Can Clodou send my retainer invoices every month?

It prepares them. Each active retainer gets one draft invoice a month, which you review and change if needed. You then send it yourself, or have Clodou email it once an owner or admin approves. You can pause a retainer at any time.

How do I bill ad spend I paid for a client?

Agree it with the client first, then record what you paid as an expense and add it to the invoice as its own line, such as Instagram ad spend for March at cost, $300. If the client pays the platform directly, the spend does not go on your invoice at all.

How do I handle a notice period?

Write it in your contract and in the note of the quote you send. When a client gives notice, pause their retainer after the final month, so no more drafts are prepared. Clodou does not sign or enforce contracts.

Does Clodou post or schedule content?

No. Clodou handles the business side: clients, quotes, invoices, expenses, tasks and time. It does not post to social networks, schedule content or run ads. You can add deadlines as tasks linked to the client, and they show in your morning plan on the day.

Will Clodou set my rates?

No. You choose your retainer amount, your setup fee and your price per extra post, and Clodou uses exactly those. If a price is missing, it asks you instead of guessing.

Free covers up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month, with no separate cap on quotes and invoices (making them in the chat uses AI actions). Solo, with your payment link on invoices, is $29 a month per workspace. Team, with 5 seats and automatic reminders, is $79 a month. Prices are in USD, and the first 14 days are a free Team trial.

Who it's for / Social media managers

Retainer invoices for social media managers, ready every month

Most social media managers work on a monthly retainer: a set number of posts on agreed channels, community replies and a report at the end of the month, often after a one-off fee to audit and set up the accounts. Extra posts, a campaign or ad spend you paid for the client make each month a little different. Clodou prepares the retainer's draft invoice every month and keeps the extras on their own lines.

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Sound familiar?

The same retainer invoice typed again at the start of every month
Extra posts for a last-minute campaign that never make it onto the invoice
Ad spend paid on your own card and billed back weeks late, if at all
A setup fee agreed on the discovery call and forgotten when the first invoice goes out

How Clodou helps

Retainer drafts every month

Set up each client's retainer once. Ask for this month's retainer invoices and Clodou prepares one draft per active retainer; you check each one, add any extras and send it when it is right.

Ad spend kept apart from your fee

Log what you paid for a client's ads as an expense, then bill it on its own line next to your management fee, so the client sees what was spend and what was service.

Who owes you, at a glance

Clodou lists overdue invoices with what is still owed and prepares a polite reminder as an approval card. Nothing is emailed until you approve it; on Team you can switch on automatic reminders.

How social media managers bill, and how Clodou handles it

Monthly retainers: posts, channels and a report

Ongoing work is usually a fixed monthly fee for a defined package: a number of posts on agreed channels, community replies and a report at the end of the month. Set it up once as a retainer with the amount, the start date and a description of what it covers, which becomes the invoice line. Clodou prepares one draft invoice a month, and nothing goes out until you review it. When a client gives notice, pause the retainer after the last month you agreed and no more drafts are prepared.

Setup fees, audits and extra posts

Before a retainer starts, many social media managers charge a one-off fee to audit the accounts and set them up: profiles, a content calendar, post templates. Invoice it on its own, so the monthly amount stays the same from the first month. Posts or campaigns beyond the package go on the month's draft or on their own invoice as separate lines at the price you agreed, such as 4 extra posts at $50. Clodou writes the prices you give and never adds a fee by itself.

Ad spend: the client's card or yours

Often the client pays the ad platform directly, and you bill only your fee for managing the campaigns. When you pay for the ads and re-bill them, agree the terms with the client first: at cost or with a fee, and when it is due. Record what you paid as an expense and add it to the invoice on its own line, apart from your fee. Clodou does not connect to ad platforms, run ads or apply a markup for you.

A new retainer client, a campaign and the ads behind it

Step 1
Invoice Juniper Yoga $600 for the account audit and setup, and set up a $1,200 monthly retainer for them from March 1: 12 posts a month on Instagram and Facebook, plus a monthly report
Finds Juniper Yoga, creates draft invoice INV-0051 with one line, account audit and setup, $600, and sets up the retainer: $1,200 a month, first draft dated March 1. No tax is set on this workspace.
Step 2
Prepare this month's retainer invoices
On March 1, creates one draft per active retainer, including INV-0052 for Juniper Yoga with one line of $1,200. Drafts are never sent on their own.
Step 3
Juniper's spring sale is done. Invoice them 4 extra posts at $50 each and the $300 of Instagram ads I paid, at cost, as we agreed. Log the ads as an expense too.
Records a $300 expense for the Instagram ads and creates draft INV-0055 with two lines: 4 extra posts at $50, $200; Instagram ad spend at cost, $300. Total: $500.
Step 4
Email INV-0055 to Juniper
Shows an approval card with Juniper's address and the $500 total. The email goes only after you approve it, and the invoice is then marked sent.

Just ask

Set up a $1,200 monthly retainer for Juniper Yoga from March 1: 12 posts on Instagram and Facebook, plus a monthly report

Invoice Juniper Yoga $600 for the account audit and setup

Add 4 extra posts at $50 each to Juniper's retainer draft

Questions

Can Clodou send my retainer invoices every month?: It prepares them. Each active retainer gets one draft invoice a month, which you review and change if needed. You then send it yourself, or have Clodou email it once an owner or admin approves. You can pause a retainer at any time.
How do I bill ad spend I paid for a client?: Agree it with the client first, then record what you paid as an expense and add it to the invoice as its own line, such as Instagram ad spend for March at cost, $300. If the client pays the platform directly, the spend does not go on your invoice at all.
How do I handle a notice period?: Write it in your contract and in the note of the quote you send. When a client gives notice, pause their retainer after the final month, so no more drafts are prepared. Clodou does not sign or enforce contracts.
Does Clodou post or schedule content?: No. Clodou handles the business side: clients, quotes, invoices, expenses, tasks and time. It does not post to social networks, schedule content or run ads. You can add deadlines as tasks linked to the client, and they show in your morning plan on the day.
Will Clodou set my rates?: No. You choose your retainer amount, your setup fee and your price per extra post, and Clodou uses exactly those. If a price is missing, it asks you instead of guessing.
What does it cost?: Free covers up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month, with no separate cap on quotes and invoices (making them in the chat uses AI actions). Solo, with your payment link on invoices, is $29 a month per workspace. Team, with 5 seats and automatic reminders, is $79 a month. Prices are in USD, and the first 14 days are a free Team trial.

Guides

Time & billing · November 3, 2026
How to Bill Retainer Clients: Models and Invoice Examples
How to bill retainer clients: fixed fee, hours bank and value retainers compared, what goes in the agreement, invoice examples and a monthly billing routine.
7 min read
Invoicing · November 3, 2026
Invoice Payment Terms Explained: Net 30, Due on Receipt
What net 30, net 15, due on receipt, 2/10 net 30 and EOM mean, how to choose invoice payment terms, and example wording for terms and late fees.
9 min read
Quotes & estimates · November 7, 2026
Fixed Price vs Hourly: How to Price a Freelance Project
Fixed price vs hourly for freelancers: when each fits, day rates and retainers, how to turn an hourly rate into a fixed fee, and invoice examples for each.
11 min read

Your whole back office, in one chat

Every new workspace starts with a 14-day trial of Team, no card required. Then stay on Free: up to 5 clients and 20 AI actions a month; quotes and invoices have no separate cap, and making them in the chat uses AI actions.

Free: $0. Solo: $29 a month. Team: $79 a month with 5 seats. Prices per workspace, in USD.

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