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.

Client Setup

When a new project is created, it will apply the Get Rate From in the Client Setup to the new project.

Typical Scenarios

Same Rates apply for all clients/projects at all times

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 entries will use those rates.

Rates are set based on the year the project was created

WORKFLOW: Create a Service Rate Sheet Per Year > Apply/Update to each Client and Project after the new year.

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 new project and client, 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.

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, 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 drop-down below that, choose the pre-defined Rate Sheet.

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. You can also use the Recalculate Labor function to update the rates on all unbilled time entries in a project.

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.

Recalculate Labor Rates

When Rate change or if something was not quite setup correctly, its important to know how the Recalculate Labor Rates function works.

You can update the unbilled time entries only. This means if the time was already billed on an invoice, marked as billed, or written off, then it will not be updated. You must first get the time n question into an unbilled state before updating.

You can choose a date range to update, so say you want to update unbilled time from last month on.

Keep in mind that if you change the rates on a project, the estimate is not automatically updated with this information. And now actuals will most likely differ from your budget dollars.

You have two ways to updates the rates of all unbilled time entries on a project.

One project at a time - From the Project Settings, click on More > Recalculate Labor Rates.
Multiple Projects as once - From the Projects Views, check the box next to each project you want to update, then click on Recalculate Labor Rates at the top of View.