Retainer burn check ​

Cadence: Weekly · Who: Managers and Owners

Situation ​

You want to know whether any retainer is running hot — burning hours faster than its monthly period can absorb — before you're past the point of renegotiating.

The worst retainer problem is one you discover at month-end. This play catches it at week one.

In the console ​

In the Projects list (/console), retainers report their active period burn — hours used, % used, status — so you're reading the month that's live, not the parent. Scan for anything in warning or critical, then open one to see the period detail.

What you see ​

A table of every active retainer period:

| Client | Project | Hours budget | Hours used | % used | Days left | Status |

Sorted: critical first, then warning, then on-track.

Thresholds:

  • Critical — already over 100% for this period
  • Warning — pacing to finish over budget at current burn
  • On-track — pacing at or under budget

For Owners, the table also shows contract value and projected margin for the period.

Who can run it ​

  • Owners — full view including dollar amounts
  • Managers — percentages and hours only, on their assigned retainers