A Retainer is a bundled package of services offered to a client for a fixed amount over a defined period (e.g., yearly or a custom duration).
It is the upgraded version of the previously known Client Package feature.
With Retainer, you can group multiple services under one agreement, such as: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, Accounting, TDS, Tax Audit, and Income Tax Filing.
You can divide the total retainer amount into different billing frequencies:
Monthly / Quarterly / Half-Yearly / Yearly / One-Time / Non-Billable
This allows flexible and structured billing for long-term client engagements.
Watch the video below to understand what the Retainer feature is and how to create and use it in Practive.
Follow these steps:
Go to the Retainer menu.
Click on the New button.
Select the Client.
Enter the Retainer Name.
Select the Period.
Enable Renew Automatically (if you want the retainer to renew after expiry).
Select the required Services.
Choose the Billing Frequency:
Enter 1 for Monthly
Enter 3 for Quarterly
Enter 6 for Half-Yearly
Select One-Time for Yearly
or Non-Billable
Enter the Total Retainer Amount.
Select the Billing Mode: Prepaid or Postpaid.
Enable the toggle “Create Invoice Automatically” (if required).
Enter the Billing Date.
The invoice will be generated automatically as per your selected settings.
Suppose your client’s name is A One Toys.
You create a retainer for the financial year 2025–26, including: GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, Accounting, TDS, Tax Audit, and Income Tax Filing.
Total Retainer Amount: ₹1,80,000
Billing Frequency: Monthly
The system will automatically generate invoices of ₹15,000 per month (₹1,80,000 ÷ 12) as per your billing settings.
You can easily track:
Each task
Generated invoices
Paid amounts
Outstanding amounts
All from the Retainer Dashboard.
A Retainer Template allows you to pre-define services and billing settings.
When creating a new retainer, you can select a template, and all service and billing details will be filled automatically.
This saves time and ensures consistency.
You can use this template while creating a new Retainer.
From the Retainer section, click on any Retainer name to view:
Assigned services
Task status
Billing details
Invoice history
Paid and outstanding amounts
This gives you complete control over client engagement and billing in one place.