Retainer Management & Billing

Keep every client retainer reconciled and invoiced on time, without manual spreadsheet juggling.

40 hrs
Time saved/month
11
Companies have mapped
Map This Automation

About This Automation

Retainer billing requires pulling logged hours, checking them against contracted scope, and calculating any overage before an invoice can go out. Doing this by hand for every client each month invites errors, slow turnaround, and inconsistent scope explanations.

An automated version pulls hours, compares them to scope, drafts the invoice with adjustments applied, and routes it for approval and delivery. Payment tracking and reconciliation happen without manual follow-up, so invoices go out faster and stay accurate.

Key features
Pulls logged hours automatically from the time tracking system for each billing period
Compares hours against contracted retainer scope and flags overage or underage
Drafts the invoice with the base fee and any scope adjustment already applied
Routes the draft for internal approval before it reaches the client
Delivers the approved invoice with a scope summary to the client
Tracks payment due dates and reconciles incoming payments automatically

How The Automation Works

The full workflow, from trigger to completion.

1. Time Tracking Data Closestrigger

Sends the closed billing period's logged hours to the automation platform for reconciliation.

2. Reconciliation Drafts Invoice

The Retainer Reconciliation compares logged hours to the client's scope, flags any overage, and creates a draft invoice.

3. Finance Manager Approves

Invoices that exceed the client's auto-send threshold are routed to the finance manager for a quick approve or reject.

4. Invoice Delivery Sends Invoice

Once approved or auto-cleared under threshold, the Invoice Delivery emails the invoice and logs it retainer tracker.

5. Payment Follow-up Sends Reminder

If the invoice is still unpaid after the due date, the Payment Follow-up sends a reminder email.

6. Reconcile Payment

Once payment lands, the automation platform marks the invoice paid and reconciles it against the bank feed.

4 reasons to map this process

1

It's completely free

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2

You get a complete build plan

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3

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Custom pricing, ROI projection, and payback timeline based on your actual process, not industry averages.

4

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Frequently asked questions

Everything you need to know before mapping this process.

This template is a starting point based on how other businesses handle this type of work. When you map your process, you describe exactly how your team does it and the automation is built around your workflow, not a generic template.

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Estimated Time Saving
40hrs/month
Process pain:7.8/10
Mapped by:11 Companies

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