Professional services
Retainer hours and profitability
Compare a monthly retainer with actual client hours, delivery costs and included-hour allowance.
Your inputs
Complete the fields for your selected method. Zero means intentionally zero, not unknown. Currency selection labels amounts; it does not convert exchange rates.
How this calculation works
retainer contribution = fee - actual hours × delivery cost/hour - other client costs
No automatic excess-hour billing is assumed. Exclude pass-through receipts or include their matching expenses. Results describe delivered work, not contract legality or future utilization. Use your own records for the same scope and period. Example figures are illustrative, not industry benchmarks. Results exclude income taxes and any cost you have not entered. Check the result before pricing work or committing resources.
What information do I need?
Use records for the same job, equipment or accounting period. Only the fields for your selected entry method are required. An unknown amount is not zero.
Input definitions and where to find them
- Retainer fee for period (selected currency): Use a supplier quote, invoice, payroll record or allocated cost for the exact job or period named here. Include this amount only once.
- Hours included in agreement (hours): Use the matching measured quantity, time log, schedule or clearly stated estimate. Zero means intentionally none; an unknown amount is not zero.
- Actual delivery person-hours (person-hours): Use the matching measured quantity, time log, schedule or clearly stated estimate. Zero means intentionally none; an unknown amount is not zero.
- Loaded delivery cost per person-hour (selected currency): Use a supplier quote, invoice, payroll record or allocated cost for the exact job or period named here. Include this amount only once.
- Other client costs for same period (selected currency): Use a supplier quote, invoice, payroll record or allocated cost for the exact job or period named here. Include this amount only once.
Use the Where to find this value controls beside the inputs for available work-it-out helpers. Estimates remain your assumptions; a helper does not verify the source figures.
Worked example
Example amounts use US dollars (USD).
Example answer: Retainer contribution after entered costs is $600.00 for the illustrative inputs below.
Example inputs
- Retainer fee for period: $2,000.00
- Hours included in agreement: 20.00 hours
- Actual delivery person-hours: 25.00 person-hours
- Loaded delivery cost per person-hour: $50.00
- Other client costs for same period: $150.00
- Retainer contribution after entered costs
- $600.00
- Effective collected fee per actual hour
- 80.00 currency/hour
- Hours beyond included allowance
- 5.00 hours
- Contribution margin
- 30.00 %
These illustrative values are not recommended rates or industry averages. Replace every example input with your own figures.
Use the result well
Compare a monthly retainer with actual client hours, delivery costs and included-hour allowance. Inputs come from your own records and stated assumptions; no rates or legal limits are looked up.
Keep inputs on the same scope and time basis. Calculations retain precision internally; displayed values generally round to two decimal places, with extra precision for very small values and whole-unit rounding where required. Economic comparisons describe your supplied assumptions and do not guarantee future results.
This tool provides business arithmetic. It does not approve engineering designs, establish legal or tax treatment, select equipment or certify safe operating conditions.