A firm of thirty people has a retainer it pays monthly and has used twice this year. Another of the same size has no retainer and spends four times as much on urgent advice every time something happens.
Neither of them can tell whether they are getting it right, because nobody publishes anything comparable.
A worked example
A thirty person business, priced two ways.
Line 1: the headcount band
Almost every retainer is priced this way. Publish the bands and where they change, so a business approaching a threshold knows what happens next.
Line 2: what documentation is included
Contracts, handbook, policies, and whether updates are covered or charged. This is where two identically priced proposals differ most.
Line 3: the advice access
Telephone and email access, the response time and whether there is a limit. Unlimited usually is not, and honest limits are better than a fair use clause nobody defines.
Line 4: what counts as a matter
Where a quick question ends and a case begins. Publishing the distinction is unusual and it is the single most useful thing a buyer can be told.
Line 5: what falls outside
Tribunal representation, complex investigations, redundancy programmes and anything requiring sustained attendance. Say it plainly with the rate that applies.
Line 6: hourly rates for excluded work
Published. A retainer with unknown overage pricing is not a budget, and finance directors notice.
Line 7: payroll if bundled
Whether it is included, per employee pricing and what the year end involves, which is the ground in payroll enquiries from businesses changing provider.
Line 8: the contract term
Length, notice period and whether there is an initial commitment. Growing firms are wary of long ties and a short notice period is a selling point.
Line 9: the honest annual total
Retainer plus realistic use. Compared against what the same firm would spend engaging ad hoc two or three times, which is the comparison buyers are actually making.
When a retainer genuinely makes sense
Regular people issues, no internal HR function, a growing headcount, a regulated sector or a management team that needs somebody to ring before acting.
When project work is better
Occasional needs, a stable team, an internal HR function or a one off piece such as a handbook. Saying so honestly wins the project and often the retainer later.
Say who the client actually gets
Retainers are frequently sold by a senior consultant and delivered by whoever is available, and buyers have learned to be wary of it. Naming who handles the account, what happens when they are away and at what point a more senior person becomes involved is the detail that separates two otherwise identical proposals.
Publish a middle option
An entry level arrangement with documentation and limited advice. Many firms want a retainer and cannot justify the full one, and nobody offers them the step, which is the same range problem as monthly bookkeeping package questions.
Explain what happens when they grow
How the band changes, how much notice is given and whether it is reviewed annually. Growing firms need to know the cost curve before they commit.
Answer the pricing question when it is asked
Buyers compare in the evening and dismiss anybody they cannot price, which is the argument in retainer and project questions for HR consultancies and outsourced support versus an AI assistant.
Getting started
Publish bands, inclusions, exclusions and overage rates, then capture headcount and sector at any hour. SpideyChat for consultancies answers from your published pages, plans are on the pricing page, and the chatbot ROI calculator works through the numbers.