Should my agency work on retainer or per project?
AgenciesContracts
Either can work, and many agencies do both. The legal point is that each needs different terms. A retainer is a monthly fee for an ongoing service, so the contract has to say what the fee covers each month and how either side ends it. Project work is a fixed scope for a fixed price, so the contract has to say what is delivered, when you get paid, and what happens when the client asks for more.
The structure that handles both
Sign one master services agreement with the client, covering the terms that never change: payment, ownership of the work, confidentiality, liability and termination. Then add a statement of work for each retainer or project, covering scope, deliverables, fees and dates. A new project becomes a new two-page statement of work, not a new contract and another round with the client's legal team.
What a retainer needs
- What the monthly fee buys, in hours or in deliverables.
- What happens to unused hours: they roll over, or they expire.
- The rate for work beyond the retainer.
- A notice period to end it, commonly 30 days.
What project work needs
- A list of deliverables and the number of revision rounds.
- Payment tied to milestones, with a deposit up front.
- A change order process: new requests are priced and agreed in writing before you start them.
- When the work counts as accepted, so a client cannot hold the final payment open forever.
What to do
- Put every client on a master services agreement.
- Write each retainer or project as its own statement of work.
- Define the retainer by hours or deliverables, never just "ongoing support".
- Never start extra work without a signed change order.
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Written by the lawyers who built Arabella. This is legal information, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. For a real dispute or a high-stakes decision, talk to a licensed attorney. More questions.