Custom Project Billing Rates

Custom Project Billing Rates can be set for every Project. Custom Rates can be changed, but require attention to ‘Resetting/Freezing’ to make the change complete. 

---

Why Use Custom Project Billing Rates 
It is risky to rely on the Standard Billing Rate when invoicing Projects by the hour. When the Standard Billing Rate is changed,  the change affects all Projects. Inevitably special circumstances arise that dictate different billing rates, but changing rates globally gives unwanted results - and they are difficult to correct. Custom Project Billing Rates addresses the need for different rates for special circumstances. 

Setting Custom Project Billing Rates for each Project is good practice even if it is the same amount as the Standard Billing Rate. Think of the Standard Billing Rate as a benchmark for setting Custom Project Billing Rates.
​

When Adding A Project
If a Project will be likely to use Hourly Billing Rates for some Phase, add Custom Project Billing Rates to the Project. This can be done while adding a new Project. It must be done before making time entries that you want to use the Custom Project Billing Rates.

At the bottom of the form used to add a Project (graphic above) is a checkbox labeled "Add Billing Rates To This Project". If the checkbox is checked, clicking Submit & Continue will open a Billing Rates page showing a table of all your Staff and their Standard Billing Rates. The Standard Billing Rates are shown for reference only.
​
You add Custom Project Billing Rates by clicking the cell in the column labeled ‘Custom Billing Rate’ for each Staff Member and entering the amount in the pop-up that appears. Finally click the checkboxes on the left side of each line (the checkbox on left of the header line checks all boxes), and click the “Add Custom Billing Rates” button.

During A Project
If the need for Custom Project Billing Rates arises unexpectedly during a Project, there are two places where you can add them. 

Reports Page
First is the Project Table accessed by the ‘Reports’ button on the Bookkeeping page. 

​Click the “view” link in the ‘Project Details’ column. On the page that opens, you will see a button, “Show Billing Rates For This Project”. Clicking the button will open a Billing Rates page for this Project with a button “Create Billing Rates For This Project”. Clicking the button opens a table of all your Staff and their Standard Billing Rates. 

The process for adding Custom Billing Rates is the same as described above in ‘When Adding A Project’.

You add Custom Project Billing Rates by clicking the cell in the column labeled ‘Custom Billing Rate’ for each Staff Member and entering the amount in the pop-up that appears. Finally click the checkboxes on the left side of each line (the checkbox on left of the header line checks all boxes), and click the “Add Custom Billing Rates” button.


Fees Page
The second way to add Custom Billing Rates during a Project is  through the Fees Page. From the Bookkeeping Page click the FEES button. Then on the Fees Page click the Billing Rates button. 

​The process from here is the same as described above for the Reports Page.

Click the “view” link in the ‘Project Details’ column. On the page that opens, you will see a button, “Show Billing Rates For This Project”. Clicking the button will open a Billing Rates page for this Project with a button “Create Billing Rates For This Project”. Clicking the button opens a table of all your Staff and their Standard Billing Rates. The Standard Billing Rates are shown for reference only. 

The process for adding Custom Billing Rates is the same as described above in ‘When Adding A Project’.

You add Custom Project Billing Rates by clicking the cell in the column labeled ‘Custom Billing Rate’ for each Staff Member and entering the amount in the pop-up that appears. Finally click the checkboxes on the left side of each line (the checkbox on left of the header line checks all boxes), and click the “Add Custom Billing Rates” button.


Changing Custom Project Billing Rates 
When the need arises to change the Custom Project Billing Rates for a Project, the process is similar to adding Custom Project Billing Rates during a Project. You can change the Custom Billing Rates in the same two places where you can add them: the Project Table found on the Reports Page and the Project Table found by clicking the Billing Rates button on the Fees Page. Both paths start on the Bookkeeping Page.

In each location, click the “view” link in the ‘Project Details’ column of the Projects Table. Click the button “Show Billing Rates For This Project” if it appears. On the page that opens, you will see a table of all your Staff and their Custom Project  Billing Rates for this Project. 

You change the Custom Project Billing Rates by clicking the cell in the column labeled ‘Custom Billing Rate’ for each Staff Member and entering the new amount in the pop-up that appears. Click “Submit”. Then click the “reset/freeze” link in the column labeled “Reset Rate”. This prevents existing time entries from being updated using the new Custom Billing Rate.
​
You will also note that there is a column labeled “Rate History” where you can document when changes in the Custom Billing Rate occurred. This is optional.

​IMPORTANT:  ‘Resetting’ and ‘Freezing’ 
Because Custom Project Billing Rates are more complicated (unique rate per user per project) they must be ‘Reset’ when they change. Once reset, everyone having any of the Project’s Project-Phases displayed in their daily Timesheet will find that they have been set to “No” and do not display. Simply change the setting back to “Yes”. This setting change implements the new Custom Project Billing Rate for time entries going forward. 
​
This ‘reset/freeze’ also protects all your existing records from being affected by the change in the Custom Billing Rate.