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Fill in your fees, hours, term, and renewal terms — get a clean, ready-to-send retainer agreement in seconds. Download it as a PDF, or copy and go.
Used for headings in your agreement.
One service per line.
One item per line. This is what you point back to when scope creeps.
Per hour, beyond the included allotment.
Monthly retainer: $4,500/month
Included hours: 20 hours/month
Unused hours do not roll over and expire at the end of each month. Hours beyond the monthly allotment are billed at $200/hour.
Initial term: 3 months, starting August 3, 2026.
After the initial 3-month term, this agreement automatically renews monthly until either party cancels.
Either party may cancel with 30days' written notice. Client remains responsible for fees covering the notice period.
Due on the 1st of each month, in advance.
Both parties agree to keep confidential information shared during this engagement private, and not to disclose it to third parties without written consent.
Jordan Reyes Consulting — Date: _______________
Acme Manufacturing — Date: _______________
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This template is a starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it before you rely on it for a real engagement.
How this works
A solid retainer agreement covers six things: the services covered, the monthly fee and included hours, what happens to unused hours, the initial term and renewal terms, how either party can cancel, and payment terms. Leaving the renewal and cancellation terms vague is where most retainer disputes start.
Either approach is common. "Use it or lose it" is simpler to administer and protects your time from stacking up as unbilled debt. Rolling over (usually capped at one extra month) is more client-friendly and can help close the sale, but track it carefully so it doesn't quietly turn into a large unpaid balance.
30 days is the most common default — long enough to protect your revenue planning and let the client wind down or transition, short enough that clients don't feel locked in. Shorter (14 days) is reasonable for smaller retainers; longer (60-90 days) is more common for larger, more embedded engagements.
Auto-renewing month-to-month after an initial term (often 3 months) is the standard structure for ongoing retainer work — it avoids re-negotiating a new contract every quarter. A fixed end date makes more sense when the retainer is really a bounded project in disguise, or when you want a natural checkpoint to revisit pricing.
A proposal pitches a specific piece of work and gets a client to say yes. A retainer agreement is the ongoing contract that governs the ongoing relationship after that — fees, hours, renewal, and cancellation terms for work that continues indefinitely rather than ending at a fixed deliverable.
This tool generates a clear, practical starting point, not a substitute for legal advice. It covers the terms that matter most in practice, but you should have a lawyer review the final agreement before using it for a real client relationship, especially for larger engagements or in regulated industries.
The moment this is signed, roll it straight into an active engagement — hours, renewals, and billing tracked automatically.