Setup firm administration

Understanding administrative and non-billable time

When setting up an activity in DT Practice, you must choose a class for the activity. The options are:
  • Billable
  • Non-billable
  • Administrative
The
Billable
 class is used for time or expenses that are going to be billed to a client.
Non-billable
 and
Administrative
 classes are used for time or expenses that are not going to be billed to a client. This topic will help you understand the difference between the Non-billable and Administrative activity classes and when each should be used.

Non-billable

An activity class should be set to Non-billable when the activity represents time or expenses incurred on behalf of a client, but that is not going to be billed to the client. Examples include postage, travel time, travel miles, client entertainment, and so on. The
Client
 field in a time or expense transaction containing a non-billable activity will typically contain a billable client.
The recommended procedure for setting up a non-billable activity is to set the Rates section on the Activity setup screen to
Fixed Rate
, and then enter
$0.00
 in the amount field to the right. The resulting WIP transactions entered will then have a zero extended WIP amount.
note
  • Non-billable time must be relieved to be removed from the Billing Worksheet (and Billing screen). This is done by opening the client in the Detail Billing screen and clicking the Nonbillable tab, then marking the checkboxes for any items that you want to clear. This can be done concurrently and saved with the regular invoice being prepared for this same client.
  • Non-billable time has no effect on the Billing Analysis report or the Production Analysis report.

Administrative

An activity class should be set to Administrative when the activity represents time or expenses not associated with a client. The
Client
 field in a time or expense transaction containing an administrative activity will typically contain the firm client — the client that represents the accounting firm itself, rather than a billable client.
When setting up an administrative activity, you must also choose an
Administrative type
. Administrative types include:
  • General
     — Used when the activity represents time or expenses spent on behalf of the firm. Examples include staff meetings, office supplies, preparation of newsletters, travel associated with trade shows or conferences, and so on.
  • CPE
     — Used when the activity represents time associated with a CPE course that was previously set up in the application. When entering a time transaction, if an activity with a CPE administrative type is entered, [[product_name]] enables you to choose from among the CPE courses to which you are assigned to associate the time entered with that course.
    note
    CPE is available only if your firm is licensed for the Staff Management module.
  • Accruable Benefit
     — Used when the activity represents time used for an accruable benefit for the staff member. Accruable benefits include vacation, sick time, personal time, holidays, and so on. If you choose the Accruable Benefit administrative type, you can specify how the benefit is accrued for each staff member. Select the More button next to the
    Administrative Type
     field to specify the accrual frequency, allowance, and carryover limits.
    note
    Accruable Benefit is available only if your firm is licensed for the Staff Management module.
A major advantage of using the Administrative class is that when entering a time or expense transaction an administrative activity can only be entered when the client entered also has a class of Administrative. Likewise, if you enter a client with an administrative class, you can only enter an administrative activity. This prevents entering administrative time for a billable client and entering billable time for the firm client.

This article applies to:

  • Product: DT Practice