Retainers that don't quietly run over
Set up rolling or fixed-term retainers, see hours used against each month's allowance, and get asked before a contract ends.
Found out at renewal
Retainer hours drift. A few extra here, a quick favour there, and by the end of the quarter the client’s had far more than they pay for.
Usually nobody notices until the renewal conversation, when it’s too late to do anything but absorb it.
In Rofinery, a retainer is a proposal like any other, so its hours are tracked from the first day.
Retainers you can see into
From the first month to the renewal.
Rolling or fixed-term
Set a retainer to roll month to month, or to run for a set number of months from a start date. The monthly fee comes from the line items, or from a fixed fee you set.
Hours against the monthly allowance
The allowance is the hours in the retainer's line items. The performance screen shows each month's hours against it, and a pace card says whether you're ahead or behind for today.
A weekly email you can act on
Switch on the weekly retainer summary and project managers get a list of their retainers, marked over, on track or under, worst first. Choose the day and time, and copy in up to 10 people.
Asked before it ends
Switch on retainer reminders and the project manager is asked when a fixed-term retainer ends. They're reminded by email and in the app, up to 365 days before.
The details
What keeps a retainer on track.
Billable and linked hours
The weekly email splits billable from non-billable time, and flags time that isn't linked to the retainer
Month by month
Look at any single month of a retainer on the proposal and performance screens
Renewals
Approve a new term and the reminder resets for the new end date
Project end date
Approving a fixed-term retainer sets the project's end date
Revenue each month
Rolling retainers add their value to the profitability report each month
Hours from real work
Hours come from time logged against the retainer's tasks
Questions about retainers
No. The allowance is the total hours in the retainer's line items, so it always matches what you priced.
The project managers of approved retainers, plus up to 10 people you copy in. People copied in only see the rows they're allowed to.
Approve a new fixed-term retainer proposal and the reminder resets, so the project manager is asked about the new end date.
Keep retainers profitable
Or see what feeds the retainer figures.