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Glossary

Evergreen retainer

For firms billing hourly who want to stop manually chasing replenishment payments.

An evergreen retainer is a trust deposit with a floor — when the balance drops below a set threshold as fees are drawn down, the client is billed to top it back up to the original amount, matter after matter.

Why it matters for a solo or small firm

Without an evergreen clause, a solo either bills the client to zero and starts working on credit, or has to manually notice and request replenishment — both delay cash and create an awkward conversation. The evergreen mechanism moves that conversation into the engagement letter, before it's personal.

Example

Retainer starts at $2,500 with a $1,000 floor. Once the trust balance hits $1,000 after fees are drawn, the client is automatically invoiced $1,500 to bring it back to $2,500.

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