The workflow of default rate schedules is changing in Filevine’s Billing. 

Currently, changing which rate schedule is designated as the Org’s default rate schedule cascades to existing projects using the default. With this new change, projects will be assigned to use the Org default rate schedule directly at the time of their creation. 

Changes to which rate schedule is the Org’s default will not affect existing projects. 

What is a Rate Schedule?

A rate schedule is used to identify hourly rates and templated expenses. A rate schedule includes a minimum time increment for entries, default hourly rates for users, and default prices and descriptions for expenses.

Rate schedules are created in the Billing Setup Advanced tool. One rate schedule must always be selected as the “default” rate schedule at the Org level.

Any newly created project will automatically be assigned to use the Org’s default rate schedule. The rate schedule can be edited at the project level in the Settings tab of the project Billing section.

Read more about rate schedules.

How Does the Default Rate Schedule Work Today?

Currently, changing the default rate schedule in Billing Setup cascades that change to any projects using the previous Org Default. Any unbilled, non-custom line items will have the new default rate applied as the rate.

Example

I create the rate schedule “RS1” and set it as my default rate schedule. Then, I create Project A. Project A has “Org Default* (RS1)” assigned as its rate schedule. 

Later, I change the Org’s default rate schedule from “RS1” to “RS2.” Project A now has “Org Default* (RS2)” as its rate schedule. 

To avoid Project A’s rate schedule changing, I would need to change the rate schedule in the project’s Billing Settings from “Org Default* (RS1)” to “RS1” in the dropdown. Changing to “RS1” will tie the project to that rate schedule, rather than to whatever the current default rate schedule is. 

How Will It Work After the Change?

In the new default rate schedule workflow, changing the default rate schedule no longer cascades to existing projects that were assigned the default rate schedule. Instead, the default rate schedule is used only at project creation. The project will keep that same rate schedule, unless it is manually changed in the project’s Billing section. 

If the default rate schedule selection is changed, the change will not affect existing projects. 

Note: This new workflow will only apply to new projects going forward. Projects in existence at the time you change to the new workflow will still be changed when the default rate schedule is changed. (To avoid these projects changing to a new default workflow, you can change the rate schedule at the project level, as described previously.)

Example

I create the rate schedule “RS1” as my default rate schedule. Then, I create Project A. Project A has “RS1” assigned as its rate schedule. It is now tied to “RS1,” rather than to the Org default. 

Later, I change the default rate schedule from “RS1” to “RS2.” Project A still has “RS1” as its rate schedule. If I now create Project B, Project B will have “RS2” as its rate schedule.