My $400 retainer package renewal saved me from a big mistake
I used to send monthly retainer invoices without a fixed scope and last quarter one project ballooned to 80 hours over. The client paid it but then asked for a discount on the next 3 months, which put me in a weird spot. I switched to a capped hour model with a small base and I'm testing it on 2 accounts in Denver right now. First month looks cleaner but I'm curious if anyone else has tried usage caps without losing the monthly income feel. What's your cutoff for when a retainer stops covering the work?