Swapped to flat rate billing after losing $3k on a retainer client last spring

I used to do monthly retainers for everyone... figured it was steady income. Then last March I had a client in Phoenix who barely sent any work for 6 weeks but still expected unlimited revisions when they finally did. I ran the numbers and realized I lost about $3k on that one account. Now I do flat rate project fees with strict scope outlines and it's been way cleaner. Has anyone else had a client completely abuse a retainer like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

derek_brown285d ago

Hold up, I gotta push back on this a bit. Flat rate projects with strict scope sounds good on paper but I've seen way more blowups from that than retainers. You're basically asking for scope creep lawsuits and clients hiding work until they hit a milestone. Retainers are supposed to be about trust and flexibility, not a rigid transaction. That one bad apple in Phoenix shouldn't ruin the whole model for you. Maybe the problem was your retainer contract wasn't clear enough about what "unlimited" means or how to handle slow periods. I've had clients on retainer for years and the key is setting boundaries upfront, not switching to a system that punishes everyone for one bad experience.

parker_jones505d ago

Bullshit, man. You're acting like every client operates in good faith and they don't. That Phoenix guy didn't have a bad contract, he had bad intentions. He knew exactly what he was doing when he sat on the work for weeks then dumped it all at once demanding every revision under the sun. Flat rate projects with a hard scope ain't punishing honest clients, it's protecting yourself from the ones who treat your time like it's free. Retainers might work for you if you've got clients who actually respect the deal, but for a lot of us they're a ticking time bomb where you're the one holding the bag. Stop pretending everyone plays fair just because your situation worked out.