Virtual Assistant Forums | Work from Home

Maven · #1 (**permalink**) 11-14-2009

Hello! I am just starting out and wondering how to bill my client using a monthly retainer. I have my hourly rate but am still confused on how to charge a monthly retainer. Should it be a percentage off? Should it be per service or general?

Everything else seems to be falling into place except the billing issues which I can't resolve objectively. Please Help...

JKVirtualOffice · #2 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009

Hi William,
Most time people will charge for a set package of hours with a slight discount off the hourly rate like 5%. So if you had a 10 hour retainer package, then you would charge $XXX which is maybe like $2 off your regular hourly rate. Typically, most VAs will require that retainer fees are paid up prior to work beginning...so you charge them at the beginning of the month before work starts. Another option is to ask for a 50% deposit prior to work starting. As a good business practice, it's just a good idea to get some form of payment up front.

Maven · #3 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009

Thanks Kimberly! Should I make a separate contract for both the hourly rate and the retainer or should I just make the contract all inclusive?

JKVirtualOffice · #4 (**permalink**) 11-15-2009

Personally, if they are getting charged by the hour, then in my biz, they are considered a per project client which has it's own contract. For on-going monthly assistance, then I have the retainer agreement with the different levels of retainer hours listed as check box and I simply mark the number of hours agreed upon. Although, if it's a ongoing client who doesn't want to commit to a certain number of hours and just get charged the hourly rate, I'll usually just modify the retainer agreement to reflect that. Hope that helps.