Engagements

An engagement identifies the subject of the work, the client counterparty and the consulting organization. It names one team member as owner and carries a due date, agreed fee, billing method and scope revision. Its lifecycle runs through draft, approved, active, review, accepted and closed, with cancelled available when work ends early. The owner can use that status to show where a commitment stands without losing the underlying contract details.

The fee and billing method matter together. A fixed-fee engagement has an agreed amount that the operations team can compare with proposed fee changes. Time and materials work adds service entries with hours, approved hours and rates. Both methods still need clear acceptance evidence when delivery reaches review. The engagement’s accepted date records the final decision point; the attachments and review decisions explain what was considered.

• Contracted scope. Engagement Owner records the subject, scope revision, agreed fee and due date before asking for review.
• Delivery status. The owner maintains the lifecycle as the team moves from approved work into active delivery and then review.
• Linked detail. Proposals, service entries, attachments, review decisions and operation receipts all point back to the engagement.

Set a record-number convention that can be read aloud in a client conversation. Decide how a scope revision is named and when the agreed fee changes. Define what evidence an owner should attach before marking the engagement ready for review. Assign the independent reviewer outside the owning delivery role. Decide who can close or cancel an engagement, and how the team handles late due dates without rewriting the original promise.

For a consulting practice with several service lines, keep the engagement subject specific enough to separate parallel pieces of work for one client. Choose how to use the billing method consistently: the service entries can record rates and invoice references, while any invoice issue and payment process belongs with the connected finance team.

Suppose an engagement covers an eight-week operations assessment for a manufacturing client. Engagement Owner enters the client, consulting organization, owner, due date, fee and scope revision. A proposal for an added site assessment remains linked to the original engagement instead of becoming a second unrelated client commitment. When delivery starts, Consultant records dated work under the same parent. At review, Independent Reviewer can find the current scope, attached evidence and exact revision being approved. Operations Lead can distinguish accepted work from an active engagement still accumulating service time.

Try a cancellation case too. The owner records the cancelled status and checks linked proposals, service entries and receipts before deciding what remains billable or needs follow-up.

• Active Engagement Board — Work grouped by lifecycle status with its owner, client and agreed fee.
• Engagements Due — Due dates and current status for planning the next review.
• Accepted Engagements — Accepted work with its acceptance date and billing method.

See engagement review to acceptance and the service time review for the linked handoffs.