over, but hours already added stay usable.
