Take upfront deposits, watch the balance go down as you work, and draw against retainers with proper accounting entries — all without writing a single manual journal entry.
Start Free TrialIf your business takes retainer deposits before starting work, you already know the accounting can get messy. Retainers are liabilities until earned, draws need to be tracked against the original deposit, and clients expect to see their remaining balance whenever they ask.
Kantivo handles all of this natively. Record a retainer deposit and the software creates the right journal entry — debiting your bank account and crediting a retainer liability. As you do the work and draw against the retainer, Kantivo moves funds from liability to revenue automatically.
Record retainer deposits with one action. Kantivo handles the double-entry bookkeeping behind the scenes.
See the current retainer balance for any client at a glance. Know exactly how much is left before kicking off new work.
Apply charges against the retainer as you deliver. Each draw reduces the liability and recognizes revenue properly.
Complete record of every deposit, draw, and refund per client. Print or export the retainer statement for client review.
Many small business owners book retainer deposits as revenue when they receive them. That overstates income and creates tax problems later. Kantivo follows GAAP by treating retainer deposits as liabilities until the work is performed and the revenue is actually earned.
Every retainer transaction in Kantivo generates the correct double-entry journal entries automatically. You don't need to be fluent in debits and credits — the system handles proper revenue recognition for you.
Take trust account retainers, draw against them as billable hours pile up, and keep the detailed records bar associations require. Kantivo keeps retainer funds separate from operating revenue until earned.
Lock in project deposits before kicking off engagements. Track how much retainer remains as you log hours and deliver milestones. Clients see transparent accounting of their deposit at any time.
Take monthly retainers for ongoing services. Apply charges each month as deliverables ship. Auto-generate statements showing work performed against the retainer balance.
Pre-paid support retainers with hour-based drawdowns. Track remaining support hours and dollar balances side by side. Alert clients when their retainer is running low so they can top up.
When a project wraps and there's an unused retainer balance, issuing the refund is straightforward. Kantivo reverses the liability entry and records the refund against your bank account. The client's retainer statement reflects the full lifecycle: deposit, draws, and refund — all properly accounted for.
GAAP-compliant retainer management is included with Kantivo. No add-ons, no workarounds.