Use case
Sign the retainer, set up the card, done
Draftd puts a setup fee and a monthly retainer on the same proposal. The client signs it, pays the setup fee and sets up their card in one sitting. Your own Stripe account then charges the retainer every month.
- Setup fee and monthly retainer on one document
- The card is set up once, when they sign
- Charged through your own Stripe account
The problem
Agreeing a retainer is easy. Collecting it every month is not
Twelve invoices a year
Every month somebody raises an invoice, sends it, waits and checks the bank. Multiply by every client on a retainer.
The setup fee gets forgotten
The proposal says £1,850 to get started, but it goes on a separate invoice and arrives after the work has begun.
Late months become normal
A retainer paid on the twentieth instead of the first is a cash problem you carry for the client.
What it does
What a retainer looks like in Draftd
Retainers that bill themselves
Give the retainer a label, an amount and an interval. The client sets it up as they sign, and Stripe charges their card every month with no invoice from you.
The deposit, on the spot
Put the setup fee on the same document. The client pays it by card on the page they just signed, before the first monthly charge.
Let them choose a package
Offer a light, standard and full retainer at different monthly amounts. The client picks one as they sign and the billing follows.
Cashflow in one place
See every retainer and setup payment in one list, received, due now or still to come, across every client.
Told the moment they sign
Everyone who runs the account is emailed when a client signs, with the package they chose.
What you would send
Retainers people send with Draftd
Anything that runs month to month, with or without a one-off fee to get it going.
- SEO retainer with technical setup
- Monthly bookkeeping and payroll
- Fractional marketing director, two days a month
- Website care plan after launch
- Managed IT support, per user
- Executive coaching, monthly sessions
How it works
From the call to the deposit, in one link
What actually happens, in order, from the first brief to the money arriving.
Tell it about your business
Your services and prices, your tone and the words you never use. Ten minutes, once, and it is the difference between a document that sounds like you and one that sounds like everybody.
Write the document
Paste a call transcript or answer a short brief, pick a structure, and a full draft comes back in about a minute. Edit anything. Nothing is locked.
Send it from you
The client gets a link to a page in your branding. Replies come to you, and you see when it is opened and how often.
They sign in the browser
No account and no printer. They choose a package if you offered more than one, type their name and sign, and you get an email the moment they do.
The deposit is paid on the same page
By card straight into your Stripe account, or by bank transfer. The rest of the payments, and any retainer, are tracked in Cashflow until they arrive.
Which plan
From £19 a month, free for 14 days
A business with a handful of retainer clients is well served by Starter, with 10 sends a month. Growth (£39 a month) suits a team where account managers send their own renewals.
Questions
Questions about retainer proposals
How does the monthly charge work?
You connect your own Stripe account. When the client signs, they set up their card for the retainer, and Stripe charges it on the interval you chose. The money goes straight to you.
Can one proposal have a setup fee and a retainer?
Yes. The setup fee is paid by card on the page they signed, and the retainer is set up at the same time.
Does Draftd send reminders when a payment fails?
No. Draftd sends nothing on its own. Card payments are handled by your own Stripe account, and from Cashflow you can send the client a payment request in one click with Ask for it.
Can I tell my own systems when a retainer starts?
Yes. Draftd sends a signed webhook when a retainer is started, as well as for sends, opens, signatures and payments.
What does it cost to run retainers through Draftd?
Plans start at £19 a month, with 14 days free. Draftd takes nothing from client payments; you pay Stripe’s own fees on your account.
Agree the retainer once and stop invoicing it
14 days free on every plan, then from £19 a month. Cancel before the trial ends and you pay nothing.
Start your free trialCard up front, nothing charged for 14 days.