Service delivery

Service lines describe the billable work delivered under an engagement. Staff Accountant records the service date, description, hours and rate, with the responsible team member and engagement. Engagement Manager reviews that context when a line is submitted. Billing Specialist follows approved lines that still need billing attention.

Partner can open Engagement Margin Desk to compare the agreed fee with delivered and billed amounts. The screen includes realization, projected margin and over-budget signals, with a path to the engagement record. Use that detail to investigate which work contributes to an apparent fee or cost problem before deciding what to change.

• Capture the delivered service. Begin a service line in Draft and describe work in terms the manager can recognize. Confirm the engagement, hours and rate before moving it to Submitted. Keep the staff reference accurate so delivery cost and effort can be reviewed together.
• Check eligibility. The service approval workflow checks whether a submitted line is billable and has hours and an engagement. A passing line becomes Approved with a decision record and operation receipt. A line that fails the check stays Submitted with a Failed receipt for investigation.
• Review the billing position. Use approved service amounts to follow work ready for billing attention and invoiced amounts to understand billing progress. Compare those values with the engagement fee and delivery cost. Keep logged time distinct from service hours when explaining a variance.

Agree how the practice describes a service and when staff should create a service line. Decide how time capture supports that line so reviewers do not count the same effort twice. A service line’s commercial value and a time entry’s account of effort serve different review needs.

Partner should set the audience for margin and cost information. Engagement Manager should agree how failed service checks are investigated and who corrects the input. Billing Specialist should confirm how a line’s billing outcome is reconciled with the firm’s accounting process before treating it as Invoiced.

Rehearse a completed accounts preparation service with its hours, rate and client engagement. Staff Accountant submits the line. Engagement Manager inspects the description and checks the result of the service approval operation. A successful run should leave an Approved line with its decision evidence available for review.

Repeat the rehearsal with the engagement reference left blank. The line remains Submitted and the operation receipt records Failed. Correct the engagement, then check the new result before using the amount in the billing discussion. Do not infer approval merely because someone pressed an action button.

Finally, open the engagement in Engagement Margin Desk. Ask Partner to trace the delivered amount back to the service line and compare the billed amount separately. If the hours budget looks consumed while billing is low, investigate the approved service backlog and the engagement’s commercial arrangement before changing the fee or declaring the work complete.

• Approved Not Invoiced — Follow accepted service value awaiting billing attention.
• Rejected Service Entries — Find rejected service lines that need investigation and rework.

Rehearse work to reviewed delivery. For contractual filing charges, continue through filing deliverable to invoice.