Last week I ran a retainer contract side by side with a flat fee deal and saw the math clear as day

I had two clients this quarter, one in Denver paying a $3,000 monthly retainer and another with a flat $9,000 project fee for three months work. The retainer client needed way more revisions and check ins, but the flat fee one gave me space to breathe and finish early. Is it just me or does the retainer model sometimes let clients nickel and dime your time without even thinking?

2 comments

2 Comments

jessica_hall491d ago

Flat fee clients always think they signed up for "all you can eat" while you're over there doing the math on your hourly rate with a calculator in your head...

parkera221d ago

Man, that flat fee setup sounds like a dream. But here's what I'm wondering: did the flat fee client actually know they were paying for three months of work? Because I've seen people get burned when the flat fee client suddenly starts asking for "just one more tweak" every week, and suddenly you're working way past what you planned for. Was there a strict scope of work in writing, or was it more of a handshake deal? I'm asking because I think that retainer vs flat fee thing really comes down to how clear the boundaries are from day one.