Service Entries

A service entry belongs to an engagement. It carries a line number and revision, and can record the worker, service date, hours, approved hours, rate, cost rate and invoice reference. The link to the parent matters: a billing lead can check which contracted work the time supports, while an operations lead can compare approved delivery time with the engagement’s fee and due date. The entry is the line of detail; the engagement remains the client commitment.

The review path calls for eligible service entries awaiting a billing reference to reach an independent reviewer. The reviewer records a decision and source revision under the parent engagement. Billing Lead checks the entry revision and reviewed hours together before using the decision for a billing handoff. Approved hours and a rate can support a billing calculation, but the invoice reference is the bridge to whatever finance system issues the invoice. Keep the reference aligned with the downstream invoice so a later review can trace the line.

• Time capture. Consultant records the worker, service date, hours and parent engagement for each piece of delivered work.
• Review. Independent Reviewer examines the eligible line and records a decision with a reason and source revision.
• Billing handoff. Billing Lead checks approved hours, rates and invoice references before sending time onward.

Decide who can enter time for another worker, and whether the worker text follows the same name as the team member record. Agree when a service date is considered final and how changes increase the line revision. Define what makes hours eligible for approval, how partial approved hours are explained and who resolves rejected or returned decisions. Make sure the rate and cost rate are entered consistently; they are separate values serving different reviews.

Choose a single approach to invoice references. They should identify the issued invoice or billing batch in the connected process. If several service entries share one invoice, use the same reference consistently. The team should also decide how it handles approved time on an engagement whose status later becomes cancelled or closed.

Consultant records six hours of discovery work for a manufacturing client assessment on a dated entry with an agreed rate. Independent Reviewer checks the entry revision, approves five hours and records a reason on the engagement review decision. Billing Lead sees the approved hours and rate before assigning an invoice reference. Operations Lead can read the approved delivery time in Operations Overview without mistaking raw entered hours for reviewed time.

Then change the original hours on the entry and repeat the check. The earlier decision retains its source revision; Billing Lead checks which entry and revision were reviewed. The billing lead should reconcile the current approved hours with the decision and downstream invoice reference before treating the line as ready.

• Service Time by Engagement — Dated hours, approved hours and rates under each parent engagement.
• Unbilled Service Entries — Lines awaiting an invoice reference for billing follow-up.

Follow service time review for the approval and billing handoff. Engagement review shows where the approved time fits before acceptance.