Retainer agreement template
A retainer agreement is a standing arrangement in which a client pays a set fee each month for your time or your availability: a block of design hours, ongoing IT support, a marketing adviser on call. This one is written for agencies, consultants and freelancers. Read it below, set your monthly terms, then send it to your client to sign.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 3 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Client
- Provider (you)
Retainer Agreement
This Retainer Agreement (the "Agreement") is made on Agreement date between Provider business name (the "Provider") and Client business name (the "Client").
1. Retained services
Each month, the Provider will be available to perform these services for the Client (the "Services"): Retained services
Larger projects, such as Work quoted separately, are not part of the retainer and will be quoted separately.
2. Monthly fee and hours
The Client will pay a retainer of Monthly retainer fee a month, which covers up to Hours included per month hours of Services. The fee is due whether or not the Client uses all of the hours, because it reserves the Provider's time.
3. Unused hours
Unused hours carry over to the following month only, up to a maximum of Maximum rollover hours hours, and expire if they are not used in that month. Carried-over hours have no cash value and are not refunded when this Agreement ends.
4. Extra hours
Hours beyond those included are billed at Overage hourly rate an hour. The Provider will tell the Client before the included hours run out in a month, and will not go more than Extra hours without approval hours over them without the Client's approval, which may be given by email.
5. Invoicing
The Provider will invoice the monthly fee in advance on day Invoice day of the month of each month, and any extra hours for the previous month at the same time. Invoices are due within Days to pay days. If an invoice is more than Days overdue before pausing days overdue, the Provider may pause the Services until it is paid.
6. Priority and response
The Provider will acknowledge the Client's requests within Response time during its business hours (Business hours and time zone), will schedule the work promptly, and will give the Client's requests priority over work for clients without a retainer.
7. Monthly report
Within the first Days to send the report business days of each month, the Provider will send the Client a summary of the hours used in the previous month and the tasks they were spent on.
8. Term, notice and rate changes
This Agreement starts on Start date and has a minimum term of Minimum term in months months. After the minimum term, it continues month to month until either party ends it with Days of notice days' written notice. If the Client ends it during the minimum term, the fees for the rest of the minimum term remain due. The Provider may change its rates after the minimum term by giving at least Rate change notice days days' written notice.
9. Ownership
Once the Client has paid for it, the Client owns the work the Provider creates for it under this Agreement. The Provider keeps its tools, templates and know-how, and may use the general skills and knowledge it gains from the work for other clients.
10. Confidentiality
Each party will keep the other's non-public business information confidential and use it only for this Agreement, both while it is in effect and for two years after it ends.
11. Independent business and limits
The Provider is an independent business, responsible for its own taxes, staff and tools, and may work for other clients. Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential losses, and the Provider's total liability is limited to the fees paid in the Liability cap in months months before the claim.
12. General
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the state of State and is the whole agreement about the retainer. Changes must be in writing and signed by both parties. Electronic signatures count as original signatures.
Client billing contact: Billing contact Email: Billing email
For the Client
For the Provider
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
Two kinds of retainer
Most retainers are one of two types. In a work retainer, the client buys a block of hours each month and you track time against it. In an availability retainer, the client pays to have you on call and first in line, with the work itself billed separately or included up to a limit. This template is built on the first, and covers the second through its priority response clause.
Lawyers' retainers are a different animal. Legal fee agreements and client trust funds are governed by state bar rules, and this template isn't written for them.
What the template covers
- Retained services: the kinds of work the retainer covers, and examples of projects that are quoted separately.
- Monthly fee and hours: what the client pays, and how many hours it buys.
- Unused hours: they roll over one month only, up to a cap you set, or expire if you set the cap to zero.
- Extra hours: the overage rate, and a limit on going over without the client's OK.
- Billing in advance: the fee is invoiced at the start of each month, extra hours afterwards.
- Priority: your response time and business hours for retainer requests.
- Monthly report: a summary of hours used and what they went on.
- Minimum term, notice and rate changes: a commitment period, how either side ends it, and notice before rates rise.
Mistakes to avoid
- Unlimited rollover. Hours that pile up for months become a debt you owe in your busiest week. Cap rollover or let hours expire.
- No reporting. Clients cancel retainers when they can't see what they paid for. Send a short summary every month.
- Billing in arrears. A retainer is paid up front; billing after the work turns it into a slow invoice.
- Doing project work inside a retainer. A website rebuild will swallow six months of hours. Quote big projects separately.
- Raising rates without notice. Give a set notice period, at least a month, and put it in the agreement.
Offer a pause rather than a cancellation
Clients often cancel a retainer in a slow quarter. Offering a one-month pause can keep the relationship alive until the work picks up again: add the sentence under section 8 with a Text box from the editor's Markup tools, and every copy you send carries it.
How to send it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the template
Choose Use this template above. It opens with the client signing first and you countersigning.
- 2
Set the monthly terms
Fill the gray blanks: retained services, fee, hours included, rollover cap, overage rate, response time, minimum term and notice periods.
- 3
Send it with your welcome note
The client fills in their billing contact and signs on any device, without creating an account.
- 4
Start the clock
When both of you have signed, the PDF lands in both inboxes. Invoice the first month from your billing tool; SignMaster doesn't take payments.
- 5
Renew on time
Note the end of the minimum term. A month before, send a renewal with any new rate from the same template, with reminders switched on.
Changing terms for every retainer client
Moving all your retainer clients to new rates in January? Send each an updated agreement in one batch with bulk send, with each client's monthly fee and hours in spreadsheet columns named after the gray blanks, so every client signs a copy showing their own numbers. On a paid plan, the Responses tab then lists every client's billing contact in one table.
Questions? Answers.
What's the difference between a retainer and a regular contract?
A regular contract pays for a defined project. A retainer pays for ongoing time or availability each month, usually with a minimum term.
Do unused retainer hours roll over?
Only if the agreement says so. This template rolls unused hours into the next month only, up to the cap you set; enter zero and they expire at the end of each month.
Is a retainer fee refundable?
Under this template, the monthly fee pays for that month and isn't refunded. Fees for the rest of the minimum term stay due if the client leaves early. Legal and some regulated fees follow different rules.
Can either side end a retainer early?
After the minimum term, either side can end it with the notice period you set. During the minimum term, the client still owes the remaining months unless you agree otherwise.