FREE TOOL — RETAINER PRICING
Monthly Retainer Pricing Calculator for Bookkeeping Firms
Free, instant, no signup. Adjust the inputs and the numbers update live. Every result is a planning estimate.
Price up from cost and margin, not down from what you think the client will pay — the number this returns is your floor, not your ceiling.
The math, in plain terms.
A retainer should be built, not guessed. Start with your direct cost to deliver: the estimated hours per month multiplied by your fully-loaded labor cost, plus the software and app subscriptions you carry for that client. That total is the real floor — sell below it and the engagement loses money no matter how much the client likes you. This calculator adds your target margin on top so the price defends itself in a fee conversation.
Worked example: you expect 8 hours a month at a $40 fully-loaded labor cost, plus $60 of software per client. Your direct cost is (8 x $40) + $60 = $380. To keep a 40% margin you divide by (1 - 0.40), so the recommended retainer is $380 / 0.60 = $633 a month — about $253 of monthly gross profit and an implied effective rate of roughly $79 an hour. Annual contract value lands near $7,600.
Note the math: you divide by (1 minus margin) rather than multiplying cost by the margin. Marking up $380 by 40% only gets you to $532 and a 29% margin — a mistake that quietly costs firms thousands a year across a full book. Margin and markup are not the same number, and this tool always solves for the margin you actually asked for.
Questions, answered.
Why divide by (1 - margin) instead of just adding the margin percentage?
Because margin is measured against the price, not the cost. If you want 40% of the final price to be profit, the cost has to represent the other 60%, so price = cost / 0.60. Simply adding 40% to cost (cost x 1.40) marks up, not margins up, and leaves you at roughly a 29% margin. The distinction is small on one client and large across an entire book.
What should I include in 'fully-loaded labor cost'?
More than base wage. Load in payroll taxes, benefits, paid time off, software seats tied to the person, training, and a share of overhead — then divide by the hours that person is actually billable, not their total paid hours. A $25/hour wage is often $40 or more fully loaded. Enter that honest number so the margin you see is real.
Is the recommended retainer the price I should quote?
Treat it as your floor, not your ceiling. It's the lowest price that still hits your target margin given the cost and hours you entered. Value delivered, client complexity, risk, responsiveness, and your local market can all justify pricing above it. The tool guarantees you never knowingly price below the number where the engagement stops being worth doing.
Is this financial advice?
No. This is a planning estimate to help you structure your own pricing, not tax, accounting, legal, or financial advice. Every output depends on the hours, costs, and margin you enter. Confirm your real cost figures and apply professional judgment before quoting any client.
From spreadsheet to system.
Building a cost-backed, margin-defensible retainer for every new client — instead of guessing — is the pricing discipline The Practice OS systemizes for your firm.
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