Five answers
The information to share with your client
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Which period?
The covered dates and original hour-bank volume.
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What did we do?
Named interventions with an outcome the client can recognise.
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How much did it use?
Time per line and by work type when useful.
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Where is the retainer now?
Used time, remaining time and consumption rate.
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What needs a decision?
Overruns, blockers or requests that need priority.
A short structure
Start with the agreement, show the detail, end with the decision
- 1
Retainer header
Project, period, original volume and hours-per-day convention.
- 2
Summary
Used time, remaining time, rate and last update.
- 3
Work lines
Date, reference, understandable description and time.
- 4
Exceptions
Outside-period work, a scope change or an unresolved choice.
- 5
Next step
What continues, what waits and what the client needs to decide.
Descriptions
Describe the result, not an isolated technical action
A client report is not a commit log. Keep enough detail to explain the effort, then place that work back in the request context.
| Avoid | Prefer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| API debug | Payments: diagnose rejected orders after the provider update | The business problem remains recognisable. |
| Update | WordPress: update core and six extensions, then check the basket | The scope of the check is visible. |
| Meeting | Define the new delivery rule with the ecommerce team | The purpose of the discussion is explicit. |
The right rhythm
Keep the record live, add a human note when it matters
The record should remain available throughout the period. A client can check one line or the balance without waiting for a monthly attachment. That does not mean sending a notification after every entry.
Review it when consumption reaches the warning threshold, when an important request changes size and before renewal. The table supplies facts. A short human note explains the decision.
Example summary
“The 70-hour retainer is 75 per cent consumed. Payment corrections account for 40 per cent of logged hours. There are 17 hours 30 remaining. The checkout redesign requested on Tuesday is outside this estimate and needs a separate quote.”
Common mistakes
Share only a total with no work lines to explain it.
Mix client consumption and internal profitability in the same view.
Hide outside-period work even though it needs a discussion.
Send several similarly named files and leave the client to find the latest.
Turn every technical detail into a long defensive justification.