Question

Topic: Other

Increasing A Retainer For An Individual Month

Posted by Anonymous on 2/28/2010 at 5:17 PM ET 25 Points
A little background: I currently have a client on a 6 month retainer who has been getting a slight discount for offering me work security for a set number of months. I charge my regular fee for any hours that are worked in addition to the pre-defined days per month. I also allow the client to increase the number of retained days at any given time, but if they do so it must stay increased for the duration of the retainer contract.

My issue: The client apparently misunderstood or did not read the contract and is saying that they wanted to increase the number of retained days at any time for any individual month and only for that individual month. I think this just gives them a way to pay me less money by simply assessing what their needs will be at the start of every month. I'm confused, am I missing something or is this client trying to take advantage of me?

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RESPONSES

  • Posted on 2/28/2010 at 10:06 PM Author
    Thanks for your response Randall.

    The contract that was signed was a 6 month retainer contract. At the end of the 6 months a new retainer contract can be negotiated based on the clients needs.

    The reason I thought the contract should be locked into the increased rate is because I don't want the client to assess their needs every month and simply get a discount for doing so. If they decide that they need more hours then they can determine whether they will need the increase for the rest of the 6 month commitment. Otherwise they can simply pay my normal rate for any hours over the retained days.
  • Posted by steven.alker on 3/1/2010 at 7:39 AM Member
    Isn’t it also possible that your client is reverting to good old fashioned negotiating? Terms, conditions, values and quantity should always be under review and your client may just feel that he needs do ensure that he is getting the best value for money for his firm.

    It’s an odd thing that if both of you do not proceed through strong negotiations carried out in a professional manner, you can both end up feeling that they could have got a better deal. You will be nursing a suspicion that you could have got more at a higher price and he will be wondering in he’d pushed harder, he might have won more concessions.

    I’d go largely with what Randall has said, but be prepared to re-open the negotiations for more work at the right price in a professional manner. If you just roll over on this point, he’ll take more liberties the next time. It might be that you end up at the same position as he is seeking at the moment, but at least then you’ll both know that it is the deal you both wanted to strike.

    Best wishes

    Steve Alker
    Xspirt
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 3/1/2010 at 10:34 AM Accepted
    Why not give the client a single opportunity to ratchet your retainer hours once during the initial 6-month period? Let them drive the # of hours up (or down) but then they have to live with this number for the rest of the period. That allows them to customize the situation and also to avoid having a monthly ratchet.
  • Posted on 3/9/2010 at 3:08 PM Author
    Jay - I agree with your response. I would agree with making negotiations as Randall was referring to, but we were past the negotiation phase and the client had already signed and agreed to these terms. However, I worked out a deal with them and we are both satisfied.

    Thanks.
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