Retainer

A fixed monthly fee for a vendor’s availability or a pool of hours, typical for maintenance, support and ongoing advice.

The vendor gets predictable income and keeps capacity for you; you get someone who knows the system and answers fast. The details decide whether it is fair: how many hours, whether unused hours roll over or expire, the rate for hours above the pool, and the response times, which belong in an SLA. A retainer with no reporting turns into a fee for being on the list.

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Related terms

SLA (service level agreement): A contract that defines availability, response and fix times per priority, and what happens when they are missed.
Rate card and blended rate: A rate card lists the vendor’s hourly or daily price per role and seniority; a blended rate is one average price for the whole team mix.
Hypercare and warranty period: Hypercare is extra support right after go-live; the warranty period is the time the vendor fixes its own defects for free.
Time and materials (T&M): Paying for the hours actually worked; scope can change, cost and timeline move with it.

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