Retainer tracking built for freelance graphic designers.
Design retainers live and die by the hours conversation. When clients can’t see how many design hours remain, they either hold back requests out of fear of overage — or blast through the budget without realising it. HourTab gives each client a live link they can bookmark: hours used, hours remaining, and a log of every creative task this cycle.
Free forever for your first retainer · no credit card.
The specific problems design retainers create
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Clients hold back requests because they don’t know their balance.
A client with a 15-hour monthly design retainer who can’t check their hours used will often go quiet mid-month out of fear of blowing the budget. That’s bad for both sides — you have capacity, they have work, and nothing moves. Visibility eliminates the guessing game: when they can see “6 of 15 hours used,” they know exactly what’s available and can plan accordingly.
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Scope creep is easier to challenge with a shared log.
When a client asks “can you just quickly update the branding on these 12 slides?” and you have a shared work log showing the month’s entries, the context is right there. Both parties can see how the hours have been allocated, which makes the scope conversation objective rather than adversarial.
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End-of-month email round-ups are admin you shouldn’t have to do.
Many designers send a monthly summary email: “Here’s what we completed, here’s the hours breakdown, here’s what’s left.” That email takes 20–30 minutes per client to compile and send. HourTab replaces it with a URL that stays current throughout the month — no summary email needed.
How HourTab works for design retainers
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1
Create the retainer. Set the monthly hour budget (e.g. 15 hrs), the client name, and the billing cycle reset date.
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Import from your time tracker. Export a CSV from Toggl, Harvest, Clockify, or log entries manually. Each entry appears in the client’s work log with the task description you wrote — logo revisions, social assets, presentation updates.
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3
Share the link once. Each retainer has a unique public URL. Send it to your client in the onboarding email and they’ll bookmark it for the life of the retainer. No login. No app. Just a URL.
Import your CSV after each work session and the client’s live page updates automatically. No end-of-month summary emails required.
“It is frustrating to be contacted by clients looking to find out how many hours they have left, or why something took more hours than usual.”
— Bonsai’s guide to freelance retainers
The work log in every HourTab share URL answers both questions before clients think to ask.
Design retainer tracking — FAQ
How should graphic designers structure a monthly retainer?
Most design retainers are a fixed number of hours per month at an agreed rate — for example, 15 hours at $85/hr. HourTab helps both sides stay aligned by making the used/remaining balance visible via a shared link throughout the month.
Do design retainers need a client portal?
Not really — clients mostly want to know how many design hours remain. HourTab provides that as a simple public URL with a progress bar and a work log. No portal login required.
Can I show clients what the hours were spent on?
Yes. HourTab’s work log shows each entry from your CSV: date, task description, and hours. Clients can see both the remaining balance and exactly what the hours covered.
What happens to unused design hours at month end?
That depends on your retainer agreement. HourTab’s Studio plan lets you configure rollover rules — unused hours can expire, carry over to next month, or bank up to a cap. The client’s dashboard reflects whichever rule applies.