Configure contract rates, payment terms, and schedules

Start with the commercial agreement

Open Org > Contracts under the company that owns the commercial relationship. A TimeSentry contract should reflect the actual agreement rather than being used only to make a report display a desired number.

Confirm the client or provider relationship and the projects the contract should cover before entering rates.

Effective dates

Choose the contract start date. For a termed agreement, also choose an end date. Use an open-ended term only when the agreement genuinely has no defined end.

Effective dates help distinguish current terms from historical or future arrangements. Create or update the appropriate contract when rates change instead of applying a new rate blindly to all periods.

Payment terms

Supported structures include:

Fixed: a fixed amount paid on a schedule.
Pay as you go: a rate based on hours or units.
Task based: amounts tied to defined work.
Milestone: amounts tied to agreed milestones.
Custom: a written description when standard terms do not fit.

Fixed contracts can use monthly, quarterly, or annual frequency. Pay-as-you-go contracts can contain a general hourly or per-unit rate.

Team member rates

Use Team Member Rates to assign a billing rate to a specific timekeeper. These rates are more precise than a company-wide default and are used when valuing that person's billable time for the associated engagement.

Add every timekeeper who needs a distinct rate. Do not enter a person's rate under another company entity with a similar name.

Net payment terms

Use Payment Terms (net days) for terms such as Net 30. This influences when receivables and cash are expected. A custom description can record details such as early-payment discounts, but it should not contradict the numeric term without an internal policy explaining the difference.

Associate projects

Connect the contract to the relevant projects. A correct rate on an unassociated contract will not reliably value the project's time.

When work crosses companies, TimeSentry can maintain linked upstream and downstream contract-project associations so each party retains its own record.

PMT Schedule

The contract's PMT Schedule can support financial-planning scenarios by organizing projected income lines across months. Save the schedule after editing and confirm that the intended projected scenario exists.

Verify the result

Create a small billable test entry for each distinct rate. Confirm its project, timekeeper, hours, and displayed rate before relying on revenue or forecast totals.