Retainer Contract Line: What It Is and How It Works in PSOhub
Understand how the Retainer contract line lets you invoice on a schedule and track actuals against a pre-agreed amount
Published: 1 June 2026
Audience
- Admin
- Controller
- Project Manager
Objective
Understand what a Retainer contract line is, how it is structured financially, and how it fits into the broader project billing workflow in PSOhub.
Introduction
A Retainer contract line is a billing structure in PSOhub where the customer is invoiced a pre-defined amount on a recurring schedule — regardless of the actual hours spent delivering the work.
This model is common in ongoing service engagements where a client commits to a fixed monthly or periodic fee. The invoicing schedule is agreed upfront, giving both your team and your customer clarity on when payments are due throughout the project.
How a Retainer Contract Line Works
When you add a Retainer line to a contract, you define the total agreed amount and then break it into a schedule of installments. Each installment has a due date, a percentage of the total, and an optional description that appears on the invoice.
PSOhub generates invoices based on this schedule. Your team can continue to log time against the line throughout the engagement, and PSOhub records it under Used in the Financials and Contract tabs — giving you full visibility into actual effort without affecting the invoiced amounts.
At any point during the project, you can generate a balance invoice or credit note to reconcile the total amount invoiced against the actual hours booked to the line.
Retainer Contract Line Fields
Each Retainer contract line contains the following financial fields:
| Field | Description | Type/Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amount | The total value of the retainer agreement. For example, a six-month retainer at €5,000 per month would be entered as €30,000. | Currency | This value drives the retainer schedule calculation and does not change based on hours booked. Changes should only be made if the commercial agreement with the customer is updated. |
| Sales Budget | Your internal budget based on the selling rate. Automatically populated with the value in the Amount field when you enter it. You can overwrite it manually or via the Workload Sheet. | Currency | Used for internal revenue planning and performance tracking. Helps compare planned vs actual delivery value. |
| Budget Costs | Your internal budget based on your cost rate. Used for margin and profitability tracking. | Currency | Ensure this reflects realistic delivery effort, as underestimation can lead to misleading margins in retainer projects. |
💡 Tip: The Estimated Margin percentage is calculated automatically based on the values entered in these fields.
The Retainer Schedule
The Invoice Method for a Retainer contract line is set to Retainer schedule. This allows PSOhub to invoice a fixed amount in installments based on specific due dates.
📌 Note: You must enter a value in the Amount field before you can add retainer lines to the schedule.
Once you have entered a value in the Amount field, click + Add retainers to build the schedule.
Each line in the schedule defines when and how much to invoice:
| Field | Description | Type/Values | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | The due date for this installment. | Date | Use the format dd/MM/yyyy. |
| % | The percentage of the total Amount to be invoiced on this date. | Percentage | All lines should add up to 100% to cover the full retainer value. |
| Amount | The amount to be invoiced for this installment. | Currency | Calculated automatically based on the percentage and total Amount. |
| Description | Optional label that appears on the invoice for this installment. | Text | For example: "Retainer invoice 1". |
📌 Note: Multiple retainer lines with the same due date are automatically grouped into a single invoice.
Budget Alerts
You can configure a budget usage alert using the Budget Used Alert slider. When the hours booked against the contract line reach the defined threshold, PSOhub:
- Displays a message in the project's Activity feed
- Highlights the line in the contract with an orange warning icon once the threshold is reached or exceeded
💡 Tip: The assigned project manager will be notified in PSOhub and by email when a budget alert is triggered or the budget has been exceeded — as long as alerts are enabled in their profile.
Next Steps
✅ Add a Retainer contract line in your next template
Learn how to add and configure a Retainer line within your contract template.
How to Add a Contract Line in a Contract Template
✅ Set up budget alerts
Configure thresholds to get notified before your Retainer budget is exceeded.
How to Set Up Budget Alerts & Budget Overwrite
✅ Set up automatic invoicing
Generate invoices from your retainer schedule automatically.
Automatic Invoicing: How to Set Up Automated Invoices for Retainers