*********NOTE* - Due to changes in terminology, all references to Bills have been changed to Invoices, all references to Billings have been changed to Time Entries, and all references to Costs have been changed to Expenses in the Guide below. At some point, the Video above may also be updated. *************

Fees are charges applied to an Invoice on top of everything else (Timed Entries, Expenses and Flat Fees) and can be applied individually or en masse. For a Guide on applying Fees to any specific Invoice, click here. But your firm may also want to apply standard Fees on all Invoices, what our system refers to as Administrative Fees, automatically and on Invoice creation. This Guide will take you through the process of setting your Fee Templates on the Business Center, a breakdown of each option and what they’ll mean to your process, and what will happen if you have more than one Administrative Fee set up.

Let’s get started!

Before we start, you need have Administrative access in order to see and be able to access your Business Center. If, during the course of this Guide, you find that you cannot continue, you may need to have an Admin set these up or have an Admin provide you with Admin access. Who knows, you might get a promotion today!

To begin, find the Business Centers Entity on the left side of the screen.

And choose your Business Center.

Now scroll down to this section for Fees, and click +New Fee Template. This will allow us to create a new Fee Rule that can be applied to all of our Invoices.

On the right side of your screen, a popout will appear with quite a few options, let’s go over them now.

First, we have the Invoice Text Field. This Field will be the Text that appears next to the Fee on an Invoice, and will explain to the Client what the Fee is and why it’s being added. It could be something as simple as ‘Administrative’ or as complex as a full description. See my example below:

Next, we have three options for the Type. Technically, you’ll see four options in the list, but ignore Interest for now – that’s for a future update.

Flat Amount – A Flat Amount is simply that. You’ll apply X amount, as a Fee, to all Invoices.

Percent of Total Amount – Again, self-explanatory, this option will add X% of the Invoice back to itself, and you can even choose a max Amount if you’d like to keep the Amount capped.

Rounded Amount – This one is a little cleverer in its function. It will add a specific Fee Amount and then round the entire Invoice up to the nearest dollar. So, for example, an Invoice for $430.65 with an added, Rounded Fee of $25.00 will set the final Invoice to an even $456.00.

The Evaluation Order will decide the order in which this Fee will be applied to the Invoice, provided you have multiple Administrative Fees on your Business Center. This could Matter, as your percentage Fees could compound depending on the order in which they’re executed.

Finally, the Apply to Expenses option is a Yes or No Field that asks, simply, whether or not you want to include Expenses in % calculations for the Fee Amount. You’ll see this option pop up for Percent of Total Amount and Rounded Amount.

Once finished, click Save and Close!

After the creation of your Fees, you’ll see them in a list (or Grid), shown below. Now, they need to be Activated. Check all Fees that you want to start applying to Invoices and click the Activate button. A second screen will pop up needing confirmation, so click Activate there, as well.

Next, look a little ways up the page, still in the Business Center, and find the Field for Show Fee Breakdown on Invoice. If this is set to Yes, then you’ll see the Fees displayed in a line item format on the Invoice (as shown a few steps down), and if set to know, it will simply total the Fees in the final Invoice Totals without displaying them individually.

Once Activated, you’ll need to take one extra step to see them appear in any newly-generated Invoices, as shown below. After you Generate a Invoice, scroll down to the Fees section IN THE INVOICE, select all Fees that you want to apply to the Invoice, and click the Ellipses and then choose Activate. REMEMBER THAT YOU’RE DOING THIS ON A INVOICE, not from the Business Center from which we’ve been working.

NOTE – These WILL NOT retroactively apply to previously Generated Invoices – ONLY new Invoices. If you’re unclear on how to Generate a Invoice, you can check this Guide for a full walkthrough on Invoicing.

Then give it a confirmation by clicking Activate.

And once Activated on the Invoice Record, you’ll see it in your Invoice Preview PDF, shown below.

And that’s it! Now your Invoices can snag a little extra revenue for your Firm, and you have complete control from start to finish!