The Retainer Builder: Recurring Revenue for Service Pros

Two numbers change everything. First: your real floor rate — target pay plus overhead over the hours you can actually bill. In the worked example it's $97.83, and the $75 the consultant charges "because it feels safe" quietly ends the year $23,100 short. Second: coverage — with three retainer tiers priced from the floor and seven clients signed, $6,975 a month is committed against the $5,600 the month must produce. The month is paid before it starts. Projects become profit, not survival.

How it works

• Your Real Rate — five honest inputs → billable capacity and the floor rate below which busier means poorer
• The Retainer Menu — three tiers you rename and resize, priced from the floor and rounded for a menu, with a capacity check that flags when retainers pass 85% of your month
• The Cliff Test — committed revenue vs your monthly cliff, a plain verdict, and what the fully-sold month looks like
• Scope, Terms & The Pitch — a retainer is purchased availability, not discounted hours: the one-month rollover rule, the 80% heads-up, the pitch to a project client you already serve ("I only carry [N] of these seats"), and the upgrade conversation framed as protection

Built for

Bookkeepers · marketers and social media managers · designers and developers · VAs · consultants and coaches — anyone whose income arrives in lumps.

What you get

One .xlsx file, five tabs, instant download. Excel, Google Sheets, Apple Numbers, LibreOffice. No macros, no subscription. Tiers, hours, adjustments and mixes all editable.