Company settings — Rate cards

Availability

Overview

A rate card has four main components:

1. Table of versions: it presents the history of versions created for the card at different times, as rates used for the project keep changing. It allows you to have the precise map of rates used over the lifespan of your project. It ensures both accurate billing of past actual hours at rates effective at that time and the keeping of an audit trail.
2. Version effective date and default rate: version effective date is the date starting from which the rates included in the version are effective. Generally speaking, a version is effective up to the effective date of the next successive version. Default rate is the rate used for the project roles not included in the version role/rate map.
3. Version role/rate map: this section, specific to the selected version, contains a table matching the project roles included in the version with the rates used to charge billable hours entered by the users with the respective project roles. For example, if the map includes the Participant role with a rate of $100/hour. All time entries logged by an assignee or assignees with the Participant role will be charged at $100/hour within the effective period of the version.
4. Users or job roles the rate card applies to.

Adding rate cards in the project's financials section

To add a rate card in the project's financials section, follow these steps:

1. Go to the project details.
2. Open Financials > Targets by clicking the project billing button .
3. Under Project billing is based on select Rate card.
4. Click the rate card dropdown.
5. In the text search bar, type the name of the new card and press Enter.
6. The rate card editor will open.
7. Select the currency (the default currency is set in Advanced settings > Project financial settings > Default currency).
8. Choose an effective date.
9. Set a default rate (the default rate is applied to time entries entered by project roles not listed on the card).
10. Edit the roles included in the card (for the project roles not listed on the card, the default rate will apply). Editing operations on the roles include adding and deleting.
11. Set the rates for each role.
12. Click Save.

Adding job roles or users to rate cards

To add a job role to a rate card, follow these steps:

1. Click + Add user or job role.
2. Select a job role to be added on the dropdown list.
3. As a row is added, specify a rate to be used for any project member assigned the role.
4. To confirm the changes, click Save.

To add a user to a rate card, follow these steps:

1. Click + Add user or job role.
2. Select a user to be added on the dropdown list.
3. As a row is added, specify a rate to be used for the user.
4. To confirm the changes, click Save.

Duplicating rate cards

Since a rate card can be used in more than one project, editing the card's rates or versions and saving the changes will result in all the projects involved being affected. To avoid this, you can duplicate your rate cards. Duplicating means creating an exact copy of a card, but not linked with the same projects as the original card, or, as a variant, linked only with the project being edited.  It saves you time recreating a card and provides a safe and quick way to apply billing changes to a specific project.

To duplicate a card for a project, follow these steps:

1. Access the Financials section of the project .
2. Open the project rate card.

Two scenarios are possible:

I. The rate card is used in this project only.

1. Click More actions next to the currency selector.
2. Select Duplicate.

II. The rate card is used in two or more projects.

1. As Birdview detects that the card is used in multiple projects, a Important message will be displayed suggesting that you make a duplicate of the card. Use the link incorporated in the message to duplicate the card.
2. You can also click the "Duplicate and apply to current project" to make a duplicate and apply it to the project being edited.

III. The rate card is used in a project which you have no permission to edit. 

1. If you have no editing rights for the project, you cannot edit its rate card, but you still can duplicate it for this project.
2. To duplicate the card, either use the procedure above, or use a link in the Important message you will see.

You should exercise caution while editing rate cards. You should be aware that a wrong step may ruin your billing. So, please check out the following rules of thumb:

• Take care when editing the current version of the card – consider duplicating the card. The thing is any change made to the rates in the current version will reflect immediately on how your yet not-invoiced work hours are calculated and, consequently, your billing.
• Duplicate a card when in doubt. 

Editing not in use rate cards

To edit a card marked not in use as being used in none of the projects:

1. Go to Rate cards (Company settings > Rate cards).
2. Hover the mouse over the card you want to edit.  
3. Click More actions at the right end of the row.
4. Select Edit.
5. Make changes to the card as required.
6. Click Save.

Editing in use rate cards

When editing rate cards that are used in projects you should exercise caution to avoid wrong steps which may result in recalculating loads of financial data. The golden rule is: when in doubt, duplicate the card. You can always delete an unwanted card, but it is much harder to correct an error caused by applying the wrong rate.

Editing project's rate cards

To edit a card:

1. Go to Financials .
2. Click Open rate card.
3. Edit the card as required.
4. To add, edit or delete a version of the card, see Rate card versioning.
5. If the card is used in two or more projects, click Duplicate and apply to current project to apply the changes to the current project only. Click Save for all projects if you want to apply the changes to all the projects where the card is used.

Deleting rate cards

To delete a rate card:

1. Hover the mouse pointer over the rate card you want to delete. The row gets highlighted.
2. Click More actions .
3. Click Delete.