My clients and retainers live in a spreadsheet. What changes?

You stop maintaining a tab per client and a row for every cycle. Each client and their retainer schedule is in Settle. The monthly invoice goes out automatically. The status updates when they pay. The spreadsheet that needed manual upkeep just goes away. If you've got a clients list in a spreadsheet today, drop the file in and Settle imports it.

For independent professionals

Same client.
Same retainer.
Different month.

Q: How do I chase a late retainer without making it awkward?

Settle sends the reminders, escalating over time. Friendly first, firmer later. You pick the tone. You can edit the words. To the client, it reads like a billing system, not you asking again.

Q: Which retainers are paid? Which are late? Right now.

Cash Pulse shows every retainer invoice with its current status: paid this cycle, awaiting, or overdue. One glance and you know who to chase, who to thank, and who to let go.

You work with repeat clients on hourly or monthly retainers. You want the invoice to send itself, the late-payment chase to stop being your job, and your practice to feel like an operating system, not a stack of sticky notes.

Set up your first retainer Common questions

Maple Publishing · Editorial retainer

$2,500 · monthly · 1st of month

Active

Mar 1

Sent

Apr 1

Sent

May 1

Sent

Jun 1

Scheduled

Jul 1

Upcoming

Aug 1

Upcoming

Settle sends each cycle. You see it in your inbox before it goes.

Your practice

A practice runs on rhythm,
not effort.

The first of every month should not be the day you rebuild eight invoices from scratch. The 15th should not be the day you remember to chase a client. The end of the quarter should not be the day you reconstruct what happened.

Settle takes the recurring shape of your work and makes it operational. You spend your hours on the practice. The billing happens on its own schedule.

This month at a glance

5 of 5 sent

Maple Publishing

$2,500

Paid

Hartwell Legal

$1,800

Paid

Vance Ventures

$3,200

Sent

Jordan Books

$1,400

Paid

Lin Studio

$900

Overdue

Cash this month

$9,800

Operational maturity

Operate like
the clients you work for.

Consistent invoices. Predictable schedules. Clear payment history. Professional reminders. The same operational rhythm larger firms rely on, without adding overhead.

Your clients are law firms, publishers, startups, agencies. Your own systems can feel just as established.

Your practice, on display

Consistent invoices

Every retainer, the same shape every cycle.

Predictable schedules

Clients know when to expect the bill. So do you.

Clear payment history

Every transaction, traceable. Nothing is on a sticky note.

Professional reminders

Tone you choose. Words your client expects.

The clients you serve already expect this. Now you have it.

Predictable revenue

The month stops starting from zero.

No first-of-the-month panic. No 15th-of-the-month chase. Just the work and the rhythm.

1st

5 retainers sent

Auto-drafted overnight. Approved at 9 AM.

7th

3 paid

Standard retainer clients pay within a week.

12th

Reminder goes out

Vance Ventures · pre-due nudge in your tone.

15th

4th payment lands

Vance pays after the reminder.

20th

Late retainer flagged

Lin Studio is 5 days past due. Firmer reminder queued.

30th

Month closes

Cash Pulse: $9,800 received. Detective work: none.

Common questions

The things every practice owner asks.

Question

How do I stop rebuilding the same invoice every month?

Set the schedule once. Settle drafts and sends the invoice on day one of every month, every quarter, or any cadence you choose. Auto-send for the clients you trust, hold-for-review for the ones you don't.

Recurring schedule

Maple Publishing · $2,500

Every

Month

Day

1st

Mode

Auto-send

Jun 1

Set once. Runs forever.

Question

Can I bill hourly and flat-fee on the same invoice?

Yes. Mix billable hours with flat-fee retainer lines on a single invoice. The client sees an itemized bill. You see a clean total. No second tool, no second invoice.

May invoice

HOURLY

Strategy · 2h$400

Editing · 6h$900

FLAT

Monthly retainer$2,500

Total

$3,800

Question

How do I chase a late retainer without making it awkward?

Settle sends the reminders for you, escalating over time. Friendly first, firmer later. Tone you choose, words you can edit. To the client, it reads like a professional billing system. You preserve the working relationship.

Heads-up reminder

5 days before due

Friendly nudge

On due date

Quick check-in

Day 3 past due

Sounds like a billing system. Not like you.

Question

What if a client goes on hiatus, or I take a month off?

Pause a retainer for a month, a quarter, or until you say so. Settle stops sending. The schedule resumes when you flip it back on. No deleted clients, no rebuilt schedules, no awkward conversation about “skipping a cycle.”

Hartwell Legal

$1,800 · monthly

Paused

Jun 1

Sent

Jul 1

Paused

Aug 1

Paused

Sep 1

Resumes

Flip back on when you're ready.

Question

Which retainers are paid? Which are late? Right now.

Cash Pulse shows every retainer invoice with its live status: paid this cycle, awaiting, or overdue. One glance and you know who to chase, who to thank, and who to drop.

May retainers

Maple Publishing

Paid

Hartwell Legal

Paid

Vance Ventures

Sent

Lin Studio

5 days late

Operational calm

A calmer way to run recurring work.

Your retainers, your reminders, your revenue, in one quiet view.

May · at a glance

Live

Retainers · this cycle

Maple Publishing

$2,500

Paid

Hartwell Legal

$1,800

Paid

Vance Ventures

$3,200

Sent

Jordan Books

$1,400

Paid

Lin Studio

$900

Overdue

Received this month

$6,300

of $9,800 billed

Next sends

Jun 1

5 retainers

Jun 12

Lin reminder

One view. No spreadsheet. No 6 AM panic.

As your practice grows

More clients. Same operating rhythm.

The system that worked at five retainers works at fifty.

When

When a client's payment behavior changes

Then

Open Cash Pulse

See which retainers are quietly drifting late. Catch the change at month two, not month six.

Learn more →

When

When a client starts billing you back (sub-contractor)

Then

Use Settle Intake

Your contractor sends their bill through your branded link. Sanctions and fraud checks run automatically.

Learn more →

When

When your retainer book crosses currencies

Then

Switch to multi-currency invoicing

Bill the UK client in GBP, the German client in EUR, the Canadian client in CAD. Each invoice tracked in the right currency.

When

When invoicing every retainer becomes the bottleneck

Then

Hand it to a Revenue agent

The agent drafts and sends each cycle, within your spending caps and approved client list. You stay in control of every rule.

Learn more →

Built for

Repeat-client work that pays the rent.

Script editorManuscript editorCopyeditorProofreaderGhostwriterContent writerTechnical writerBookkeeperAccountantFractional CFOVirtual assistantExecutive assistantSocial media managerSEO specialistParalegalTranslatorBusiness coachCareer coachNotary

The first of the month
should take zero of your time.

Get Started See other solutions

Same client.Same retainer.Different month.

A practice runs on rhythm,not effort.

Operate likethe clients you work for.

The month stops starting from zero.

The things every practice owner asks.

How do I stop rebuilding the same invoice every month?

Can I bill hourly and flat-fee on the same invoice?

How do I chase a late retainer without making it awkward?

What if a client goes on hiatus, or I take a month off?

Which retainers are paid? Which are late? Right now.

A calmer way to run recurring work.

More clients. Same operating rhythm.

Repeat-client work that pays the rent.

The first of the monthshould take zero of your time.

Same client.
Same retainer.
Different month.

A practice runs on rhythm,
not effort.

Operate like
the clients you work for.

The first of the month
should take zero of your time.