Retainer invoice
Retainer invoice example with extra hours billed in arrears
A retainer invoice bills a fixed monthly fee in advance and, where the client used more than the retainer covers, the extra time from the month before. This example from a Ballarat HR consultancy to an engineering firm bills the October retainer, three and a half extra September hours and a fixed fee investigation report, $4,627.50 plus GST.
The invoice, page by page
The invoice as the client downloads and prints it.
The pricing, line by line
- HR advisory retainer, October 2026
- 1 × $2,600.00
- Additional hours, September 2026
- 3.5 × $165.00
- Workplace investigation report
- 1 × $1,450.00
- Tax
- $462.75
- Total
- $5,090.25
Section by section
- Header
- The consultancy's name and contact details with invoice number FHR-1026.
- Bill to and dates
- The client's accounts payable contact, company, address and ABN, issued 1 October and due 15 October.
- Title
- Tax invoice, the retainer month and the supplier's ABN.
- Lines
- The October retainer, 3.5 extra September hours and a fixed fee report, all with GST.
- Totals
- Subtotal, GST, total and amount due.
- Notes and bank details
- What the retainer covers, the hours used and the time log date, then the account and reference.
How a retainer invoice is different
A retainer is paid for availability as much as for work: the client reserves a set number of hours a month and pays for them whether or not they are used. That is why the retainer is usually billed at the start of the month, in advance. Time used beyond the retainer cannot be known until the month ends, so it is billed in arrears on the next invoice. This example shows both, with the month in each line's name, and a fixed fee piece of work alongside. Putting the hours and the time log date in the notes means nobody has to reconstruct the month from emails when the invoice is approved.
How the amounts add up
The October retainer is $2,600 before GST. September used 19.5 hours against 16 included, so 3.5 hours are billed at $165, $577.50. The workplace investigation report is a fixed $1,450. The subtotal is $4,627.50, GST is $462.75 and the total is $5,090.25. The invoice was issued on 1 October with 14 day terms, due 15 October, and uses the standard reminder preset: reminders 3 days before the due date, on the day, and 3, 7 and 14 days after if it is unpaid. The quantity of 3.5 shows that hours can be billed in fractions.
How to adapt this invoice
Name each line with its month. Say how many hours the retainer includes and how many were used, and refer to the log the client already has. Bill one off work as a separate fixed fee line, with the date it was agreed. There are no recurring invoices in the product, so each month's retainer invoice is created and issued by hand; keeping the same line names with the month changed makes them easy to compare. Make sure the retainer arrangement itself is written down before you invoice it, including what happens to unused hours.
What makes this invoice work
Advance and arrears are on separate lines
The October retainer is billed in advance and the September overage in arrears, each on its own line with its month in the name. The client's accounts team can see what is a fixed cost and what varied, and which month each belongs to.
Extra hours trace to a log
The extra line is 3.5 hours at $165, and the notes say 19.5 hours were used against 16 included, from the time log sent on 30 September. The overage is checkable rather than a number the client has to trust.
One off work is fixed and dated
The investigation report is a fixed $1,450 agreed on 9 September and completed on 26 September. Keeping it outside the retainer hours stops one big piece of work from swallowing the month the client is paying for.
Questions people ask
What is a retainer invoice?
An invoice for a fixed fee a client pays to reserve a supplier's time for a period, usually monthly and in advance. It often also bills, in arrears, any time used beyond what the retainer covers. This example bills an October HR retainer in advance and 3.5 extra September hours.
Should a retainer be invoiced in advance or in arrears?
The retainer itself is usually invoiced in advance, because the client is paying to reserve the time. Extra hours beyond it are invoiced in arrears, once the month is over and the hours are known. This invoice does both, with the month written into each line.
How do I show extra hours on a retainer invoice?
As a separate line with the number of hours and the rate, referring to a log the client can check. This invoice bills 3.5 hours at $165 and its notes say 19.5 hours were used against 16 included, from the time log sent on 30 September.
Can I set up a recurring retainer invoice?
Not as an automatic recurring invoice in OneCraft; each month's invoice is created and issued, and reminders then run on the preset you choose. Many retainer suppliers prefer this anyway, because the arrears line for extra hours changes every month.
Does a retainer invoice need GST?
If the supplier is registered for GST and the services are taxable, yes, and it should be a tax invoice with the supplier's ABN. This one charges GST at 10% on all three lines, $462.75 in all, and shows the client's ABN because the total is over $1,000.
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