Create and update the rates for staff charge-outs, supplier and subcontractors, inspections, office items, staff cash and travel items. Use variations to apply a special discount for the new year for a rate, or a discount for a selected project / contact.
- Change the rate charge-out value or markup % by adding a variation. Includes entering an effective date (start date) for when the rate change will begin. i.e. One rate value for this year 2018 and another rate value for .
- Setup the standard rate values for your organization. Specific rate values can be applied for projects and contacts using variations. *This feature is available with the Synergy Business or Enterprise products.*
What is adding or editing rates?
Rates can be used when estimating budgets, when entering expenses, displayed on reports, or listed on the project invoice sent out to your clients. Create staff rates to control the charge-out value for the work your staff perform for projects, or setup the markup % or charge-out value for the expense rate types. Cash and travel rate types are used for staff expense reimbursement, office items are used to charge time for internal tasks to a project, and supplier and sub-contractor expenses are used to on-charge these expenses on a project with a markup value applied.
Rates can be updated to adjust prices changes for each quarter or year. Add a standard variation and enter an effective date for when the new charge-out rate or markup % value will be applied to entered transactions. If using the Business or Enterprise Synergy products then you can also vary the rate by applying discounts / surcharges for selected projects or contacts.
Why add or edit rates?
Control the standard set of values that work on project invoices is charged out or marked up to for your clients. Use variations to apply specials pricing (discounts or surcharges) to selected contacts or projects.
Rate types
Staff rates are used to by staff when they are entering timesheets. The rate value is used to define the charge out value of the transaction for the project stage invoice. The staff rate charge out value is often determined by the market value when bidding on a Project. Rates are recommended to be created for a category of staff or job role. This style of rates is easier to maintain than creating a separate rate for each staff member, and having to update the rates each time a staff member leaves the organization.
Each staff record in Synergy is assigned at least one staff rate for use when they enter timesheets. A staff record can be allocated multiple rates if they work on more than one type of job or type of work. i.e. Jill Lockhart has 'architect' and 'senior architect' rates assigned for use in her timesheet entry. Learn more about entering staff timesheets.
Tip: Each staff record must have at least one staff rate available for use. Learn how to add rates to staff records.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates
- Click the 'Add' button in the top right corner and select 'staff' from the list.
- Type a 'name' for the rate.
- Type the charge out dollar value (per hour) for the rate.
- Save and close.
Tips:
- The rate name will be shown in Synergy lists, and on invoices to your clients.
- The charge out value can be altered within the project, or by applying a variation for the project or a selected contact.
Change the name of the rate and any of the existing items (staff transactions or budget entries that use the rate) will be updated to display the new name.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates List.
- Select the rate in the list to open 'edit' mode.
- Type a new description into the 'name' field for the staff rate.
This will update all the existing records using the rate to have the new rate name applied. - Save and close.
Tip: Update the staff rate values by adding a variation with an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
Below is a table with samples created for a job role in an organization. By creating the rate using a job role, the rate can be used by many staff members in Synergy. Each rate requires a name and a standard hourly charge out value for project invoices.
Cost shown on the rate is 'standard cost' for the rate. Use standard cost as a benchmark guide as to what your staff need to average at or value under, for each staff rate to obtain the estimated profit. Each staff member will also have their own cost based on their salary / hourly cost plus overhead.
Example: standard cost formula
(Standard Charge Per Unit) / (1+(Target Profit / 100)) = Standard Overhead cost / hour
i.e. If your target profit is 25% and the standard charge per hour is $100 then: $100 / (1+(25/100)) = $80.
This means that staff members that cost you more than $80 per hour should not be assigned to use this rate to continue making a profit for their billable work.
If the staff member costs you more per hour based on their salary details than the standard cost then it would indicate that the staff rate will not be making the estimated 25% profit. The standard overhead per hour cost for completing the task is calculated automatically based on the 'target profit' defined in the financial controls settings.
| Rate name | Charge out $ (per hour) | Less profit markup % | Standard cost $ (per hour) | Standard cost profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Director | $200 | 25% | $160 | $40 |
| Architect | $120 | 25% | $96 | $24 |
| Senior Architect | $160 | 25% | $128 | $32 |
| Project Manager | $110 | 25% | $88 | $22 |
| Engineer | $115 | 25% | $92 | $23 |
| Senior Engineer | $175 | 25% | $140 | $35 |
| Administration | $90 | 25% | $72 | $18 |
Tip: Update the staff rate values by adding a variation with an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
This rate is created to control the staff expense markup percentage for staff cash expenses. This markup % is applied to the cash expense when it is allocated against a project to be on-charged to a client. i.e. the staff member is claiming for a flight which costs $500, and the cash expense markup is 10%. The cash expense transaction will be marked up on the project to $550 ($500 expense plus the $50 markup).
Cash expenses are entered via time and expenses, and are for variable cost staff expenses like flights, hotels, taxi's etc. Staff enter cash expenses when they are claiming the expense for reimbursement, and they can choose which markup rate is applied to project expenses. Learn more about how to enter staff expenses.
Tip : Synergy adds a default 'cash expense' markup rate when you create your organization. Get started by updating this markup to be correct for your organization.
There can be many different cash expense markup rates in Synergy. Create a different rate for each type of project work you complete. I.e. On some projects you can markup the cash expense by 10%, another is 15%, and on others you cannot markup the item which means a 0% markup rate is required. (Note: If you do not markup the expense, then you are not making any profit on that item).
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'add' button in the top right corner, and select 'cash expense'.
- Type the 'name' for the cash expense.
- Type the 'markup %' to be used to on-charge this expense on a project invoice.
- Save and close.
Tip: The rate 'name' is what staff see when entering expenses, and clients can see on hourly rate invoices. Try putting the markup % in the name so staff know what to use the rate for. e.g. Type 'cash expense 15% markup' as the rate name.
After creating your Synergy organization a default cash expense markup rate is created. Edit this rate to have a rate name and markup % that matches your companies requirements.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Select the rate type 'cash expense' in the list. Clicking on the row opens it for edit.
- Update the rate name to include your markup %. e.g. 'Cash 10%', as 10% is the markup value.
This will update all the existing records using the rate to have the new rate name applied. - (Optional) Change the markup % by:
- In the variations > standard tab click the row action button, and select 'edit'.
- Type the new markup % value. e.g. change the default 10%, with your required 5% markup value.
- Save.
- Double check that the markup % in the variations tab matches the markup % shown in the name. If not update the name to include the % so staff easily know which rate to use when entering expenses.
- Save and close.
Tip: Update the cash expense markup rate value by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
Travel expenses are used via time and expenses for fixed cost expenses e.g. mileage reimbursement per KM's / miles, road tolls, per diem or daily away from home allowance, daily accommodation allowance etc. Staff enter travel expense rates when they are claiming fixed expenses for reimbursement.
Travel expense item rates allow you to define the original cost of the item, and the charge-out value shown on project invoices. e.g. Mileage has a cost of $0.55 per KM / Mile which is reimbursed to the staff member at this value for work trips. However when the expense is shown against a project it has markup applied to be $0.62 per KM / Mile. Marking up the expense for project work ensures that you make a profit on the item.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'Add' button in the top right and select 'travel expense'.
- Type a 'name' for the travel item. e.g. Mileage or bridge/road tolls.
- Type the 'cost' for the item.
This is a dollar value, and up to 2 decimal places can be entered. This is the rate that the staff member is reimbursed for the fixed travel item. e.g. $0.55 is the cost for mileage per KM / Mile, or $2.50 is the cost of the bridge road toll. - Type the 'value' for the item.
This the charge-out dollar value used to on-charge the travel item on a project invoice. Enter the total value (Cost + markup) with up to two decimal places. e.g. mileage is charged to the clients at $0.62 per KM / Mile to include the markup from the original cost. Or the road toll that cost $2.50 is charged to the client at $2.70. - Save and close.
Tip: The rate 'name' is what staff see when entering expenses, and clients can see on hourly rate invoices. Make sure you put a clear description so that your internal staff and clients know what the expense relates too.
Edit is allowed for the 'name' and charge out '$ value' for the travel item. Update the details of items you create, or change the details of the default travel item created with your Synergy organization.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Select a 'travel expense' rate in the list. Clicking on the row opens it for edit.
- Update the rate name to match what you need to show on an invoice to the client. e.g. Mileage or bridge toll.
This will update all the existing records using the rate to have the new rate name applied. - (Optional) Change the charge out '$ value' by:
- In the variations > standard tab click the row action button, and select 'edit'.
- Type the new $ value. Two decimal places are allowed. e.g. Change the existing value like $0.62, with your revised value of $0.70.
- Save.
- Double check that the charge out value in the variations tab is correct and that the 'name' of the rate is clear and easy to understand by staff and clients.
- Save and close.
Tip: Update the travel expense charge-out value by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
*This feature is available with the Synergy Business or Enterprise products.*
Create an inspection rate to charge the client a flat charge out fee for a site inspection or visit. Multiple types of inspection rates to allow for a different charge out value for CBD / metro visits ($250), country / rural ($400), and interstate ($600) etc. Selected staff members can be approved to use inspection rates within their timesheets. The staff can enter and exact number of hours for the visit, and the client is still charged the flat daily fee for the work. Learn more about entering staff timesheets.
When creating the rate define what the internal cost is for completing a site visit, and what the client will be charged for the work. The charge out value includes the profit you want to make for the site visit. Work out the cost for completing the visit (i.e. hours by the staff member, mileage etc.) then add the required profit (i.e. 20% target profit) to create your charge-out fee for the inspection rate.
Create a rate for each of your standard inspection rates that you quote on a proposal. The actual charge out rate can be changed in a project to be discounted or surcharged to the client if required.
Create a rate for each type of flat fee inspection rate. e.g. CBD, metro, country / rural, interstate. Consider having an inspection rate for a full day visit, a 1/2 day visit, or for the different type of work completed in a site visit.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'add' button in the top right corner, and select 'inspection' from the list.
- Type the 'name' for the inspection rate. e.g. CBD 1 day site visit, or interstate 2 day site visit.
- Type the 'cost' of the item. This is cost for the staff member to visit for the number of hours, travel or mileage. e.g. The total cost is $220 for an 8 hour site visit ($200), plus $25 in mileage for a CBD visit.
- Type the 'value' to be charged to the clients. e.g. $250 for a CBD 1 day site visit, including the profit markup.
- Save and close.
Tip: When charging an hourly rate for a site visit, create a staff rate for the task instead of an inspection rates. Inspection rates are a flat fee rate. This means if the staff member take 8 hours or 15 hours to complete the task, the client is still only charged the same flat fee.
Change the inspection rate name, cost value, or charge out value to the client on project invoices. Ensure when updating the name of the rate that it makes sense to clients on project invoices and to staff when entering their timesheets.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates list.
- Click on the 'inspection' rate you want to update. Clicking on a row opens it for edit.
- Update the 'name' of the rate by typing the new name. e.g. Site visit CBD 1 day.
This will update all the existing records using the rate to have the new rate name applied. - (Optional) Change the charge out '$ value' or '$ cost' by:
- In the variations > standard tab click the row action button, and select 'edit'.
- Type the new $ value into either the 'cost' or 'value' fields. Two decimal places are allowed. i.e. change the existing charge out value of $250, with your revised value of $300 to reflect increased costs.
- Save.
- Double check that the charge out value in the variations tab is correct and that the 'name' of the rate is clear and easy to understand by staff and clients.
- Save and close.
Tip: Update the site inspection charge-out value by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
Create a list of fixed cost items that you produce in your office for projects. These items can be used to on-charge the cost of this internal task to your client on a project invoice. e.g. Printing black & white, printing color, photocopying, binding, presentation kits, or survey equipment hire per day rate. Try creating a different office item rate for each paper size or document type that your office will print, photocopy or bind. e.g. letter, A3, A4, B1, A0 etc.
Add a new office item rate
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'add' button in the top right and select 'office item'.
- Type the 'name' for the rate. e.g. Printing costs - color A3, binding, photocopying A4 etc.
- Type the 'cost' that you pay for the office item. e.g. Cost per page is $3 for color A3.
- Type the 'value' to be charged to clients on project invoices for the item. e.g. Charge out value to the client for color printing A3 is $4.50 to include the target profit.
- Save and close.
Tip: If the item is purchased through an external third party, try using supplier expense items instead.
Tip: Update the office item charge-out value by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
Add supplier markup rates to ensure that expenses are automatically have markup applied when they are attached to a project invoice. Supplier expenses are project related costs like airfares, printing, accommodation, equipment hire, audit reports, inspections, or building supplies.
For example a supplier provides you with an invoice for $800 for 2 nights accommodation costs for a staff member on a site visit. When the supplier expense is entered the markup selected is 10%. This results in the expense allocated to the project being automatically marked-up by 10% to $880.
Synergy organizations are created with a 10% markup and 0% markup rates. Update these rates to the required standard values for your projects, or add an extra markup as required.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'add' button in the top right corner and select 'supplier markup'.
- Type a 'name' to describe the markup rate. e.g. Supplier 10% markup.
- Type the markup %. e.g. Enter 10% markup. Up to two decimal places are allowed.
- Save and close.
Tip: If the same item is often purchased via a supplier, try using supplier expense items instead to track the changes in cost for the item over time.
Change the name of the supplier markup expense rate, and all the existing transaction the rate is linked to will also be updated to use the new name. The markup % can also be changed using the method below if no transactions exist using the rate. If transactions already exist use a standard variation to adjust the markup % value and enter a start date for the rate change.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the supplier markup expense row to open the edit page.
- Update the 'name' as required.
- (Optional) Change the markup % by:
- In the variations > standard tab click the row action button, and select 'edit'.
- Type the new markup % value. e.g. Change the default 10%, with your required 5% markup value.
- Save.
- Double-check that the markup % in the variations tab matches the markup % shown in the name. If not update the name to include the % so staff easily know which rate to use when entering supplier expenses.
- Save and close.
Tip: Update the supplier markup percentage by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the markup % change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
Add supplier item rates in Synergy to keep track of the cost of frequently purchased items from your suppliers. For example supplier items might be geotechnical reports, survey field equipment hire, fire safety audit, tree removal, environmental audits, printing plans, fly through DVD’s, prospectus brochures etc.
Adjust the supplier item rate overtime to reflect the change in cost from your supplier using variations. If you purchase the same item from different suppliers then add a separate rate for each supplier.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'add' button in the top right and select 'supplier item'.
- Type the 'name' to describe the expense item. e.g. Survey equipment hire. If you hire / purchase the item from multiple locations, then consider adding the supplier name here to make it easy to notice in drop-down lists.
- Type the $ cost that you purchase the item for from your supplier. Up to two decimal places are allowed.
- Type the $ value that the item will be charged out at on projects. This is normally the $ cost plus markup. Up to two decimal places are allowed.
- Add any tags required. Tags help you search and filter lists to more easily find data.
- Save and close.
Tip: When purchasing a one-off item from a supplier, try entering the item as a supplier expense to markup to allocate the expense to the project without having to record all the details about the expense to re-use in the future.
Change the name of the supplier item, and any existing transactions will be updated to also use the new name for the rate. The charge-out value for the item can also be updated if there aren't any transaction existing using the rate. If transactions already exist, then create a standard variation to adjust the rate value with a start date for the rate change.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click on the 'supplier item' rate you want to update. Clicking on a row opens it for edit.
- Update the 'name' of the rate by typing the new name. e.g. Geotechnical report, fire safety audit, fly through DVD etc.
This will update all the existing records using the rate to have the new rate name applied. - (Optional) Change the charge out '$ value' by:
- In the variations > standard tab click the row action button, and select 'edit'.
- Type the new $ value into the 'value' fields. Two decimal places are allowed. e.g. Change the existing charge out value of $110.50, with your revised value of $150 to reflect increased costs.
- Save.
- Double check that the charge out value in the variations tab is correct and that the 'name' of the rate is clear and easy to understand by staff and clients.
- Add any extra tags required, to make it easier to search for this type of rate.
- Save and close.
Tip: Update the supplier item charge-out value by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the rate change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
A sub contractors can be contracted by your organization to perform a specific task or provide materials as part of the overall project. Sub contractors are often required for performing tasks outside the scope of services offered by your organization. i.e. building works like painting or tiling, electricians, quantity surveyors, engineering audits, specialized reports etc.
For example a sub contractor provides you with a quote for $5000, and when the sub contractor expense is entered the markup selected is 10%. This results in the expense allocated to the project being automatically marked-up to $5500.
Synergy organizations are created with a 10% markup and 0% markup rates. Update these rates to the required standard values for your projects, or add extra markup as required.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Click the 'add' button in top right, and select 'sub contractor markup'.
- Type a 'name' to describe the markup rate. e.g. Sub contractor 10% markup
- Type the markup %. e.g. 10% markup, or you can enter up to two decimal places.
- Save and close.
Tip: If you need a markup % to be different for just one project or contact try adding a variation instead of adding another markup rate.
Change the name of the markup rate, or adjust the markup % for the sub contractor expenses. The name can be adjusted at any time, but remember that past and future items will use the updated rate name. The markup % can only be changed using the method below if no transactions exist (WIP or invoiced). If transactions already exist use a variation to alter the markup % and set the effective date for when the new rate value will start.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Locate the 'subcontractor' rate in the list that you want o change and click the row to open for edit.
- Update the 'name' field as required.
- (Optional) Change the markup % by:
- In the variations > standard tab click the row action button, and select 'edit'.
- Type the new markup % value. e.g. change the default 10%, with your required 5% markup value.
- Save.
- Double-check that the markup % in the variations tab matches the markup % shown in the name. If not update the name to include the % so staff easily know which rate to use when entering subcontractor expenses.
- Save and close.
Tip: Update the subcontractor markup percentage by adding a variation. This lets you setup an effective date for when the markup % change will begin, so that existing transactions are not updated by the rate change.
Actions available - all rate types
Rates can be deleted if it has not already been attached to any transactions (time or expenses), or added as part of a project budget. If the rate has already been used then make the rate inactive to remove it from drop down lists.
Delete a rate by:
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Single row - Click the row action button and select 'delete'.
- Multi row - Select the check box(es) on the row left for each item you want to delete. Then click the multiple rows action button and choose 'delete'.
- The list is refreshed and the rate(s) have been deleted.
Rates cannot be deleted if they have already been used in a project budget, or allocated to a time or expense transaction. Mark the rate as 'inactive' to stop it appearing in drop-down lists for future use.
Mark the rate(s) as 'inactive' by:
- Go to : Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Single row - Click the row action button, and select 'edit'. Uncheck the 'active' box, and then save and close.
- Multi row - In the list check the box(es) on the left of the name column, and then click the multi rows action button. Choose 'set as not active' option.
- The rate is inactive and unavailable for future use. This will not impact any of the transactions or budget rows that are already using this rate.
Tip: When using the 'all' rate statuses filter the inactive rates are shown with a strikeout style applied.
Variations can be added to a rate to adjust the charge-out values or markup percentages from an effective date. The effective date is needed to be selected after the date of the last invoiced transaction that uses the rate. If transactions exist in WIP (non-invoiced transactions) using the rate, then these can be updated to the new rate value using a variation. Transactions prior to the enter effective rate are not recalculated to the new rate value.
Standard variations are applied to adjust the value for all transactions, for any project or contact. Use the project or contact variation options to apply a discount or surcharge to a specific project job or contact.
- Example 1 - Staff rate - The staff rate 'director' was charged out at $300 / hour in 2018. Next year the rate needs to be charged out at $350 / hour for all clients. Solution: Use a standard variation.
- Example 2 - Supplier expense markup - in 2018 all supplier expenses were marked up by 10% on project invoices to clients. In this markup needs to be changed for all work to 11.5%. Solution: Use a standard variation.
- Example 3 - Staff rate - A special discounted rate needs to be created for use for two clients only. The rate 'CAD technician' has a standard charge-out rate for all clients of $95 / hour. A discounted rate of $70 / hour needs to be applied to the clients 'ABC constructions' and 'Flamboyant designs' only. Solution: Use a client variation.
- Example 4 - Staff cash expenses - For a selected project job an agreement has been reached that no mark-up will be applied to staff cash expenses. Any project expenses (other than mileage) will be on-charged to the client without any markup being applied. Solution: Use a project variation.
Add a standard variation to a rate to apply the revised charge-out values for a new quarter or year. Update the charge-out value for staff rates, or change the markup %, cost $, or charge-out $ values for expenses (dependent on the expense type). Select an effective date that is after the last invoiced transaction using the rate. If WIP (not yet invoiced transactions) exist after the effective date chosen, then the WIP will be updated to use the new rate value.
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Locate the rate that you want to change, and click the row to open for edit.
- Click the 'add variation' button.
- Type the 'new value' (charge-out $ value) or 'new markup' (markup percentage).
- Select the 'effective date' for when the new rate starts from. i.e. Back date the rate to the beginning of the month, or adjust it forward to start next month.
- Save.
Undo a rate variation if it has not been used on any invoiced or written-off transactions. Undo/delete the rate and return to the previously used rate value. The row shown with the 'locked' symbol cannot be changed, as the locked row is the original rate value which is required by the system.
Undo a rate change by:
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Locate the rate in the list and click on the row to open for edit.
- The rate changes are shown in the variations panel.
- Locate the top row - this is the last entered rate change.
- Click the row action button, and select 'delete'.
- Click the 'delete' button on the confirmation screen.
- The variations panel is updated, and the new top row is the current standard rate value.
Add a project or contact variation to apply a special discount or surcharge to the selected job or client.
Create a variation by:
- Go to: Settings > Financial > Rates.
- Locate the rate that you want to change, and click the row to open for edit.
- Click the 'add variation' button.
- (Project - optional) Select the project to apply the discount.
- (Contact - optional) Select the one contact the apply the discount.
- Type the standard rate 'new value' (charge-out $ value) or 'new markup' (markup percentage).
- Select the 'effective date' for when the new rate starts from. e.g. Backdate the rate to the beginning of the month, or adjust it forward to start next month.
- Save.
- Repeat for each additional project or contact that requires the discount.
Tip: Project and contact variations are only available with selected Synergy products. *This feature is available with the Synergy Business or Enterprise products.*
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