Free Graphic Design Retainer Agreement Template [Docs / DOCX]

A retainer agreement communicates your services to clients to ensure alignment on what you’ll deliver and their expectations. It puts everything you and your client have agreed on in writing, including what work you’ll deliver, when you'll deliver it, and how you’ll be paid. 

In this short article, I'll explain a graphic design retainer agreement, why you need one, and the key parts to include when designing yours. 

What is a Graphic Design Retainer Agreement?

A graphic design retainer agreement is a legally binding contract between a graphics designer (a freelancer or an agency) and a client. It clarifies the expectations of your working relationship: you create design assets for their website or social media campaigns and the client, in turn, pays you for your service. 

Unlike a one-time project, retainers are paid on a recurring basis—usually monthly or quarterly—over the course of the project. This type of contract is continuous, which means the client has access to your design services in exchange for payment. 

Why Do You Need a Graphic Design Retainer Agreement?

A retainer agreement can improve the way you manage your design business. Besides the fact that it helps you set a professional working relationship with your clients, it also gives you these advantages: 

• It clarifies the services you'll offer your client. Graphic designers can wear many hats, including branding, web design, and other marketing assets. Clients know this and may expect you to do more than you initially agreed on because they know it's within your capacity. 

A retainer agreement spells out your responsibilities and what tasks you’ll handle each month. 

• It protects you against scope creep. One common challenge graphic designers face is when clients add tasks outside their original agreement. You can protect yourself against this added work with a retainer agreement. 

For instance, if your agreement covers graphic designs and illustrations for their blog posts, and halfway into the project, the client asks for social media designs. This isn't bad, since it's a task that you can handle. The challenge is that some clients want these tasks as freebies. 

The retainer agreement clearly states what work you will do and that any additional work will be billed separately. Clients are allowed to assign you extra tasks, but only if they pay for them. 

There are two ways you can do this— you can write another contract on how you would like to bill for those extra tasks or you can use our client portal to create an add-on service. 

This helps you create a one-time or recurring service that isn’t part of the main services you offer. See the image below for what the tab looks like: 

• While you probably have other income streams, a retainer agreement ensures you don't lose any unexpectedly. It guarantees regular payments, which makes it easier for you to plan your finances and workload better. 

Disadvantages of Not Using a Graphic Design Retainer Agreement

Retainer agreements may seem unnecessary initially, especially if you’ve gone over every detail with your client over the phone, in a meeting, or on a social media platform. But not having a retainer agreement comes with many risks, including: 

• Clients may expect you to do extra jobs in between, which may be more than you intend to offer. 
• Clients may pay less or decide to delay payment even after you have completed the work. This will happen if you don't thoroughly discuss payment with them, or maybe you did, and the client still delays payment. The retainer agreement clarifies payment terms and provides penalties for delayed payment. 

🔥 Tip: We wrote about what you can do to get paid faster. And if you still haven’t received your money, here’s what to do when a client doesn’t pay. 

• You may experience scope creep when clients aren't clear on the extent of the services you offer. They may ask you to squeeze in an extra task or give your insights for a separate project, and over time, you realize you’ve done a significant amount of unpaid work. A retainer agreement defines the boundaries of your services. 
• It leaves you vulnerable legally, especially in cases of disputes over payment or deliverables. A retainer agreement is legally binding and can protect you in the event of disagreement. It can also help resolve issues before they escalate to legal action. 

Key Components of a Graphic Design Retainer Agreement

The retainer agreement must be detailed so your client knows what to expect; it also helps you know your responsibilities towards the project. These are the key components you should include in your agreement to cover all necessary bases: 

1. Parties Involved: The agreement should state who the parties are. Write down your legal name (as the service provider) and your client's name (as the business). This section should also include all other relevant details, like contact details, email address, phone number, and address. 
2. Scope of Services: Write the exact graphic design services you’ll provide under the agreement. If you are offering monthly social media graphics, include the number of posts you’ll design, how many revisions you’ll take, and if there will be any additional services such as resizing for different platforms. 

You must be detailed in your scope of service so you don't pass wrong messages across. Instead of saying ongoing design work, which your client may interpret as “any design work they need”, no matter how large or complex, list deliverables like  “four social media graphics per month” or “monthly website updates for two pages.”

3. Payment Terms: Write how you would prefer to be paid. Most retainers use monthly payments, but you can also structure them to bill quarterly or per set milestone. Include when the payment is due (like the first of each month), and how it should be made— bank transfers, PayPal, and others. 
4. Deliverables and Timelines: Write down your deliverables and when you’ll deliver them. For example, if your client needs 4 designs each month, add that they will receive the first drafts on a particular day—say the 7th day of each month—the revisions a few days after, and the final files (X) days after that. Setting clear deadlines keeps you and your client accountable for the project. 
5. Duration and Termination Clause: The agreement should specify the project's duration (three months, six months, a year) and the conditions for renewal and termination. 
6. Client Responsibilities: Explain what you’ll need from the client to complete your work. This could be brand guidelines, content for design projects, or timely feedback on your drafts. 
7. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure:  Your clients will trust you with proprietary or confidential information (such as a product launch or branding strategy) while working on the project. Add a confidentiality clause to protect both parties so that sensitive business information remains secure.
8. Dispute Resolution: Write a clear process for handling disputes. Many agreements suggest mediation as the first step and legal action as a last resort. 
9. Signatures and Date: Add a space for both parties to sign and date the agreement to legally bind the contract. 

Tips and Best Practices for Creating a Graphic Design Retainer Agreement

These are some best practices when writing your graphic design retainer agreement: 

• Be specific about the services you will provide. Vague descriptions can cause misunderstanding, so always spell out your responsibilities in the project. 
• Include how many revisions you’re open to take. Revisions are a sticking point in design projects. Always include how many revisions are included in your service, and that additional revisions outside of the specified amount will be billed separately. This will protect you from clients who request endless changes without extra compensation. 

To better manage how they make edit requests, you can use our design annotation feature on ManyRequests. It lets your client point at any part of your design they have comments and write their comments as texts (See screenshot below). This lets you find areas they have issues with so you can fix them without the chaos of the typical confusing screenshots, voice notes, and email threads or Slack DMs. 

• Create a flexible payment chain for different clients. You can charge a monthly fee for a set of designs for one client and bill another client quarterly. This flexibility ensures money comes in at different times. 
• Add how often you want to communicate with your client. Specify whether you’d prefer weekly check-ins, monthly reports, or feedback on each deliverable. A consistent communication schedule will reduce last-minute surprises. 

If your work needs you to constantly communicate with clients, you can use our custom client portal to onboard them, manage their projects, and chat with them without leaving the platform. 

• Plan for extra services. Over time, your client will need additional work in addition to what you already do for them. Include a clause for add-on services and how they will be billed. Our add-on service feature makes handling add-ons easy. 
• Review your agreement every few months to include the changes you’ve made to your business. For instance, if you’ve added motion graphics or web animations to your design capabilities, add it so that new clients know what to expect. This also means you can up your prices to fit your expertise. 

How to Use Our Free PPC Retainer Agreement Template

Our free retainer agreement template saves time and protects your relationship with your clients. All you need to do is customize it to your taste. Here's how to use and customize it: 

• Edit the text to include your name, address, phone number, and other details you should fill in. 
• Add your brand elements (name & logo) and format the font and colors. 
• Add the specific services you’ll offer to clients. 
• Review it thoroughly before sending it to a client. 

Wrap-Up

A graphic design retainer agreement is important if you want to formalize your work relationship with clients. It creates a stable and professional foundation that benefits you and your client. You can clarify your expectations, state the deliverables, and write your payment terms. 

If you'd like to streamline your client management process, consider using the ManyRequests client portal to handle everything from client onboarding and project management to payments. Sign up for a free 14-day trial to manage your design business more effectively.