Setting up a retainer is simple. Using the left menu, navigate to the Retainers menu item located under Clients. Once there, click on Add Retainer as shown in the image below. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_26_27_11_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit">Once you click on +Add Retainer, the Add Client Retainer modal will appear. Using this modal:<ol class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__ol1"><li value="1" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Select the client you wish to assign the retainer to by clicking on the Select Client drop-down.</li><li value="2" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Next, enter the amount of the retainer in the Retainer Amount cell.</li><li value="3" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">In the Form of Payment, enter the type of payment used by the client to pay for the retainer.</li></ol> **If your client is paying you with a credit card, you may select ‘credit card’ as the form of payment. The credit card modal will appear and you will have the ability to charge the client’s credit card for the retainer purchase. Once a retainer has been added to a client, this amount will be used as a bank towards future invoices. This simply means that moving forward, BILLWAZE will use the Retainer Balance as a bank to automatically pay off new invoices posted to the account, - on a post tax basis. This process will continue until the retainer balance is depleted. BILLWAZE maintains a Retainer History Log for all transactions. If you wish to view this log, you may do so using the following ways: <ol class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__ol1"><li value="1" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Report Card - on the top left of your screen, type or select the name of the client. Next click on the ‘Retainer Balance’ amount. See Example A.</li><li value="2" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Retainers Module - using the left menu navigate to Clients-&gt;Retainers. Click on the ‘Current Balance’ amount for the client you wish to view. See Example B. Click on History Log on the top right portion of this screen. Note - This option will show the entire history log for all clients. You can sort based on a per column basis by clicking on the column header. See Example C.</li><li value="3" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Invoice - When viewing an invoice, click on the “View History” log on the top right of the invoice. See Example D.</li></ol> <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_33_03_78_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Retainer functionality example: Consider the following. Using the previously said example, you add a new client called “ACME Inc”. You negotiated an hourly rate of $80 for this client instead of your normal rate of $120/hour. In turn, ACME Inc agrees to a monthly retainer of $800 / month. ACME Inc hands you a check for $800 and you enter this retainer amount in the ‘Retainer” module. See Example E. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_34_24_84_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit">Next, you click on the balance amount to see the history log. See Example F. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_35_21_75_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit">Knowing that you successfully entered the retainer within the system, you generate three invoices for ACME Inc. The below screens will showcase the generations of those invoices and how the ‘Retainer’ functionality is applied each time until the balance is depleted. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_36_06_45_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 1- This is the first invoice you generate. As you can see in the red rectangle box, the entire invoice balance has been paid using the retainer. The functionality is that so long as the invoice amount is less than the retainer balance, the invoice will be paid off in full. We will now check to see how BILLWAZE maintains a log for this transaction and check on our retainer balance. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_37_23_39_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 2- We open up the invoice sent and click on the “View History” button on the top of the invoice. As shown, EZBILLING360 logged in the payment of $288.23 towards the invoice. In addition we can see the available ‘Retainer’ balance as well as the amount still due for this invoice. The amount due in this case is $0.00, since the system paid it off in full. Let’s continue to our second invoice. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_38_20_83_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 3- This is our second invoice. Notice that the entire balance is paid off again. This is because we still had sufficient retainer funds available. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_39_16_88_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 4- When we check the ‘History Log’ we see how the payment was handled for this invoice. We also see our retainer balance is now $36.73. The prior retainer balance was $511.77, subtract $475.04 to pay off invoice 00009, and we get to the $36.73 balance. In this next section, we will demonstrate how the retainer balance of $36.73 will be applied to our last invoice. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_40_20_23_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 5- Here you can see that BILLWAZE applied the retainer balance on a post-tax basis. In this case, the retainer balance was less than the invoice amount due and an open balance therefore remains. Let’s examine the history log. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_41_21_27_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 6- We immediately notice that the remaining ‘Retainer’ of $36.73 was subtracted from the Amount Due. We also see that the ‘Retainer Balance’ is now depleted. Lastly, we can see there is a balance due on this invoice of $379.60. Low Balance Notifications You can tell BILLWAZE to automatically send out “Low Balance” notification emails to your clients. You can access this directly within the company profile ‘Client E-Mail Notification Tab’ (Admin Settings-&gt; Company Profile) or via the custom profile ( Clients-&gt;Custom Profile ). See screen below: <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_43_23_28_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 7- Using these settings, you can switch notifications on or off, set the amount to use to identify sending out low balance reminders, as well as set the email recurrence pattern. Quick Notes<ul class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__ul"><li value="1" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Use Custom profiles if you wish to send out notifications only to certain clients.</li><li value="2" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Retainers are automatically applied to both Instant + Automated/Monthly Invoices.</li><li value="3" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">To add or subtract to a Retainer balance, navigate to the ‘Retainer’ menu item ( Clients-&gt;Retainer ). Next, to the right of the client you’re working with, click on the “Actions” menu and select either +Add or -Subtract.</li><li value="4" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Retainers work the same with Company and Custom profiles. BILLWAZE will always use the hourly rates applicable to the client being billed, and apply retainer balances to all future invoices so long as a positive retainer balance exists.</li></ul>

This article will describe how to setup a retainer as well as describe how it works.

Setting up a retainer is simple. Using the left menu, navigate to the****Retainers****menu item located under****Clients****. Once there, click on****Add Retainer**** as shown in the image below.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_26_27_11_PM.png)

Once you click on +****Add Retainer****, the****Add Client Retainer**** modal will appear.

****Using this modal:****

1. Select the client you wish to assign the retainer to by clicking on the****Select Client**** drop-down.
2. Next, enter the amount of the retainer in the****Retainer Amount**** cell.
3. In the****Form of Payment****, enter the type of payment used by the client to pay for the retainer.

\*\*If your client is paying you with a credit card, you may select ‘credit card’ as the form of payment. The credit card modal will appear and you will have the ability to charge the client’s credit card for the retainer purchase.

Once a retainer has been added to a client, this amount will be used as a bank towards future invoices. This simply means that moving forward, BILLWAZE will use the****Retainer Balance**** as a bank to automatically pay off new invoices posted to the account, - on a post tax basis. This process will continue until the retainer balance is depleted. BILLWAZE maintains a****Retainer History Log**** for all transactions. If you wish to view this log, you may do so using the following ways:

1. ****Report Card**** - on the top left of your screen, type or select the name of the client. Next click on the ‘Retainer Balance’ amount.****See Example A.****
2. ****Retainers Module**** - using the left menu navigate to Clients->Retainers. Click on the ‘Current Balance’ amount for the client you wish to view.****See Example B****. Click on****History Log**** on the top right portion of this screen.****Note**** - This option will show the entire history log for all clients. You can sort based on a per column basis by clicking on the column header.****See Example C****.
3. ****Invoice**** - When viewing an invoice, click on the “View History” log on the top right of the invoice.****See Example D****.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_33_03_78_PM.png)

****Retainer functionality example:****  
Consider the following. Using the previously said example, you add a new client called “ACME Inc”. You negotiated an hourly rate of $80 for this client instead of your normal rate of $120/hour. In turn, ACME Inc agrees to a monthly retainer of $800 / month. ACME Inc hands you a check for $800 and you enter this retainer amount in the ‘Retainer” module.  
****See Example E.****

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_34_24_84_PM.png)

Next, you click on the balance amount to see the history log.****See Example F.****

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_35_21_75_PM.png)

Knowing that you successfully entered the retainer within the system, you generate three invoices for ACME Inc. The below screens will showcase the generations of those invoices and how the ‘Retainer’ functionality is applied each time until the balance is depleted.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_36_06_45_PM.png)

****Screen 1****\- This is the first invoice you generate. As you can see in the red rectangle box, the entire invoice balance has been paid using the retainer. The functionality is that so long as the invoice amount is less than the retainer balance, the invoice will be paid off in full.

We will now check to see how BILLWAZE maintains a log for this transaction and check on our retainer balance.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_37_23_39_PM.png)

****Screen 2****\- We open up the invoice sent and click on the “View History” button on the top of the invoice. As shown, EZBILLING360 logged in the payment of $288.23 towards the invoice. In addition we can see the available ‘Retainer’ balance as well as the amount still due for this invoice. The amount due in this case is $0.00, since the system paid it off in full.

Let’s continue to our second invoice.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_38_20_83_PM.png)

****Screen 3****\- This is our second invoice. Notice that the entire balance is paid off again. This is because we still had sufficient retainer funds available.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_39_16_88_PM.png)

****Screen 4****\- When we check the ‘History Log’ we see how the payment was handled for this invoice. We also see our retainer balance is now $36.73. The prior retainer balance was $511.77, subtract $475.04 to pay off invoice 00009, and we get to the $36.73 balance.

In this next section, we will demonstrate how the retainer balance of $36.73 will be applied to our last invoice.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_40_20_23_PM.png)

****Screen 5****\- Here you can see that BILLWAZE applied the retainer balance on a post-tax basis. In this case, the retainer balance was less than the invoice amount due and an open balance therefore remains. Let’s examine the history log.

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_41_21_27_PM.png)

****Screen 6****\- We immediately notice that the remaining ‘Retainer’ of $36.73 was subtracted from the Amount Due. We also see that the ‘Retainer Balance’ is now depleted. Lastly, we can see there is a balance due on this invoice of $379.60.

****Low Balance Notifications****  
You can tell BILLWAZE to automatically send out “Low Balance” notification emails to your clients. You can access this directly within the company profile ‘Client E-Mail Notification Tab’****(Admin Settings-> Company Profile)**** or via the custom profile****( Clients->Custom Profile )****. See screen below:

![](https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_43_23_28_PM.png)

****Screen 7****\- Using these settings, you can switch notifications on or off, set the amount to use to identify sending out low balance reminders, as well as set the email recurrence pattern.

****Quick Notes****

* Use****Custom profiles****if you wish to send out notifications only to certain clients.
* Retainers are automatically applied to both Instant + Automated/Monthly Invoices.
* To add or subtract to a Retainer balance, navigate to the ‘Retainer’ menu item  
****( Clients->Retainer )****. Next, to the right of the client you’re working with, click on the “Actions” menu and select either****+Add**** or****\-Subtract****.
* Retainers work the same with****Company**** and****Custom**** profiles. BILLWAZE will always use the hourly rates applicable to the client being billed, and apply retainer balances to all future invoices so long as a positive retainer balance exists.

Setting up a retainer is simple. Using the left menu, navigate to the Retainers menu item located under Clients. Once there, click on Add Retainer as shown in the image below. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_26_27_11_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit">Once you click on +Add Retainer, the Add Client Retainer modal will appear. Using this modal:<ol class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__ol1"><li value="1" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Select the client you wish to assign the retainer to by clicking on the Select Client drop-down.</li><li value="2" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Next, enter the amount of the retainer in the Retainer Amount cell.</li><li value="3" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">In the Form of Payment, enter the type of payment used by the client to pay for the retainer.</li></ol> **If your client is paying you with a credit card, you may select ‘credit card’ as the form of payment. The credit card modal will appear and you will have the ability to charge the client’s credit card for the retainer purchase. Once a retainer has been added to a client, this amount will be used as a bank towards future invoices. This simply means that moving forward, BILLWAZE will use the Retainer Balance as a bank to automatically pay off new invoices posted to the account, - on a post tax basis. This process will continue until the retainer balance is depleted. BILLWAZE maintains a Retainer History Log for all transactions. If you wish to view this log, you may do so using the following ways: <ol class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__ol1"><li value="1" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Report Card - on the top left of your screen, type or select the name of the client. Next click on the ‘Retainer Balance’ amount. See Example A.</li><li value="2" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Retainers Module - using the left menu navigate to Clients-&gt;Retainers. Click on the ‘Current Balance’ amount for the client you wish to view. See Example B. Click on History Log on the top right portion of this screen. Note - This option will show the entire history log for all clients. You can sort based on a per column basis by clicking on the column header. See Example C.</li><li value="3" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Invoice - When viewing an invoice, click on the “View History” log on the top right of the invoice. See Example D.</li></ol> <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_33_03_78_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Retainer functionality example: Consider the following. Using the previously said example, you add a new client called “ACME Inc”. You negotiated an hourly rate of $80 for this client instead of your normal rate of $120/hour. In turn, ACME Inc agrees to a monthly retainer of $800 / month. ACME Inc hands you a check for $800 and you enter this retainer amount in the ‘Retainer” module. See Example E. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_34_24_84_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit">Next, you click on the balance amount to see the history log. See Example F. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_35_21_75_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit">Knowing that you successfully entered the retainer within the system, you generate three invoices for ACME Inc. The below screens will showcase the generations of those invoices and how the ‘Retainer’ functionality is applied each time until the balance is depleted. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_36_06_45_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 1- This is the first invoice you generate. As you can see in the red rectangle box, the entire invoice balance has been paid using the retainer. The functionality is that so long as the invoice amount is less than the retainer balance, the invoice will be paid off in full. We will now check to see how BILLWAZE maintains a log for this transaction and check on our retainer balance. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_37_23_39_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 2- We open up the invoice sent and click on the “View History” button on the top of the invoice. As shown, EZBILLING360 logged in the payment of $288.23 towards the invoice. In addition we can see the available ‘Retainer’ balance as well as the amount still due for this invoice. The amount due in this case is $0.00, since the system paid it off in full. Let’s continue to our second invoice. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_38_20_83_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 3- This is our second invoice. Notice that the entire balance is paid off again. This is because we still had sufficient retainer funds available. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_39_16_88_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 4- When we check the ‘History Log’ we see how the payment was handled for this invoice. We also see our retainer balance is now $36.73. The prior retainer balance was $511.77, subtract $475.04 to pay off invoice 00009, and we get to the $36.73 balance. In this next section, we will demonstrate how the retainer balance of $36.73 will be applied to our last invoice. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_40_20_23_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 5- Here you can see that BILLWAZE applied the retainer balance on a post-tax basis. In this case, the retainer balance was less than the invoice amount due and an open balance therefore remains. Let’s examine the history log. <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_41_21_27_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 6- We immediately notice that the remaining ‘Retainer’ of $36.73 was subtracted from the Amount Due. We also see that the ‘Retainer Balance’ is now depleted. Lastly, we can see there is a balance due on this invoice of $379.60. Low Balance Notifications You can tell BILLWAZE to automatically send out “Low Balance” notification emails to your clients. You can access this directly within the company profile ‘Client E-Mail Notification Tab’ (Admin Settings-&gt; Company Profile) or via the custom profile ( Clients-&gt;Custom Profile ). See screen below: <img src="https://dashboardassets.eb-pages.com/uploads/6417908828209152/image_png_Apr_27_2022_05_43_23_28_PM.png" alt="" width="inherit" height="inherit"> Screen 7- Using these settings, you can switch notifications on or off, set the amount to use to identify sending out low balance reminders, as well as set the email recurrence pattern. Quick Notes<ul class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__ul"><li value="1" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Use Custom profiles if you wish to send out notifications only to certain clients.</li><li value="2" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Retainers are automatically applied to both Instant + Automated/Monthly Invoices.</li><li value="3" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">To add or subtract to a Retainer balance, navigate to the ‘Retainer’ menu item ( Clients-&gt;Retainer ). Next, to the right of the client you’re working with, click on the “Actions” menu and select either +Add or -Subtract.</li><li value="4" class="PlaygroundEditorTheme__listItem">Retainers work the same with Company and Custom profiles. BILLWAZE will always use the hourly rates applicable to the client being billed, and apply retainer balances to all future invoices so long as a positive retainer balance exists.</li></ul>

How to setup a Retainer

Get a quick heads up an everything invoicing.

Was this article helpful?