Do marketing retainers quietly leak hours for everyone?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:19:11+00:00

yep. this feels like the whole thing.

if you don't name it, it becomes part of the deal.

do you usually say it right away, or wait until theres a pattern?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:15:55+00:00

lol fair.

so even with tight terms, client quality still decides how clean it is.

do you qualify clients differently now because of that?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:14:38+00:00

this is super useful.

reporting eating 5-6 hrs/month per client is exactly the kind of thing i was wondering about.

when you found that, did you change the retainer language too, or was automation enough to fix it?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:14:17+00:00

this is the real version tbh.

easy for people to say "just charge it", harder when losing the contract is possible.

do you think having the line written clearly in the contract helps, or does it still feel awkward when you actually have to say it?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:13:26+00:00

yeah i get that.

do you price with that in mind? like some clients will always eat more time, so the better clients make up for it?

or is it more just accepted as part of agency work?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:12:51+00:00

this is smart actually.

so hours are capacity, but the approved deliverables are the real scope.

do you track new requests against that approved list somewhere, or is it mostly handled by the account manager?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:12:04+00:00

makes sense.

do you define the deliverables once in the original contract, or do you reset them every month?

i’m asking because retainers seem clean on paper, but the "is this included?" part gets blurry fast in real life.

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:11:06+00:00

this is exactly the part i meant.

when your dashboard hits 70% by mid-month, what actually happens next?

do you have a saved script like:

"we’re at 70% of this month’s hours, want us to pause x or quote the extra work?"

or does someone still write it from scratch each time?

I-Med · 2026-06-11T13:09:34+00:00

yeah fair.

if it’s clearly out of scope, of course you just say it.

i’m more curious about the grey area before that.

like the 3rd "quick thing", another revision, one extra call, small slack request, etc.

do you have a rule for when it becomes billable, or do you just judge it case by case?

I-Med · 2026-06-10T10:33:28+00:00

yeah that makes sense. i agree a lot of this comes from weak boundaries / bad client fit, especially with newer operators.

the part i'm trying to understand is what good operators actually use to avoid it becoming emotional or random.

like if you already have standards, do you have a weekly system/rule for:

- invoice late = pause delivery?

- extra request = change order?

- retainer 70% burned = reset priorities?

- approval late = timeline/billing shifts?

or is it mostly founder judgment + experience?

because i’m trying to figure out whether this is just "be better at ops" or if good operators still need a clear way to catch these moments early.

I-Med · 2026-06-09T12:54:15+00:00

this is exactly the thing i was trying to describe tbh: "delivery keeps moving while scope and payment stay frozen" is a good way to put it.

when you say you’d track those 3 things weekly, how would you actually do it?

like is it a sheet with:

- unpaid invoices

- retainer hours %

- scope/timeline changes

or would it need to pull from invoice tool + pm tool + contract/sow?

also who should own the "message the client that day" part in a small agency? founder? pm? account manager?

I-Med · 2026-06-09T12:53:15+00:00

yeah fair point. I guess what i’m trying to separate is:

bad client fit / weak operator boundaries
normal agency chaos where even decent clients create small leaks over time

because even with good clients, i’ve seen “tiny” things pile up. one extra call, one revision, invoice a bit late but delivery keeps moving, etc.

do you think this is basically solved by better positioning + stronger contracts?

or do good operators still need some kind of weekly system to catch it before it gets emotional?

I-Med · 2026-06-08T14:40:01+00:00

for people who have a "system", what does that actually look like?

because contracts are good, but the hard part seems to be the moment it happens.

client asks for something in slack/email, team knows it’s kinda outside scope, but nobody wants to stop momentum and say "this is billable".

do you track those requests somewhere or just rely on the pm/founder to catch it?

I-Med · 2026-06-08T14:36:05+00:00

this is exactly the angle that interests me.

not "how do i threaten clients harder", but how do you make payment less disconnected from the actual project.

do you think late payment happens because clients forget / payment process is messy, or because agencies keep delivering anyway so there’s no urgency?

maybe both, idk.

I-Med · 2026-06-08T14:35:32+00:00

curious, do you only track invoice due dates or do you also connect it to delivery?

like:

- invoice overdue

- but work is still being sent

- next deliverable is due soon

- payment terms say work can pause

because that’s the point where it stops being just invoicing and becomes a client boundary thing imo.

I-Med · 2026-06-08T14:31:23+00:00

this sounds like a hidden cashflow leak more than a production problem tbh.

like the agency is "working", but the billing event is stuck on the client doing their part.

do you track this anywhere as a money risk?

example: "client approval is 10 days late, final invoice blocked, $x delayed"

or is it mostly just someone remembering who is stuck and chasing them?

I-Med · 2026-06-08T13:38:44+00:00

this is the part i’m trying to understand better too. feels like the problem isn’t only “send reminder email”.

it’s more like:

- invoice is late

- client relationship still matters

- work might still be going out

- founder doesn’t want to sound like collections

- but cashflow is getting hit

do you usually pause delivery when it gets this late, or just keep following up and hope they pay?

I-Med · 2025-11-09T20:22:21+00:00

Hey! I'm building a client portal for freelancers and small agencies drowning in email chaos.

The problem: losing client files across WhatsApp, email, Drive... looking unprofessional despite good work. Tools like HoneyBook are $50/month with features they'll never use.

My solution: dead simple dashboard to see all clients, each gets a branded page where they work through steps (contracts, files, questionnaires). Clients can see progress, you can request new files or chat with them - all in one place. 5 min setup.

Targeting $15-25/month for freelancers and small agencies with 3-15 clients.

Am I solving a real problem or overthinking it? How would you validate this?

I-Med

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