Set Up a Monthly Retainer With Recurring Invoices

A retainer is the dream gig: predictable income, a steady client, no chasing. Fee-Lion turns that handshake into a recurring invoice that bills the same amount on the same day every month, with the payment landing in your Stripe automatically. Set it up once and your retainer runs itself.

Build the retainer invoice

A retainer is just a recurring invoice with a fixed scope. Open Invoices in the left sidebar and create your template:

1. Click New invoice and choose the client this retainer is for.
2. Add a single line item that describes the engagement, for example “Monthly retainer — design support” as a fee at the agreed amount, or a tasks line if you’d rather show the hours your retainer covers.
3. Apply your tax if it applies. (Your defaults live at Settings → Preferences, so this is usually already filled in.)
4. Toggle on Recurring, then set the cadence to monthly and pick the day it should go out — say the 1st of each month.
5. Set the start date and, if the retainer has an end date, an optional stop date. Leave it open-ended to run until you pause it.
6. Save. Fee-Lion will now generate and send a fresh invoice on that schedule, each one numbered in its own right.

Tip: Keep the line item description specific about what the retainer includes — “up to 10 hours of design support” — so the scope is clear on every invoice. If a month runs over, add an extra one-off invoice for the overage instead of editing the retainer.

Turn on auto-pay so you never chase it

Recurring invoices are great, but the real magic is getting paid without lifting a finger. With auto-pay enabled, your client’s card is charged automatically the moment each invoice issues — no PAY button to click, no reminder emails, no awkward follow-ups.

• First, make sure Stripe is connected so payouts land in your own account.
• Enable auto-pay on the recurring invoice. The client confirms their card once through the secure portal, and every future charge runs on its own.
• If the client hasn’t enrolled yet, send them the first invoice and let them opt in from the portal — after that, the retainer is fully hands-off.

What your client sees

Your client gets each invoice by email and can open it in the magic-link portal with no login. Once they’re enrolled in auto-pay, they simply see “paid automatically” each month — a calm, professional experience that makes you look organized without any extra effort.

Keep an eye on it

Autopilot doesn’t mean flying blind. A few habits keep your retainer healthy:

• Check Reports now and then to confirm payments are clearing on schedule.
• If a card fails, the invoice shows its status so you can nudge the client to update their card in the portal.
• Need to raise the rate or pause for a month? Edit or pause the recurring invoice — your change applies to the next cycle, not the ones already sent.

Tip: Tag your retainer invoices with a label like “retainer” so you can filter them in reports and see exactly how much of your monthly income is the reliable, recurring kind.

What’s next

• Create a recurring invoice
• Turn on auto-pay
• Let clients enroll in auto-pay
• Tag invoices for reporting