How to write a retainer proposal (with a sample)

A retainer proposal asks a client to agree a fixed monthly fee for a defined amount of work. To write one that holds up after the first month, settle six things on paper: the fee, what it buys in hours or deliverables, what happens to unused time, the rate for work beyond it, the minimum term with its notice period, and how you report. This guide covers each one, then gives a filled-in sample with three levels and a template you can copy.

What a retainer proposal is, and what it is not

It is a sales document that asks a client to commit to a monthly arrangement. The binding terms usually sit in an agreement or terms of business signed with it; see the difference between a proposal, a quote and an estimate for which document promises what.

A retainer has no finish line, so the client reads it with different questions than a project proposal: what do we get each month, what happens to time we do not use, what does extra work cost, and how do we stop? The rest follows the usual order from the step-by-step method for a business proposal: the client's problem first, then scope, price and one next step. How the price section shifts between a marketing retainer, an SEO plan and a project with a care plan beside it is laid out in one proposal skeleton with the slots each trade changes.

Before you write: sell the idea on the call

Jonathan Stark, who writes about pricing for consultants, advises against selling the retainer concept inside the proposal. Explain how it works on a call, answer the questions, and send the proposal once the client agrees with the idea. A client who has never bought a retainer will worry about unused hours and lock-in, and a document is a poor place to answer worries.

On that call, find out:

• The recurring work, and how steady it is. Work that looks the same each month suits a fixed list of deliverables; work that arrives in bursts suits a bank of hours.
• Who asks and who approves. One named contact who gathers requests saves you from five people sending tasks.
• How they will judge it. What would make them renew: traffic, leads, response times, fewer emergencies?
• The monthly budget, and whether they think in quarters or in years.

Choose the type of retainer

Retainers come in four shapes. Pick one before you write: it decides what the fee section says.

For an agency retainer in marketing or content, the hybrid is usually the easiest to explain: the client sees what arrives each month, and you have room for small requests. When the retainer comes with a launch campaign and a bank of hours, a sample marketing proposal with all three priced apart shows how to keep the totals separate.

The six terms every retainer needs

1. The monthly fee

State one amount per month, excluding VAT, and when you invoice it. Invoice it in advance, at the start of the month: the fee pays for capacity you hold for this client, so it should not wait for the work to be done.

If the retainer starts with set-up work, such as an audit or a plan, price it as a separate one-off line, so the monthly fee is not inflated by work that happens once.

2. What the fee includes, and what it does not

Put a number on everything the fee buys: hours, articles, campaigns, reports, response times. The rules for counting deliverables and writing an out-of-scope list apply here too, only month by month.

I want a client to feel that nothing is missing from what they get each month, and I write down just as clearly what is not in it. For a retainer, the usual candidates for the out-of-scope list are ad spend, paid tools and licences, photography, translation and anything that is really a project, such as a redesign.

3. Rollover: what happens to unused hours

Expect questions about this term. There are three common answers:

A capped rollover is the safest default. Whatever you choose, also say what happens to banked hours when the retainer ends.

4. The overage rate

Extra requests will come, so I state the rate for work beyond the retainer in the proposal itself: the client should know what extra work costs before they ask for it. Also say that you quote larger requests before you start, the way you would price a change request on a project.

If you have not set that rate yet, start from a day rate that covers your costs and leaves a margin. Add a rule for a client who keeps going over: after a few months in a row above the retainer, you propose the next level up instead of billing overage each month.

5. Minimum term and notice

A minimum term covers the start-up weeks, when you learn the client's business and deliver less than you will later. After it, let the retainer run month to month with a notice period from either side, and say when the fee may be reviewed. Offer a longer term as a choice with a lower monthly fee, rather than forcing it on everyone.

6. Reporting and review

Say what the client receives each month: hours used, deliverables shipped and the results you agreed to track. Add a quarterly review of whether the retainer is the right size. Without reporting, a retainer starts to look like a cost with no output.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. For your situation, ask a lawyer or accountant.

Price it as three levels

Monthly retainer pricing works well as three levels, for the same reasons that good, better, best options work for projects: the client chooses between your levels instead of comparing you with someone else.

I don't guess what a client can afford. I put the premium level in the proposal and let them choose it, because deciding for the client that they can only take the basic version is a mistake.

Four rules keep the levels honest:

• The middle level is your recommendation. Say so in one line, and build it first.
• Each step up adds something the client can count: more hours, more deliverables, a call or a workshop.
• The rate per hour falls a little as the level rises. That rewards a larger commitment; it is not a discount given under pressure.
• The overage rate is the same for every level. It sits above all of them, so going over is never cheaper than moving up.

To set the fee, multiply the hours a level needs by your rate, then check it against what the work is worth to the client. If the two are far apart, change what the level includes, not the rate.

A sample agency retainer, filled in

Below is a short sample for a fictional client. The companies, people and amounts are made up: replace them with your own.

Example

Cover. Fernhill Garden Centres: steady search traffic before the spring season. Retainer proposal for Ana Costa, marketing lead. Prepared by Harbour Content, 21 October 2026.

Summary. Fernhill publishes when someone has time, so the site goes quiet before its busiest months. We propose a monthly content and SEO retainer from 1 December 2026: articles every month, technical fixes and a monthly report, with a review each quarter. We recommend Growth at €2,880 a month excluding VAT, after a one-off onboarding of €1,200.

What each level costs per month.

Each month (excl. VAT)	Starter	Growth (recommended)	Scale
Strategy, report and call	€250	€480	€660
Articles written and published	€875	€1,800	€2,640
SEO and technical fixes	€375	€600	€1,100
Total per month	€1,500	€2,880	€4,400

What each level includes.

	Starter	Growth	Scale
Hours included	12	24	40
Articles a month	2	4	6
Rate per hour	€125	€120	€110
Unused hours that roll over, one month only	Up to 3	Up to 6	Up to 10

Not included. Ad spend and paid campaign management, photography, translation, website redesign. Paid tools are billed at cost, only if you ask us to buy them.

Extra work. €135 an hour excluding VAT, quoted and approved by you in writing before we start. If extra work goes beyond the retainer three months in a row, we will propose the next level instead.

Term and notice. Minimum term of six months from 1 December 2026. After that the retainer runs month to month, and either side can end it with one calendar month's notice. Rolled-over hours lapse when the retainer ends. The fee is reviewed once a year, with two months' written notice of any change. Optional: commit for twelve months and pay €2,736 a month for Growth instead of €2,880, a saving of €1,728 over the year.

Growth over the minimum term.

Item	Type	Amount (excl. VAT)
Onboarding: audit and three-month content plan	One-off	€1,200
Growth retainer, six months at €2,880	Monthly	€17,280
Total over the minimum term		€18,480

Invoicing. Onboarding is invoiced on signing. The monthly fee is invoiced in advance on the first working day of each month and is due within 14 days. VAT is added at the rate that applies.

Next step. This proposal is valid until 20 November 2026. Pick a level and sign on the last page, and we will book the onboarding workshop for the first week of December.

The sample settles every question before the client has to ask it: where the money goes, unused hours, extra work, the term and the exit. The one-off onboarding never mixes with the monthly fee.

A retainer template you can copy

Use this skeleton for your next retainer. Fill in the levels and the terms first, and write the summary last.

Template

Cover: [Client]: [the monthly outcome in a few words]. Retainer proposal for [name, role]. [Your company], [date].

Summary: [Client] needs [ongoing outcome] because [problem in their words]. We propose a monthly retainer from [start date] covering [type of work]. We recommend [level] at [fee] a month excluding VAT[, after a one-off set-up of [amount]].

Each level, per month: [Level name]: [hours] hours, [deliverable with a number], [deliverable with a number], [report or call], [fee]. Repeat for each level and mark the one you recommend.

Not included: [item], [item], [third-party costs and how you bill them].

Unused hours: Up to [number] unused hours roll over to the next month only; the rest lapse. Banked hours lapse when the retainer ends.

Extra work: [rate] per hour excluding VAT, quoted and approved in writing before we start. If extra work goes beyond the retainer [number] months in a row, we will propose the next level.

Requests and reporting: [Who sends requests, and how quickly you respond.] Each month you receive [hours used, deliverables, the results you track]; every [period] we review the size of the retainer.

Term and notice: Minimum term of [number] months from [date], then month to month with [notice period] notice from either side. [Optional: commit for [number] months at [lower fee] a month.] The fee is reviewed [when], with [notice] written notice.

Invoicing: Set-up on signing. Monthly fee in advance on [day], due within [number] days. VAT added at the rate that applies.

Next step: Choose a level and sign by [date]. This proposal is valid until [date].

Mistakes that sink a retainer

• "Unlimited" or "as needed". Words without an edge turn every month into a negotiation.
• No rule for unused hours. The first quiet month becomes an argument.
• No overage rate. Small favours pile up unbilled, and charging for them later feels like a price rise.
• Set-up work folded into the monthly fee. The fee looks too high in month one and too low by month six.
• Forgetting costs that start later. When a retainer follows a project, I put its monthly cost in the project proposal, so the client does not meet it for the first time after launch.

Checklist before you send

• The client agreed to the idea of a retainer on a call.
• Every level counts its hours or deliverables, and one is recommended.
• There is an out-of-scope list, with third-party costs named.
• The rollover rule, the overage rate, the minimum term and the notice period are written down.
• One-off set-up costs sit on their own line.
• There is one next step and a validity date.

How Propozit helps

Propozit has an engagement template for a retainer, and you set your own standard for it: default products, texts in four languages, the schedule, deals and cases, so every retainer starts from the same terms. A retainer with two or more plans asks the client to pick one, with the totals updating as they choose; see how plan choices and live totals work.

You can add deals, such as a lower monthly fee for a longer commitment, plus payment plans the client picks, due days and your extra-work rate, which the terms slide states for you. Propozit for marketing agencies shows how retainers, campaigns and hour bundles sit side by side. The client signs in the deck, drawn or typed, and both sides get a signed PDF. Propozit does not invoice the monthly fee; that stays in your accounting tool.

Propozit is in early access and free to start.