The whole Retainer workflow: add a client, send a proposal, turn it into an e-signed contract, raise a GST/TDS invoice, and collect over UPI.
Step by step
Add the client Create the client once with their business name, address, state and GSTIN if they have one. The state decides whether your GST splits into CGST and SGST or becomes IGST, so it is worth getting right at the start.
Open a project A project is the folder everything for one piece of work lives in: the proposal, the contract, the invoices, the files and the conversation. Nothing gets retyped between them.
Send a proposal Write the scope and the price, then send it as a link. Your client reads it in the browser and approves it without creating an account.
Turn it into a contract The approved scope becomes the contract terms. Your client signs in the browser after verifying a one-time code sent to their email.
Raise the invoice The contract payment schedule becomes the invoices, with GST split by place of supply and TDS shown separately where it applies.
Get paid Send the invoice with a UPI link and a payment page. Retainer chases the reminders so you are not the one asking three times.
Retainer is built around one idea: the work you do at each step should be the input to the next one. The scope you quote becomes the contract terms, the contract's payment schedule becomes the invoices, and the invoices become the money. You type each fact once.
What you need before you start
Very little. An email address, and your business details for the invoice footer. If you are GST-registered, add your GSTIN in settings before you raise the first invoice, because it appears on the invoice and determines whether tax is charged at all. If you are not registered, you can bill without GST and nothing here breaks.
Where the time actually goes
The first client takes about ten minutes because you are filling in your own business details as well as theirs. The second takes about two. If you send similar work repeatedly, save the proposal and contract as templates and the whole cycle collapses to editing a scope and a number.
The bit most people miss
Set the client's state correctly. It is the single field that decides the tax treatment on every invoice you ever send them: a client in your own state pays CGST and SGST, a client in another state pays IGST. The total is the same, the heads are not, and a wrong head is a correction later.
Frequently asked
Does my client need an account to use Retainer?
No. Proposals, contracts, invoices and the client portal all open from a private link. Your client never signs up, and never sees a Retainer login screen.
Can I use Retainer if I am not GST-registered?
Yes. Leave the GSTIN blank and invoices are raised without GST. Registration is mandatory above ₹20 lakh of annual turnover (₹10 lakh in some states), so many freelancers bill without it entirely.
Can I import my existing clients?
You add clients in the app; there is no bulk importer today. Most people add clients as they invoice them rather than migrating everything at once.
What happens to my data if I stop using Retainer?
Your documents remain downloadable as PDFs. Invoices, contracts and proposals are all exportable individually.