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Because the retainer is a monthly number and the work is daily. Hours are logged for billing, not against the retainer, so the draw-down is reconstructed at month end if at all.
By the time somebody notices a client has had double their hours, it has been happening for a quarter and asking for more money is awkward.
Retainer balances read logged hours directly, so the draw-down is current. Over-servicing shows against the agreed hours with the specific tasks behind it.
Project work and retainer work share one plan and one capacity picture, so the team is not planned twice.
It will not stop the team helping a client. It makes the cost visible and attributable so absorbing it is a choice.
It also will not price the retainer.
The conversation happens at sixty per cent of the retainer rather than at a hundred and forty.
Renewals are argued from evidence — what was agreed, what was used, what it cost — instead of impressions.
Yes, or expire, per contract.
Yes, where you expose it in the portal.
Yes, per service line.
Half an hour on your own numbers is usually enough to say whether Loop is the right place to start.