Retainer Billing
Retainer Billing lets you collect funds upfront from a client and apply completed work against that balance over time.
Why it matters: For long-running or large-scope engagements, collecting a retainer at the start gives your firm a billing structure to apply work against — so you're not issuing one large invoice at the end of a months-long project.
Required: Access to Time & Billing Permissions
Table of Contents
Create a Retainer Bill
Go to Billing > Invoices.
Click Create Invoice > Retainer
Enter the client name or client group.
If using a client group, select a specific contact to receive the invoice.
Enter a firm-facing description for the Retainer bill.
Adjust the invoice date if needed.
Invoice date must be on or before the date the invoice is created.
Set the payment terms.
The due date updates automatically based on the terms you select.
Enter a line item description.
Enter the retainer amount.
Click Preview to review the invoice, then choose how to finalize:
Create & Send — finalizes the invoice and sends it to the Client Portal for the client to pay.
Create & Save — finalizes the invoice and makes it active for payment logging, without sending it to the Client Portal.
Save as Draft — saves without finalizing; see the next section.
After finalizing, the Retainer bill appears in Billing > Invoices with a unique Retainer Bill number, separate from standard invoice numbers.
Save a Retainer Bill as a Draft
Skip this section if you sent the invoice in the previous step.
You can save a Retainer Bill without sending it and return to it later.
Complete the Retainer Bill form as described above, then click Save as Draft instead of sending.
When you're ready to send, open Billing > Invoices > Retainer Bills.
Click the Retainer Bill ID to open the draft.
Click Preview, then Send.
📝 Note: WIP cannot be added to a Retainer Bill in Draft status. Send the retainer invoice first before adding time or expenses.
Summary
Retainer Bills are created from Billing > Invoices and sent to the client as a retainer invoice to collect funds upfront. Once sent, you can begin applying time and expenses against the retainer balance.
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