Set up service charges
Before you assess service charges for past due invoices, the firm administrator (or staff member with security permission to add and edit billing information) should enter service charge information into the application. Once you have added service charge information, you can apply charges to clients on the Billing tab of the Clients setup screen.
Adding a new service charge
To add a new service charge in Practice CS, follow these steps.
- SelectSetup, thenService Charges.
- SelectAdd.
- Enter aDescriptionfor the service charge. Enter aDescriptionthat will be easily identifiable by anyone applying service charges. Examples might beLow Risk - 6%,Standard - 12%, andHigh Risk - 18%, or some other means of distinguishing the rates charged to various clients.
- Enter an Annual Rate as a percentage (up to 4 decimal places).
- Enter the number of grace days after Due Date before service charges are billed to clients in theGrace Daysfield.
- Use theCalculate fromlist to select the date from which the charges should be calculated. Choices are Invoice Date, Due Date, and Due Date + Grace Days. If you select Due Date + Grace Days, the application will calculate the date based on the number of grace days you entered in theGrace Daysfield.
- Enter the minimum outstanding balance required before the application will calculate service charges. Balances lower than this amount won't get an assessment charge.
- Enter the minimum service charge amount. This minimum is charged when there is a calculated service charge but it is less than the minimum amount.
- If you want to set a maximum amount for service charges, mark theMaximum Chargecheckbox and enter an amount. If the application calculates an amount greater than this amount, then the maximum amount will be charged.
- Mark theCompound Service Chargescheckbox if you want to calculate service charges on outstanding service charges.
- Mark theRound to dollarscheckbox if you want to round all service charges to the nearest dollar.
- Select Enter to save the new service charge.
note
You can add, edit, or delete service charge entries by right-clicking in a related field in the application and selecting the action from the menu. An example of such a field is the
Assess Service Charges, use rate:
field in the Billing tab of the Client setup screen.Turn on service charges for the firm
Before you can assess service charges, follow these steps to turn on the charges at the firm level.
- Select and then select theBilling and A/Rtab.
- Mark theAssess Service Charges, use ratecheckbox
- Select a service charge rate from the dropdown list next to the checkbox.
- SelectEnterto save your changes.
Tun on service charges for clients
Before you can assess service charges for your clients, follow these steps to turn on the charges at the client level.
- SelectSetup, thenClients.
- Select a client, then selectEdit.
- Select theBilling and A/Rtab.
- Mark theAssess Service Charges, use ratecheckbox.
- Select a service charge rate from the dropdown list next to the checkbox.
- SelectEnterto save your changes.
- Repeat these steps for each client who is eligible for service charges.tipYou can update service charge information for multiple clients at once by selecting theEdit multiple Clientslink on theClients setupscreen and then using theEdit Multiple Clientswindow to change service charge information for the selected clients.
