A renewal that rolled over by accident
A client's retainer renewed automatically last month at the same fee as three years ago. Nobody reviewed it. In that time the client has doubled in headcount, opened a second site and become one of your heaviest users of the advice line. Another client, meanwhile, rang to cancel because they 'hardly use the service'. Nobody had shown them the absence reports, handbook updates and policy briefings they had received.
Both situations came from the same gap. Renewal dates were in contracts, not in anyone's diary, and nobody had the information to hand to review either client.
Why renewals sneak up
- Renewal dates live in signed contracts, not in a system that sends reminders.
- Usage, cases, project work and invoices are in separate places.
- Client facts such as headcount change without anyone updating the record.
- Account consultants and directors assume the other is watching renewals.
- Price reviews feel uncomfortable, so they are put off.
What it costs
Under-priced retainers that roll over year after year. Clients who leave because they cannot see the value, when a short review would have shown them. Renewal conversations started too late to handle properly. And no consistent view across the consultancy of which clients are growing, shrinking or at risk.
| Review item | Where it lives today | In the review pack |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal date and terms | Signed contract | Calendar with reminders |
| Advice usage | Time records, if any | Summary by month and topic |
| Cases and projects | Case list, invoices | Listed with dates |
| Extras given free | Nowhere | Listed if you record them |
| Headcount and sites | Old onboarding notes | Current figures from the client profile |
How we build renewal management
- Renewal dates, notice periods and terms are extracted from your client contracts into a renewal calendar, with a person checking each one once.
- Ahead of each renewal, at a point you choose, the account consultant and a director receive a review task.
- The task includes a review pack drawn from your records: advice usage, cases handled, projects, extras waived, invoices and changes in headcount or sites.
- A decision is recorded: renew as is, renew with a new fee or scope, or have a conversation first. The reason is kept for next year.
- For clients, a value summary can be generated from the same data, showing what they received over the year, for the consultant to edit and send.
- Renewal letters or new agreements are generated from your templates, sent for e-signature and filed.
- A renewals board shows the coming months, decisions made and conversations still to happen.
Pricing and scope decisions stay with your directors. The system makes sure they are made on time and with the facts.
After a renewal cycle
The client-facing summary deserves a word. Many retained clients only remember the difficult cases, not the dozens of quick answers, template letters and reminders that kept small problems small. Showing them the year in one page, in plain language, is often the most persuasive thing a consultancy can do at renewal, and it takes minutes when the data is already there.
Renewals stop being surprises. Directors see what each client has actually used before deciding on price. Clients receive a clear summary of the year, which helps the value conversation, especially with quieter clients who might otherwise leave. And the consultancy has a running picture of its client base: who is growing, who is at risk and where the next conversations need to happen.
Does this describe your renewals?
- Retainers roll over without a review.
- Fees have not changed in years for some clients.
- Clients have left saying they did not use the service.
- Renewal dates are only in signed contracts.
- Nobody owns the renewal process.