Retainer

What it is#

Your retainer balance for the period you are in. One card per active retainer, each with the period's dates, a headline figure for what is left, a bar, and the three numbers that make it up.

It exists so that "how much do we have left this month" is a question you can answer yourself.

How to get there#

Retainer in the sidebar. Like invoices, it exists only for primary and billing contacts — a balance is money.

How to use it#

Read a card#

1. The name of the retainer, and the period's start and end dates.
2. The headline says how much is left, or — when you have gone past the allowance — how much you are over.
3. The bar underneath fills as the period is consumed.
4. The row below breaks it down: the allowance for the period, anything carried in from last time when there is some, and how much has been used.

Read the units#

1. A retainer is measured either in money or in hours, and the figures follow whichever it is. An hours retainer shows hours, not a currency amount.

What it affects#

Nothing. This screen reports; it changes nothing and notifies nobody.

On mobile#

The phone app has a retainer screen, but nothing in the app's navigation points at it — in practice you check the balance in a browser.

Limits and gotchas#

• Only approved work is counted. Time that has been logged but not yet approved is not in the figure, on purpose — it is not a number your supplier has stood behind yet.
• Paused and ended retainers are not shown; only active ones.
• The balance is recomputed as you read it, so it cannot be stale.
• The rules behind the number — what happens to unused balance, what happens when you go over — are in your contract rather than on this screen.
• A retainer whose period window does not cover today simply does not appear.

Related#

• Invoices — what has actually been billed.
• Change orders — changes to the agreed value.