[Hidden-tech] Retainer Fees?

[Rich]

Personally I find retainer clients are the best of the bunch, since I 
use a retainer arrangement
with the long term clients with various projects that are ongoing -- 
they get a volume, reduced rate
(maybe 10% - it varies) and we get the agreed retainer the first of the 
month.

The retainer is a guaranteed minimum for our extra attention to their 
projects and our assured
availability -- we then bill for agreed projects above and beyond the 
retainer.  This is especially
appropriate where you do some steady repeating work each month.  We 
determine the retainer
based on a multi-month average on the repeating work and the overall 
billings. 

Jeanne Yocum wrote:
> One other suggestion I thought of after I wrote my original response on this
> topic is that I expect retainer clients to pay in less than 30 days.  Thus,
> to receive a retainer on the first of the month, I bill them 10 to 15 days
> in advance and specify that the payment is due on the first of the month
> being covered by the retainer.
>
> When the retainer comes in around the first, I've already got their money in
> the bank for the coming month.  I think this is a fairly common way to do
> it, but I just thought I'd add it in for the folks who haven't done retainer
> billing before.  I have never had a client say they weren't willing to pay
> within a shorter time frame as part of the retainer arrangement.

-- 
Rich Roth
CEO On-the-net

Bringing you complex online systems since the net was young
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