Retainer agreements and the terms within will differ from company to company. That being said, there are some core characteristics that will usually be applicable to an agreement of this kind.
The client will generally pay a fixed fee each month to the developers for their services for a pre agreed number or hours or days throughout the retainer period. The scope of work covered in the retainer price should be clearly defined to avoid scope creep and potential conflict between the client and the development team. For example, a retainer agreement may define that the developer(s) can only use the time for work relating to scheduled updates, bug fixes and website maintenance. Conversely, there may be no restrictions on the work covered, allowing greater flexibility to the client.
By paying a set, monthly fee, the client is securing access to the agreed developer time. The development company will allocate these hours (usually prior to the month starting) so they are scheduled in and cannot be used elsewhere. Some agreements my allow for unused hours to roll over into the next month whereas others will dictate that the client will lose the hours for that period if they are not used within that period.
By their very nature, retainer agreements are usually created with flexibility in mind. This means that it should be straight forward to make amendments to the agreement if the client needs more development time one month because they have an increased amount of work for example. Generally, this will be calculated based on a pre agreed hourly rate that is applicable to additional work without the need for a new contract or any lengthy negotiations.
Monthly retainer agreements are crucial for some organisations today in that they offer a flexible and low commitment way to ensure they have access to the developer resources they need, only when they need it. Here are some use cases for monthly retainer agreements.
Whilst it is not only SMEs who use monthly retainer agreements, they can be particularly beneficial for companies who don't have the need or budget for full time IT resource(s) as they will have guaranteed access to the resource as much or as little as they need giving peace of mind and cost transparency.
Larger companies with their own IT teams also often utilise monthly retainers because they may benefit from access to additional consultancy or developer resource whilst they have an on-going project that requires specific expertise or more resources than they currently have in-house.
Monthly retainers allow businesses of all shapes and sizes to avoid fluctuating costs and instead, have predictable monthly expenses for development related work. This can be useful for companies who need to steady their cash flow.
Here at Cool Code Company, we offer flexible retainer agreements to suit your requirements. We charge a fixed fee per month depending on the days/hours required and you will also benefit from having any time not used 'roll-over' into the following month.
Our UK based, full-stack developers can undertake standard maintenance and bug fixes under these agreements, act as an extension of your team or be on hand when you need them to offer consultancy and guidance.
If you feel your company would benefit from such an agreement, get in touch today to discuss your requirements - we'd be delighted to help.
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