How to Set Up Retainers and Recurring Invoices in Workspace369
How to bill regular clients on a schedule in Workspace369. Open Retainers, under Finance: a retainer bills a client every cycle for an allowance, as an hour bank, a fixed monthly scope or a prepaid deposit. Click New retainer, choose the client and set the hours and the price for each cycle. Extra hours go on the next invoice, and unused hours can expire or roll over. The preview shows what the client sees: the terms on the first invoice and the hours left in their client portal. Nothing is charged until the client pays the first invoice. For a set amount on a schedule, set up a recurring invoice from Invoices → Recurring: start from a template like a monthly care plan, choose how often it goes out and when it ends, let clients pay each invoice with a link or turn on autopay, and send each one automatically or review drafts first.
What you'll learn
- Where to find Retainers, under Finance, and the three kinds: an hour bank, a fixed monthly scope or a prepaid deposit
- How to set up an hour bank: click New retainer, choose the client, then set the hours and the price for each cycle
- What happens to extra and unused hours: extra hours go on the next invoice, and unused hours can expire or roll over
- What the client sees: the terms on the first invoice, and the hours left in their client portal
- How to set up a recurring invoice from Invoices, then Recurring, starting from a template like a monthly care plan
- How to choose how often it goes out and how clients pay, and whether to send each invoice automatically or review drafts first
Common questions
What is a retainer in Workspace369?
A retainer bills a client every cycle for an allowance: an hour bank, a fixed monthly scope, or a prepaid deposit. You'll find Retainers under Finance.
How do I set up an hour bank?
Open Retainers and click New retainer. An hour bank gives the client a set number of hours each month: choose the client, then set the hours and the price for each cycle. Extra hours go on the next invoice, and unused hours can expire or roll over.
When is the client charged for a retainer?
Nothing is charged until the client pays the first invoice. The preview on the right shows what they see: the terms on the first invoice, and the hours left in their client portal.
How do I set up a recurring invoice?
For a set amount on a schedule, open Invoices, then Recurring, and start from a template, like a monthly care plan. On the Repeat tab, choose how often it goes out, from every week to every year, and when it ends. The summary shows the next invoice dates. When it looks right, click Start plan.
How do clients pay a recurring invoice?
They pay each invoice with a link, or turn on autopay when they pay the first one. You can send each invoice automatically, or review drafts first: each draft is made three days early, and waits for you.
Full transcript
Welcome back. In this video, we'll set up retainers and recurring invoices, so your regular clients are billed on a schedule.
Open Retainers, under Finance. A retainer bills a client every cycle for an allowance: an hour bank, a fixed monthly scope, or a prepaid deposit. Click New retainer. An hour bank gives the client a set number of hours each month. Choose the client, then set the hours and the price for each cycle. Extra hours go on the next invoice, and unused hours can expire or roll over. On the right is what the client sees: the terms on the first invoice, and the hours left in their client portal. Nothing is charged until the client pays the first invoice.
For a set amount on a schedule, set up a recurring invoice. Open Invoices, then Recurring. Start from a template, like a monthly care plan. On the Repeat tab, choose how often it goes out, from every week to every year, and when it ends. Clients pay each invoice with a link, or turn on autopay when they pay the first one. Send each one automatically, or review drafts first. Each draft is made three days early, and waits for you. The summary shows the next invoice dates. When it looks right, click Start plan. And that's retainers and recurring invoices. In the next video, we'll send a contract for e-signature.
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