Retainers (Client Engagements)Pro

A retainer is a long-running agreement with a client — not a one-off quote or invoice. It captures a rate, an optional hour quota per week or month, and a billing arrangement that recurs with no fixed end date. Find them in the sidebar under Billing → Retainers.

1. 1
   Select Retainers in the sidebar (under Billing) → New Retainer
2. 2
   Pick the client and give it a name
3. 3
   Choose the topic whose tracked time counts toward this retainer
4. 4
   Set the hourly rate and (optionally) a quota in hours per week/month
5. 5
   Choose the billing model, period, and billing mode
6. 6
   Click Create engagement

• Fixed — a set fee each period regardless of hours.
• Metered — the period's tracked time (on the topic) billed at the rate.
• Hybrid — the fixed fee up to the quota, plus an overage rate beyond it.

When a billing period closes, the retainer can either bill for you or just nudge you:

• Auto-draft invoice — a draft invoice is created automatically each period (numbering, credit notes, and analytics all apply as usual). You still review and send it.
• Remind me to bill — no invoice is created; you get an email when the period closes with the suggested amount, and you bill when you're ready.

Open a retainer to see everything about it at a glance:

• Contract status — whether a contract is attached and, once signed, who signed it and when.
• Next billing and last billed dates — when the next invoice or reminder is due, and when the retainer last billed.
• Quota progress — hours tracked against the quota for the current period.
• Invoice history — every invoice this retainer has generated, with its date, reference, status, and amount. Click any row to open the invoice.

Attach a contract to a retainer from its detail page. There are two ways to do it:

• Sign with TeeckIn — upload the contract PDF and create a sign link. Share it with your client; they review and sign it on a simple page (typed or drawn signature). TeeckIn stamps a signature certificate (signer, date, IP, document hash) onto the PDF.
• Already signed elsewhere — if the contract was signed outside TeeckIn (another e-signature service, or pen and paper), just upload the already-signed PDF. It's stored as the contract of record — no sign link, no ceremony.