Time tracking: Service rate sheets [in-depth guide]
Guide contents: Navigation | Create a new rate sheet | Rate Sheets vs. Rate Levels | Service Cost | Invoice/Estimate Labels | More options | Resources
Service rate sheets allow you to create multiple billing rates for the services your agency provides to your clients. A service rate sheet can be pre-assigned to the client to be used as a default for the clients' projects (additional workflow setup required). This can also be used for creating rush rates, etc.
NOTE: If the project is a flat rate for all services, you may want to use the Get Rate From: Project setting, instead.
Service Rates and Service Rate Sheets affect only the billing rate, and invoice/estimate printing. Your project managers and creatives will continue to select the "normal" service when assigning people and entering time.
The service rate sheet also allows you to create a different service label to conform to client requests. Ex. Copywriting become "Web Copy" to label the hours on invoices and estimates.
Navigation
Admin/manager > System setup > Billing options > Service rate sheets
Create client-based custom billing rates for services. Service rate sheets can be set at the client level, automatically opening projects with the specified client rates.
NOTE: When changing the 'get rate from' in the project, the rate will be for new time entries only, unless otherwise updated/recalculated.
Create a new rate sheet
Click the New button to add a rate sheet.
In the Rate sheet name text box, enter a descriptive name for the rate sheet.
For each service entered, the system will default in the rate from the standard services list. You can modify any individual rates by clicking in the Rate 1 box.
Rate Sheets vs. Rate Levels
Rate levels is an antiquated/legacy method of creating different rates for the same service. The setting also needs a setting on the employee record to define which level the system should use for their time entries on the project. Though usable, this method is very restrictive and has been reduced to a legacy item.
As this is considered to be a legacy item: DO NOT USE rate levels beyond the default Rate Level 1.
Service Cost
You can establish Hour Costs per service in your base Service. This is seen as an average cost of the users that would potentially use that service. And is for estimating purposes only.
But if you have a need where the cost may be different for the same service depending on if you track Multi Currency, or have specific needs to see estimated cost if you plan to have Jr vs Sr level users working on a project to the same service.
To be able to adjust the Cost in Rate Sheets, you first need to add a Cost to your base Services.
Once at least one Service has an Hourly Cost, then you will be able to access the Cost field in the Rate Sheets.
Invoice and Estimate Label
When setting up Service, you are create a default description that will be used for invoices and estimate printing. At that time, you can also setup a secondary description associated with Rate Level 1. Typically this is left blank. But if filled in, the invoice/estimate print out will used the Description set on Rate Level 1.
Rate Sheet Service Labels
The service rate sheet allows you to customize the label individual services on each rate sheet. When printing the invoice/estimate, the system will look to the project Get Rate From>Service Rate Sheet> "defined rate sheet" to determine the printed labels to be used.
From the service rate sheet> click to open the rate sheet> click on Service code line>Invoice/Estimate Label> click out of field to save update.
More options
Using the More button on an open rate sheet will show some additional options.
PDF: prints rate sheet in
Export: export rate sheet to csv file
Import: import csv file to create or update rate sheet fields
Edit name: Opens a text box where the name of the rate sheet can be changed.
Apply adjustment: Allows an across the board, percentage based adjustment to the figures on the rate sheet.
Set inactive: Will make this rate sheet inactive, preventing users from selecting it when setting the rates for a new project.