Any consultants on a retainer who can advise me please?

[Merguez]

I have a client who I have agreed to do 2 days work a month for, we have been on this arrangement for about 6 months and I always invoice him at the end of every month.

Usually the work I do takes up the time agreed and we are all happy.

However this month has been unusually quiet, and I feel uncomfortable invoicing him for 2 days work I haven't actually done or been asked to do.

DH says I should be tougher as that's the point of retainers - what do other freelancers do?

Is the fact that there hasn't been work to do the clients fault? Did you raise this at any point?
I tend to take a long term view and give a bit of a discount if I haven't done what I usually do, it creates good will.

When I have done retained work in the past, I have tended to find that it has been more one month and less another, and it normally all works out about right over a longer period.

In the interest of fairness and good relationships, I would probably just flag this when you invoice and say that you would be happy to make up some of the time in the next month or so? That may not work for you however, I guess it depends on your capacity?

Thanks for the advice. All the work I do is initiated by my client, and I did contact them last week to ask if they had anything I could help with, but there wasn't. Client has been away for most of the month & hasn't needed me.
They often say I undercharge them though …

I guess part of it is that they are paying me for my availability - I work in media and usually need to turn stuff around for them quickly, which I am always able to do ...

Invoice. You absolutely mustn't set a precedent for not being paid.

I totally agree - The idea of a retainer is that you've kept yourself available for these two days every month so that you can be available as needs be. Just because it's been a quiet month for him doesn't change that, by agreeing to do this work for him each month you have, in theory at least, turned down other work,

If it happened month after month you might want to have a conversation about future needs but if it only happens now and again I would totally invoice him as usual.

Hope that helps :)