Free Creative Agency Retainer Agreement Template [Docs / DOCX]

You likely have multiple clients with different needs if you run a creative agency. You are either providing web design and video production or marketing and graphic design. Or a medley of everything, including advertising. Whatever your areas of specialization are, as your workload increases, so does the complexity of managing these relationships and ensuring steady cash flow. 

That's where a creative agency retainer agreement comes in— it formalizes a collaboration between you and your client to ensure you have clear expectations around deliverables, payment terms, and deadlines. 

In this article, we'll explain the elements of a retainer agreement and why you need it.

What is a Creative Agency Retainer Agreement? 

A creative agency retainer agreement is a legally binding contract between a creative agency (service provider) and a client to seal the terms of a consistent professional relationship. In this arrangement, the client agrees to pay the agency a regular fee (usually monthly or quarterly) for a defined set of creative services. 

Why You Need a Creative Agency Retainer Agreement 

A creative agency retainer agreement brings structure and clarity to your relationship with a client. It's also important because it promises: 

• Unlike one-off projects that can lead to financial uncertainty, it ensures steady work and predictable income. 
• It helps you set clear expectations and deadlines for the services provided. 
• It facilitates long-term collaboration with a client— with the hopes of renewing the contract. 
• It guarantees your agency of steady work that will engage your team members. 
• It provides legal protection, unlike verbal agreements, which are easy to forget or dismiss. 

Disadvantages of Not Using a Creative Agency Retainer Agreement 

There are several risks associated with not having a retainer agreement, some of which includes: 

1. No clear expectations on what your services are, what are considered deliverables, and what your deadlines are. This means the clients may have more expectations than you think. 
2. It could lead to scope creep. Clients love adding “a little bit more work” to your table; only a retainer agreement might save you. 
3. Not having a retainer agreement could lead to inconsistent income. There is no guarantee of work or a specific income, which could expose you to financial vulnerability. 
4. It can lead to payment delays and disputes as there is no written document on when and how you want to be paid. 
5. It leaves you without legal protection. If a client refuses to pay or requests more work than agreed, you have little to no legal recourse without a written contract. Also, you can be sued for how they use your work if it violates some policy you probably didn't know about. 

Key Components of Your Creative Agency Retainer Agreement 

There are several clauses to be included in your retainer agreement contract. Here are some of them: 

1. Parties involved: At the top of the page, write the names and contact details of your agency and the client you’re onboarding. Include their addresses, too. 
2. Scope of services: This is where you specify the exact services your creative agency will provide. This could be graphic design, video production, or social media marketing design. And be specific— “The service provider will design 5 social media templates per month and provide 2 rounds of revisions each.” The more specific, the better to avoid scope creep. 
3. Payment terms: Write how (and when) you want to be paid. If it's monthly or quarterly, or at the beginning of the month, immediately after you submit revised drafts, or on the 15th of the next month, write whatever works for your business, keeping in mind that you'll also pay freelancers and team members. You should also include a statement for late payments. 

For example, charge $25 weekly for late payments or a percentage of the invoice amount (1% to 5% per month of delay). 

If an invoice of $1,000 is unpaid for a month, a 2% penalty would add $20 to the total owed. Depending on how you want to phrase your terms, you can also have a 5-10-day grace period before penalties are applied. 

📌 Tip: Here is what you can do to get paid faster and what to do when a client doesn’t pay. 

4. Deliverables and Timelines for each deliverable: Write what will be delivered and by when. Write “The service provider agrees to deliver branding guidelines and 3 logo concepts within 30 days after the start data.” This is especially relevant if you work with a startup and are in charge of all their design needs. 

Having clear deliverables and deadlines helps you clear any other expectations to ensure you're on the same page with the client. 

5. Duration and Termination Clause: write the length of the agreement—it’s typically 6 months to a year—and add renewal options. Also, write how either party can terminate the agreement (30-day notice). This protects both sides from abrupt cancellations and ensures sufficient time to wrap up projects. 
6. Service Provider and Client's Responsibilities: This is where you repeat your specific roles. But more importantly, write what you expect the client to do. This includes providing timely feedback, access to other branding assets important to your work, or paying early. 
7. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure: Write clauses protecting proprietary information. Make sure both parties agree on how confidential materials will be handled. 
8. Dispute Resolution: Write the process of resolving disputes. It's usually through mediation and arbitration. The last resort is legal action. 
9. Signatures and Date: Leave a space for you and the client's signature and date. It finalizes the contract and shows that both parties agree with everything.  

Tips and Best Practices for Creating a Creative Agency Retainer Agreement 

Some of the best practices for an acceptable retainer agreement include: 

1. Be specific about deliverables. Instead of vague terms like “branding support,” write exactly what the service is: 

“Create 3 brand logo variations.”

“Create 5 social media graphics per month.” 

This ensures both parties know exactly what to expect to prevent misunderstanding. 

2. Set clear payment terms to encourage timely payments and protect the “integrity” of your cash flow. 
3. Include a clause on the services you won't offer— that is, services that are not part of your agreement. 
4. Set realistic timelines for each deliverable. Ensure you check your team's capacity and availability to review all the work before you set a deadline for each deliverable. Remember that you may take on more clients as your contract runs, so keep that in mind while setting deadlines for each deliverable. 

Also, keep in mind that your clients are busy and have their business to handle. It may be selfish to ask for a 24-hour timely response. A fairer time could be 

“Clients must provide feedback on designs within 5 business days to maintain the project timeline.” 

This keeps the projects moving smoothly and respects the time of both parties. 

5. Also, review and update regularly. The industry changes, and so do your agency and its services. You may add more services (or remove some). Update your retainer agreement to reflect new pricing, services, or processes. 
6. Lastly, if need be, consult a legal professional for any necessary finishing touches to ensure it complies with the typical legal standards, especially your clause on indemnity. 

How to Use Our Free Creative Agency Retainer Agreement 

• Edit the basic information to reflect your correct details 
• Change the deep blue color for each text to your preferred color (usually black) 
• Rewrite any of the clauses you feel do not best reflect how you want to communicate your services or other provisions 
• Customize your services based on how you want it
• Fill in your preferred payment terms 
• Add your brand elements (logo, color designs, and others) to align the contract with your agency’s brand.
• Review it thoroughly before sending it over or signing it. 

Wrap up 

A well-structured creative agency retainer agreement helps you maintain expectations on how to proceed with a retainer client. It sets the terms so you maintain a steady income, avoid scope creep, and manage projects while working. With your contract out of the way, you might want to consider ManyRequests to centralize client communications, projects, and payments in one place. We provide a 14-day free trial to let you explore our features, including our design annotation tool, to accept client requests, annotate specific areas that need editing, assign each task to a team member, and monitor progress. 

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