Having done consulting work, I've found that any business model that involves sending someone the bill is a big pain in the butt. When I worked up the courage

Having done consulting work, I've found that any business model that involves sending someone the bill is a big pain in the butt. When I worked up the courage to ask clients to pay on retainer, that helped quite a bit. Cash flow is wonderful, and having the ability to pay yourself from money you've already collected is pretty awesome (if you can manage the retainer responsibly). Here's a tip I learned for getting clients to pay a retainer. Have an hourly spot rate, and a discounted retainer rate. I charged $100/hr for the service I provided as the spot rate, and $85/hour on retainer. Almost every client switched to the retainer, because "Hey, 15% off!"