In this video, we'll show you how to plan, track, and invoice retainer projects in Scoro.

Retainers are long-term partnerships where a client pays a fixed sum for a set number of hours or deliverables each period. While you enjoy a predictable revenue stream and workload, your client secures a strategic partner to help them achieve long-term goals.

To set up a retainer in Scoro, simply toggle the switch to retainer when creating a new project.

Add retainer periods and budget based on the agreed contract.
For example, if you've signed an annual contract with monthly billing, choose 12 monthly periods.

To avoid overservicing, add the agreed monthly hours. This way, you can track estimated versus used time as your project progresses. To monitor your financial performance against estimates, add the fee you've agreed to invoice each period. If needed, you can also track costs and expenses to ensure you stay within the budget.

If you use a quote to agree on retainer contract terms, these budget fields will be automatically prefilled when you convert the quote into a project plan. Once saved, all the retainer periods are automatically created, and you can start planning activities. You can view all periods together or open a single billing period to run it like a mini project.

If you perform recurring activities each month, automate planning with task bundles. As your team logs time, you will see time and budget burndown in real-time.

If you need to roll over unused hours to the next period or borrow time from future periods, you can modify each period's targets. Adjust the affected periods as needed, and notice how their goals change.
To ensure a healthy cash flow and automate billing, set up scheduled invoices. This way, an invoice for each period will be automatically generated.

You can always adjust its data before sending it to the customer. For example, add a row for overtime to ensure all your work gets invoiced.
To recap, you can manage the entire retainer lifecycle in Scoro.
Use a quote to agree on contract terms. Set up retainer project periods and budget.

Track retainer progress by period and automate invoicing to ensure every bit of your work gets billed.