Retainer Billing Cycles

When you create a retainer project, Leenkies automatically generates time periods -- recurring billing cycles that divide your ongoing engagement into manageable chunks. Each time period represents a billing window (a week, two weeks, or a month) where deliverables are tracked and invoiced independently.

Time periods take the guesswork out of retainer billing. Instead of manually calculating "what did I deliver this month?" you have a clear, structured timeline that organizes your work and aligns it with your invoicing schedule.

What Are Time Periods?

A time period is a single billing cycle within a retainer project. If you have a monthly retainer running from January through June, you'll get six time periods -- one for each month. Each period has:

• A start date and end date -- Defining the window of time.
• Its own deliverables -- The specific work items for that cycle.
• Its own resources -- Reference materials relevant to that cycle.

Time periods are generated automatically based on the billing cycle frequency you chose when creating the retainer project. You don't need to create them manually -- they appear as the project progresses.

How Billing Cycles Work

The billing cycle frequency determines how often a new time period is created. You set this when creating a retainer project, and it stays consistent throughout the project's lifetime.

Daily Cycles

A new time period starts every day. This is uncommon but can be useful for day-rate arrangements where you're billing for each day of work independently.

Example: A contractor billing $500/day for on-site work might use daily cycles to track what was delivered each day.

Weekly Cycles

A new time period starts every week, aligned to the project's start date. If your project starts on a Monday, each weekly period runs Monday through Sunday.

Example: A social media manager delivering a weekly content batch might use weekly cycles to track and invoice each week's deliverables.

Bi-Weekly Cycles

A new time period starts every two weeks. This aligns with common payroll and invoicing cycles.

Example: A copywriter delivering a bi-weekly newsletter and blog post package would use bi-weekly cycles to keep deliverables and invoicing in sync.

Monthly Cycles

A new time period starts every month, aligned to the project's start date. If your project starts on the 1st, each period runs from the 1st to the end of the month.

Example: A design agency providing monthly creative support -- 10 social media graphics, 2 email templates, and 1 blog header per month -- would use monthly cycles. This is the most common retainer structure.

Pro Tip: Choose a billing cycle that matches your invoicing rhythm. If you send invoices monthly, use monthly cycles. If your agreement calls for bi-weekly payments, use bi-weekly cycles. Aligning your time periods with your invoicing makes the billing process seamless.

How Deliverables Are Organized by Period

Each time period has its own independent set of deliverables. When you add a deliverable to a retainer project, it belongs to a specific time period -- not to the project as a whole.

This means you can track exactly what was delivered in January versus February, even if the deliverables are identical each month. Each period has its own status tracking, so you can see at a glance whether all January deliverables are done while February's are still in progress.

Adding Deliverables to a Period

1. Open the retainer project.
2. Navigate to the time period you want to add deliverables to.
3. Click Add Deliverable within that period.
4. Fill out the deliverable details -- name, description, quantity, due date, and scope type.

The deliverable is now attached to that specific period, separate from deliverables in other periods.

Resources Within Periods

Just like deliverables, resources (URL bookmarks) can be attached to specific time periods. This is useful when reference materials change between cycles -- for example, a different content brief each month or updated brand guidelines for a new quarter.

Viewing Past and Current Periods

Your retainer project displays all time periods in chronological order. You can easily navigate between them to review past work or check on the current cycle:

Current Period

The current time period -- the one you're actively working in -- is highlighted and shown prominently. This is where you'll spend most of your time, updating deliverable statuses and adding resources as you work.

Past Periods

Previous time periods remain accessible for reference. You can review what was delivered in any past cycle, check statuses, and see the resources that were used. Past periods are read-only in the sense that the work is done, but you can still update them if needed (e.g., if you forgot to mark a deliverable as delivered).

Future Periods

Time periods are generated as the project progresses. You'll see upcoming periods based on your billing cycle frequency, giving you visibility into the timeline ahead.

Pro Tip: At the end of each billing cycle, review the time period to make sure all deliverables are marked as "delivered" before creating the invoice. This gives you a clean record and ensures you're billing for everything you've completed.

How Retainer Cycles Relate to Invoicing

Time periods and invoicing are closely linked. When you create an invoice for a retainer project, the invoice typically corresponds to a specific time period -- covering the work delivered during that cycle.

Here's the typical workflow:

1. Work through the period -- Complete deliverables during the billing cycle, updating statuses as you go.
2. Review the period -- At the end of the cycle, confirm all deliverables are accounted for and marked correctly.
3. Create an invoice -- Generate an invoice for the period's work, pulling in line items that match the deliverables.
4. Send and track payment -- Send the invoice to your client and track payment status.

This rhythm repeats each cycle, giving you a consistent billing workflow that mirrors your retainer agreement.

See Creating & Sending Invoices for the full invoicing guide.

Common Retainer Structures

Here are a few real-world examples of how retainer billing cycles are used:

Monthly Content Retainer

• Billing cycle: Monthly
• Deliverables per period: 4 blog posts, 12 social media graphics, 2 email newsletters
• Invoice rhythm: One invoice at the end of each month

Weekly Design Support

• Billing cycle: Weekly
• Deliverables per period: Up to 10 hours of design work (tracked as deliverables)
• Invoice rhythm: One invoice each week

Bi-Weekly Consulting

• Billing cycle: Bi-weekly
• Deliverables per period: 2 strategy sessions, 1 written report
• Invoice rhythm: One invoice every two weeks

The flexibility of billing cycles means you can match virtually any retainer agreement structure, keeping your project management and billing perfectly synchronized.