Billing Rules – Support | Time Portal, LLC

As discussed in Time Portal's Billing Features, Billing Rules may be used to specify how a particular work activity should be billed in certain situations and for specific customers (Growers.) When Billing Reports are generated, the appropriate Billing Rule will be used to determine the amount to bill.

What is a Billing Rule?

A Billing Rule includes a "Billing Type" and an amount/percentage as illustrated below.

For example, an Hourly Job with the Hours - Fixed Rate Billing Type and an Amount of $21.55 will be billed at a flat rate of $21.55/Hour.

Similarly, a Piece Job with the Pieces - Piece Rate x Percentage Billing Type and a Percentage of 150% will be billed at 1.5 x the piece rate. If the worker is paid $1/piece, the bill would be for $1.50/piece.

Different types of Billing Rules are available for Hourly work and Piece work

Hourly Jobs are defined as Jobs with a Pay Type of "Hour", "Hour and Piece" or "Travel" and can be billed as follows:

Fixed Rate - The amount specified will be billed for each hour worked.
Hourly Rate plus Amount - The amount specified will be added to the hourly rate for each employee. For example, if the amount is $5.00 and the employee is paid $12.41/hour, the billing rate would be $17.41/hour.
Hourly Rate times Percentage - The percentage specified will be multiplied by the hourly rate for each employee. For example, if the amount is 1.5 (150%) and the employee is paid $20.00/hour, the billing rate would be $30.00/hour.

Piece jobs are defined as Jobs with a Pay Type of "Piece" or "Hour and Piece" and can be billed as follows:

Hours - Fixed Rate - The amount specified will be billed for each hour worked even though the worker is performing a piece job.
Hours - Hourly Rate Plus Amount - The amount specified will be added to the hourly rate for each employee even though the worker is performing a piece job.
Hours - Hourly Rate Times Percentage - The percentage specified will be multiplied by the hourly rate for each employee even though the worker is performing a piece job.
Pieces - Fixed Rate - The amount specified will be billed for each piece.
Pieces - Piece Rate Plus Amount - The amount specified will be added to the piece rate. For example, if the amount is $1.00 and the piece rate is $2.50, the billing rate would be $3.50/piece.
Pieces - Piece Rate Times Percentage - The percentage specified will be multiplied by the piece rate. For example, if the amount is 1.2 (120%) and the piece rate is $2.50, the billing rate would be $3.00/piece.

Note: Jobs with a Pay type of "Hour and Piece" will be billed using the Piece Job Billing Rule if defined. Otherwise, "Hour and Piece" jobs will be billed using the Hourly Job Billing Rule.

Billing Rules can be specified at multiple levels

For each Time Sheet Record, representing a unit of work, the billing report will check for an applicable Billing Rule in the following order:

Grower Job - If specified, a Billing Rule for a certain Job at a particular Grower will override all other Billing Rules. This level should only be used for unique situations. See Grower Job Billing Rules.
Grower - Used for charging a different rate to a particular grower. Since this Billing Rule overrides the Job and Company rules, it should be used just for unique situations. See Grower Billing Rules.
Job - Used for changing the default method of billing based on the type of work. Most often used to specify how Travel or Training is billed. See Job Billing Rules.
Company - Should be set up to specify a default set of billing rules for Hourly Work and for Piece Work. See Company Billing Rules.

Therefore, Time Portal will first look for an Hourly or Piece Job Billing Rule (depending on the type of Job) that is specified for the Time Sheet Record's Job/Grower. If none is found, it will then look for a Billing Rule for the Time Sheet Record's Grower. If not found, it will then look for a Billing Rule for the Time Sheet Record's Job and finally for the Company.

It is recommended that Billing Rules on the "My Company" page are defined, at a minimum, since Billing Reports will calculate a value of Zero for all billing amounts if no Billing Rules have been set up.

Crew Leaders can be billed according to a different set of Billing Rules

If Crew Leaders are billed according to a different set of rules, you can Enable Crew Leader Billing to specify the Billing Rule at each level for Crew Leaders. As illustrated below, a separate Billing Type and Amount/Percentage can be specified for Employees and Crew Leaders.

Note: Crew Leader Billing Fields will not be available unless Enable Crew Leader Billing has been toggled "On" within the "My Company" screen.

When specified at a particular level (see above), the Crew Leader Billing Type and Amount/Percent will override the Billing Type and Amount/Percent specified for Employees.

If both Crew Leader and Employee Billing Types are specified for a particular Grower, the Crew Leader Billing Rule will be used for Crew Leaders and the Employee Billing Rule will be used for Employees.
If a Crew Leader Billing Type is not specified for a particular Grower, the work for the Crew Leader will be billed according to the Billing Type specified for Employees. This may be acceptable if the Employee Billing Type is based on a markup amount/percentage but may not be appropriate if the Employee Billing Type is for a fixed rate.

Billing for Break Pay, Makeup Pay and Overtime Pay

In addition to billing for Hourly and Piece Work, Time Portal includes options for calculating billing for Break Pay, Makeup Pay and Overtime Pay.

When these items are specified, the Billing Reports will display billing amounts that multiply the employee break, makeup or overtime pay by the corresponding amount.

As illustrated below, break pay will be billed at cost, makeup pay will be billed at 1.5 x cost and overtime pay will be billed at a 10% markup.

Options for specifying Break Pay Billing Rate, Makeup Pay Billing Rate and Overtime Pay Billing Rate are available on the Company Billing Rules page and also on the Grower Billing Rules page.

Since rates specified for a Grower will override rates specified in the "My Company" page, consider specifying a default set of rates on the Company Billing Rules page and only specify rates on the Grower Billing Rules page for growers that require different billing rates.

Next Steps

Check out Getting Started with Billing for a list of related topics.