For firms, agencies, and consultancies: the SOW and the deposit run as one agreement, and “work is authorized to begin” goes out only once the retainer has arrived and been confirmed.
A signed-but-unfunded SOW is the state that quietly costs firms money, so it is the one Termn makes impossible to miss. You always know which of six an engagement is in: sent, signed, deposit pending, deposit received, engaged, concluded.
Firm and client sign the SOW, each from one secure link. No client accounts, nothing to install.
The exact deposit or retainer is requested the moment the ink is in: card or ACH in the same sitting, wire for larger retainers.
When the deposit is received and confirmed, both parties get the email that matters: “Deposit received — work is authorized to begin.”
| The state | What it means | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Signed, deposit pending | The client executed the SOW. No money has arrived. | The deposit request stays in front of the client, and Termn keeps asking. The state is visible on the record, never silent. |
| Deposit received | The payment is confirmed against the engagement. | Both parties are told, in writing, that work is authorized to begin. |
| Concluded | The engagement closed, optionally with the client’s approval. | A settlement record: the signed SOW, the confirmed deposit, the dates. |
An ACH debit can return after it first appears. The reversal window is disclosed on the record, and the “work authorized” message carries it.
Chasing a retainer is the most awkward email a firm sends, so it gets sent late or not at all. For seven days after you send the engagement, Termn does the asking: plain language, the client’s secure link, and enough space between messages that nobody feels hounded.
The client can sign and pay by card or ACH before they leave the page. Larger retainers arrive by wire against instructions that unseal after signature. Either way the confirmation comes before the kickoff.
You are putting a client relationship on this page, so here it is, all of it.
An email sent through Termn in your name carries one secure link to the agreement. It opens in the browser: no account to create, no app to install, nothing to pay.
The SOW is on the page, ready to sign, with the deposit request right behind it: a card or bank payment on the same page, or wire instructions for a larger retainer, revealed only after the signature. Your invoice is the only thing they pay.
Every act is confirmed by email, to them and to you. If they hesitate, Termn does the reminding for seven days, so the awkward follow-up is never yours.
No account and nothing to install · They never pay Termn anything unless you assign the activation to them · A lost email is re-sent from /my, any time
One engagement is one workspace: the SOW, the deposit, and everyone in it. Your first, working alone, is free. After that a workspace is $149 once, forever. A firm sending SOWs every month wants Operator: $199 a month for a five-seat desk, with every workspace covered.
Drafting is free with no time limit. Your invoice is the only thing a client pays, unless you deliberately assign the one-time activation to them. Compare all plans.
Your first workspace is free: one person, one agreement, start to finish.
Run your first agreement freeRather talk it through first? Contact us at sales@termn.ai.