Get Labor Rate From
Defaults | Typical Scenarios | When Updating Rates | Resources
This guide is designed to show you the best use of the Get Rate From setting as this directly affects billing. This can be applied at multiple tiers in the system, such as Transaction Preferences, Project Setup, and Client Setup. Depending on your workflow, you can have it so rates apply from a specific area, such as per client.
The most versatile and recommended ways of handling Rates is to use the base Services or Service Rate Sheets. For definitions of other ways you can get rates, please refer to the Get Rate/Markup From Definitions guide.
Defaults
By Default, the System, Templates, and Clients are all set to Get Rate From = Services. What this means is that when time is entered, the current rates of your Services will be applied.
Transaction Preferences
This determines what the Rates will be on any New Client and New Project when you DO NOT copy from another template or project.
Project Setup (from your Project Templates)
This is KEY and trumps Transaction Preferences, as this determines if you will use a system rate or the clients rate.
Client Setup
If the new project you are copying from has Get Rate From = Client, ONLY then does this apply.
Typical Scenarios
Same Rates apply for all clients/projects
WORKFLOW: Establish your base Services > Applies to all New Projects.
If you bill all clients the same rates for your base Services, then simply leave the Get Rate From defaults in place, where all Get Rate From options are set to Service. Just keep in mind that if you adjust the rates of your services, then all new time entires will use those rates.
Same Rates apply for all clients/projects based on the year or specified timeframe
WORKFLOW: Create a Service Rate Sheet Per Year > Apply/Reapply to all Project Templates Per Year > Applies to all New Projects.
Think of this more as a way to dictate rates based on timing factors. For example, lets say all projects (regardless of client) created in the current year will use a rate sheet that defines that current year's rates. Then, next year you have a new set of rates that apply to all projects (regardless of client) created after the new year.
To do this we first want to create a Service Rate Sheet for each year. Then on the first of each year, we open every project template, and apply the new years rate sheet.
The benefit here is that for projects started in the previous year will continue to use the rates previously set. Only new projects will use the new rates.
Different Rates for each Client
WORKFLOW: Create a Service Rate Sheet Per Client > Apply Rate Sheet to each Clients Setup >Set all Project Templates to Get Rate From Client > Applies to all New Projects.
This scenario can get tricky as it requires you to have all your ducks in a row for things to flow smoothly. Yet this is a great way to have a streamlined process.
We recommend using Service Rates sheets for this purpose. You can create a Rate Sheet for each Client to establish unique rates, or a Rate sheet for different levels of rates that apply to multiple clients.
First, plan out the necessary rates. For example, if you are going to create a Rate Sheet per client, then get to work on this right away as you have more setup to do afterwards.
Next, go through each client record and change the Get Rate From = Service Rate Sheet. Then, in the dropdown below that, choose the pre-defined Rate Sheet.
Last but not least, go through each project template and set to Get Rate From = Clients.
From here on out, ALWAYS copy from a Project Template to ensure the clients rates will be applied to the new project.
NOTE: If you copy from an existing project, the clients rates will NOT be applied, as the new project process simply updates the Get Rate From on the project to whatever the setting was on the client record at that time. For example, if you open a project after the fact, it will no longer show get rate from client.
Different Rates based on the type of Project
WORKFLOW: Create a Service Rate Sheet for each Project > Set each Project Template to Get Rate From their Service Rate Sheet > Applies to all New Projects.
Similar to establishing rates per clients, you can also dictate the rates used per project template. The benefit of this is to establish how much a service's rate should be based on the work being performed. This can sometimes help alleviate the need to create multiple of the same service simply because it needs to bill at a different rate based on the project.
Create the Service Rate Sheets based on your needs.
Go through each project template and choose Get Rate From = Service Rate Sheet, and then choose the pre-defined rate sheet.
Now, whenever you create a new project form that project template, the rates will carry over based on the template setup.
When Updating Rates
Regardless of how you use Rates, keep in mind that if you update your Services, Rate Sheets, Etc, it will affect any project and time entry that is associated with those Rates.
For example:
If your projects have Get Rate From = Services, and you change the rates in your base services, then any time entry entered after that time will use the new current rates of you base services.
If your projects have Get Rate From = Service Rate Sheet, then if you change the rates on that rate sheet in use, any new time entry for that project will use the new current rates on that rate sheet.
To ensure rates don't change on a project, its best to use a Rate Sheet that doesn't need to be updated once its been created. Also, in this situation, its best to create a new rate sheet when things change and would be applied to new projects, but not existing ones.