July 24, 2024
all plans

 

Engagements are the type of service that your firm offers and how your time and expenses are categorized. The Engagement List shows your clients and what engagements they have assigned to them. You can add or edit Client Engagements from this window.

Accessing the Engagement List

You can access the Engagement List from the menu.

1. Click Engagements.
2. Click Engagement List.

Alternatively, a list of engagements assigned to a client can be accessed from the Clients View.

1. Click Clients.
2. Select the Client.
3. Click the Engagement tab.

Using the Engagement List

At the top of the list, buttons are available to access the Tutorial or + Add a new Engagement.

The Global Search field can be used to locate records containing specific text. Once specified, an indicator will be displayed showing how many records contain that text. To clear the search, click the red X icon to the right of the field.

Some columns in the List are optional. The Choose Columns field allows you to optionally select or clear the Client Engagement, Engagement Type, Client Name, Assigned To, Billing Partner, Billing Group, Created, Status, and/or ID# check boxes, which will display or hide these columns.

If a Client Engagement is selected, you can click + Assign Budget to assign a budget. For more information on Engagement Budgeting, see the Budgeting for Client Engagements article.

Select the Show Inactive check box if you want to see only inactive Engagement Types.

Adding New Engagements

You can add new engagements from the Engagement List.

1. Click +Add to display the Engagement window.
2. Select the Engagement Type. Engagement types can be defined in the Lists tab of General Settings. For additional information, see the Engagement Types and Utilities article.
3. Specify an Engagement Name.
4. Select a Client. Note that when accessed from the Clients View, this field is set to the current client. For additional information about clients, see the Clients View article.
5. If one or more contacts exist for this client, select the Client Contact for this engagement.
6. Select the Billing Method for engagement. You can choose to bill Hourly or using a Fixed Fee. You can also choose if time and expense transactions are Billable by default.
7. Select the staff this engagement is Assigned To.
8. Optionally specify an Engagement Number, Client Email address, Status, and an Invoice Description. When modifying the Invoice Description field, you can type @ (ampersand) to choose a Shortcut to add to the memo. Information about Shortcuts can be found in the Shortcut Codes article.

Once the engagement has been entered, you have two options to save.

• Save & Close saves the engagement and closes the window.
• Save & New saves the engagement and clears all fields so that you can enter a brand new engagement.

Editing Engagements

The Actions column provides options to perform an action on a specific entry.

• Click the (Edit) icon to open the Engagements View, allowing access to any field in the record. Make any changes, click Save, and then click List to return to the Engagements list.
• Click the (Delete) icon to delete the current engagement. You will be prompted to confirm the action. Engagements can only be deleted if they have no unbilled time or invoice history. Engagements that have time or invoices can be closed, but cannot be deleted.

Using the Engagement View

You can access the Engagement View from the Engagement List or from the Engagement tab of the Client View.

1. On the menu, click Engagements.
2. Click Engagement List.
3. Click on any engagement, or click the (Edit) icon in the Actions column.
   …or…
4. On the menu, click Clients.
5. Select the client.
6. Click the Engagement tab.
7. Click the (Edit) icon in the Actions column.

The Engagement View is divided into tabs related to specific features:

• Main
• Invoice History
• Billable Expenses
• Open Time
• Contacts
• Notes
• Projects

Main Tab

At the top of the Main tab, buttons are available to ✓ Save any changes, return to the List, or display the  (Scratch Pad) which allows you to add notes for the client engagement.

The following fields are available:

• Engagement Type – The engagement type is shown for reference.
• Engagement Name – Optionally edit the Engagement Name. or add a Client Contact.
• Client Name – Click the hyperlink to display the Clients View for this client. For additional information, see the Clients View article.
• Client Contact – If one or more contacts exist for this client, select the contact for this engagement.
• Client Email – Specify the client’s email address.
• Billing Method – Select to use Hourly or Fixed Fee. Use Hourly if you’re billing for your time, or Fixed Fee if you want to bill out a certain amount each time you generate an invoice with that engagement. When using Fixed Fee, unbilled time will be pulled into the invoice and written up or down according to the Flat Rate Amount Please note that a Fixed Fee can be overridden during invoicing.
• Status – Select if the engagement is of Open, Close, or Pending.
• Engagement Number – Optionally specify a number to refer to this engagement.
• System ID – A unique ID specified by the software.
• Created – Specify the date the engagement was created.
• End Date – Specify the date the engagement ended.
• Assigned To – Select the staff who is assigned to the engagement. Additional information about staff members can be found in the Users/Team Members article.
• Billable – Select if the engagement is billable.
• Taxable – Select if the engagement is taxable.
• Calculate Sales Tax if NO Time Records – Select if you want to calculate sales tax if no time records exist.
• Invoice Description – Specify the default description for new invoices. You can type @ (ampersand) to choose a Shortcut to add to the memo. Information about Shortcuts can be found in the Shortcut Codes article. This field can also include Wildcards for the month and year. For additional information, see the Wildcards topic.

Invoice History Tab

The Invoice History tab lists all invoices that have been created for the selected client engagement. For additional information, see Clients View or the Invoicing Overview article.

At the top of the tab, a button to return to the List is available.

The Global Search field can be used to locate records containing specific text. Once specified, an indicator will be displayed showing how many records contain that text. To clear the search, click the red X icon to the right of the field.

The Filter option allows you to view All Invoices, or to limit the list to only Open Items or Paid Invoices.

Click the  (Show Payments) icon to see payments applied to the current invoice.

The Actions column provides options to perform an action on a specific entry.

• Click the (Preview) icon to preview the invoice.
• Click the (Time Report) icon to download a Time History by Invoice report.
• Click the (Reverse) icon to reverse the invoice and put the applicable time and expenses back into work in process.

Click  (Email Invoice) to email the invoice to the contact(s) on file. Invoices that are in Invoice Review or are for advance payments cannot be emailed.

Finally, totals are included below the list. This includes Invoice Amount, Discount, Payments Applied, Late Fee, and Invoice Balance totals.

Billable Expenses Tab

The Billable Expenses tab lists all expenses that have been created for the selected client engagement, but not yet billed.

At the top of the tab, buttons to + Add an expense or return to the List are available.

The Global Search field can be used to locate records containing specific text. Once specified, an indicator will be displayed showing how many records contain that text. To clear the search, click the red X icon to the right of the field.

The Actions column provides options to perform an action on a specific entry.

• Click the (Edit) icon to open the Expense Entry window and edit the expense.
• Click the (Delete) icon to delete the expense.

For more information about adding expenses, see the Expense Entry article.

Open Time Tab

The Open Time tab lists all time records that have been created for the selected client engagement, but not yet billed.

At the top of the tab, buttons to + Add a time record or return to the List are available.

The Global Search field can be used to locate records containing specific text. Once specified, an indicator will be displayed showing how many records contain that text. To clear the search, click the red X icon to the right of the field.

The Actions column provides options to perform an action on a specific entry.

• Click the (Edit) icon to open the Time Sheet Entry window and edit the time record.
• Click the (Delete) icon to delete the time record.

Finally, totals are included below the list. This includes Time, NonBillable Amount, and Billable Amount totals.

For more information about entering time, see the Overview of Time Tracking article.

Contacts Tab

The Contacts tab lists all contacts that have been created for the selected client engagement.

At the top of the tab, buttons to + Add a contact or return to the List are available.

The Global Search field can be used to locate records containing specific text. Once specified, an indicator will be displayed showing how many records contain that text. To clear the search, click the red X icon to the right of the field.

The Actions column provides options to perform an action on a specific entry.

• Click the (Edit) icon to open the Contact window and edit the contact.
• Click the (Delete) icon to delete the contact.

Click  (Email Contact) to email the contact.

For more information on Contacts and how they are used for Clients, see the Client Contacts article.

Notes Tab

The Notes tab lists all client notes that have been created for the selected client engagement.

At the top of the tab, buttons to + Add a note or return to the List are available.

The Global Search field can be used to locate records containing specific text. Once specified, an indicator will be displayed showing how many records contain that text. To clear the search, click the red X icon to the right of the field.

The Actions column provides options to perform an action on a specific entry.

• Click the (Edit) icon to open the Notes window and edit the note.
• Click the (Delete) icon to delete the note.

For more information on creating and editing notes, see the Client Notes article.

Projects Tab

The Projects tab lists all projects that have been created for the selected client engagement.

For more information on Projects, see the Overview of Project Management article.

Engagement Budgeting

Budgets can be set for engagements. For more information, see the Budgeting for Client Engagements article.

Reporting

You can run the Invoices By Clients Grouped By Engagement Report via the Invoicing Reports list.

1. In the menu, click Reports.
2. Click the Invoicing
3. Click the Invoices By Clients Grouped By Engagement

This report lets you filter based on Dates, Clients, Engagements, and Activity, and can be very useful when you want to see how much time you’ve billed based on engagements.

The Billing Worksheet can also be run via the Time & Expense Reports list.

1. In the menu, click Reports.
2. Click the Time & Expense
3. Click the Billing Worksheet

This report lets you filter by Engagement.

For more information, see the Reports Overview article.

Learn More

• Engagement Types and Utilities
• Engagement Letters
• Budgeting for Client Engagements
• Overview of Time Tracking
• Invoicing Overview
• List Settings