Contracts and rates

Set the commercial basis for each project invoice. A contract should name the customer and project, its billing type, billing frequency, payment terms and revenue method. The rate card holds the shared bill rate. An override can capture a negotiated resource or role rate for the contract. A schedule carries the amount and date for fixed fee or milestone billing.

• Identify the project. Confirm the customer, contract and project belong to the same engagement.
• Check the source. Compare dated source records with the period and amount under review.
• Keep the decision. Record the person, status and reason at each approval or exception.

The team must agree which rate takes precedence when a resource has a negotiated override, how expense markup is applied, and who changes terms after a customer amendment. Record the customer billing contact and check the currency on the contract and schedule. A suspended or closed contract should not be treated as an open billing instruction.

A project manager and billing specialist check that the commercial terms match the engagement. Controller approves the contract before billing begins. For a monthly time and materials engagement, the team checks the contract is active and the effective dates cover the billing period. For a milestone engagement, they match each schedule line to the agreed milestone and amount. When the amount differs from the customer’s expectation, follow the linked source and decision records with the responsible person. A dated approval or status change should explain the next action. Keep corrections visible to the next person in the cycle, and confirm the project and customer match before the invoice leaves the team.

Use the project and customer on the contract to check its billing owner. Compare its effective dates and currency with the planned invoice period. For time and materials work, check the active shared rate and any effective contract override before hours arrive. For a fixed fee or milestone, read the scheduled date and amount with the matching milestone. Controller approves the contract before billing specialist treats it as ready for billing.

• Monthly Billing Run Readiness — Monthly Billing Run Readiness shows active contracts and their billing frequency, so billing specialist can prepare the next cycle.
• Invoice Status Board — Follow the invoice status from draft through sent after the team checks its source and approval.

Start with project terms, then follow invoice preparation and period close. The data model shows the record links used at each handoff.