How retained experience works

Write the outcome, hours, timeline, budget and delivery mode in your own words. The brief takes shape as you write, and nothing is sent until you say so.

Within 48 hours of submission, RetainedCo introduces up to three professionals whose experience fits the work. Each introduction names the professional, their relevant tenure and their availability. Each introduced professional has 48 hours to say whether they are interested, and you choose who to engage from those who are. A professional you send a brief to directly has 48 hours from submission to accept or decline; if they do not, the brief lapses.

Rates are not published. When you send a brief to a named professional, their rate range is shown to you once the brief is submitted; professionals RetainedCo introduces show theirs once they say they are interested. The figure agreed when a professional accepts is recorded at that point. You agree the cadence, hours and intended outcome before work begins.

Each engagement has its own message thread. Times are proposed and agreed there, the professional supplies the meeting link, and a calendar invitation goes to both diaries. Payment is taken when the engagement is confirmed complete.

When the work is done, you confirm completion on the engagement page; the professional can mark it complete to let you know. Engagements up to $5,000 with an agreed timeline that finishes at least 24 hours before the card authorisation expires are charged to the card authorised at booking when completion is confirmed. A card authorisation lasts seven days, so larger engagements, engagements with no agreed timeline and longer ones are invoiced through Stripe when delivery is confirmed, payable within ten days. If completion is not confirmed before a card authorisation expires, the card is not charged and the booking must be made again. A receipt showing the GST charged follows.

What you write is never published as a quote. A public average appears on a professional’s profile only once at least three reviews exist. Below that threshold, nothing is shown.