How to write and send a proposal: scope, pricing, what your client sees, and how an approved one becomes the contract without retyping the scope.
Step by step
Write the scope Say what is included and, more usefully, what is not. The exclusions are what protect you when the work grows.
Price it Add line items with quantities and rates, or a single fixed fee. The proposal total is what carries into the contract.
Send the link Your client gets a link, opens it in the browser and reads the proposal without downloading anything.
Watch it You can see when it was viewed and when it was approved, so you know whether silence means "no" or "not opened yet".
A proposal in Retainer is a web page, not an attachment. That matters for a boring reason: a PDF in an inbox is a file your client has to find again, and a link is one they can forward to whoever actually signs off.
What makes a proposal get approved
Three things, in this order. A scope specific enough that both of you would describe the finished work the same way. An explicit list of what is not included, which is the only reliable defence against scope creep. And a payment schedule that starts before the work does.
A 30/40/30 split, meaning an advance, a milestone payment and a balance on delivery, is the common shape for project work in India, and it is the one Retainer's contract templates default to. The advance is not a formality: it is the difference between a client who has committed and one who is still deciding.
What your client sees
Your branding, the scope, the price, and one button. No Retainer account, no login, no app. On the Studio and Agency plans it is your logo and colours, and on your own domain if you set one, so the proposal reads as yours rather than as a tool's.
After they approve
The approved scope carries into the contract, so the terms your client signs are the terms they agreed to, word for word. That link is worth more than it sounds: most scope disputes are really disagreements about which version of the scope was the final one.
Frequently asked
Can my client approve a proposal without signing up?
Yes. The proposal opens from a private link and approving it takes one click. No account is created.
Can I see whether my client opened the proposal?
Yes. Retainer records when the proposal was viewed and when it was approved, so a follow-up is informed rather than a guess.
Can I reuse a proposal for similar work?
Yes. Save it as a template, then start the next one from it and change the scope and the numbers.
Does an approved proposal count as a contract?
Treat it as agreement on scope and price, not as the contract. Convert it into a contract and have it signed, which is the document that carries your payment terms, IP and termination clauses.