Billing Rates, Billing Grades & Rate Tables

Link to Video Training Guide: https://youtu.be/3qoVfC5gUNw

This guide covers how to set up hourly billing rates, configure billing grades (seniority levels) for people in the firm, assign a billing grade to a user, build named rate tables, and attach a rate table to a matter, as demonstrated in the accompanying training video.

Scope note: This guide documents only what is shown and explained in the source video. Where a screen, field or workflow appears but was not demonstrated or explained on screen, it is listed under Not Covered in This Video at the end of this guide rather than described here.

Overview: How Billing Pricing Fits Together

Yao prices time entries using three connected settings, all found under Configuration > Billing:

• Rates – a price per hour, for the activities it covers.
• Billing Grades – the seniority levels the firm bills by (for example Partner, Senior Associate, Junior Associate).
• Rate Tables – one price per grade, attached to a matter.

Once these are set up correctly, every new time entry prices itself automatically.

Rate Priority

On the Rates tab, Yao displays the order in which rates are applied when more than one could match a time entry:

Rate priority: Matter's rate table > Matter > Client > Case Type > Department > Global > Lawyer — and within each of those, a rate written for a billing grade wins over the same rate written for everybody.

Configuration > Billing > Rates — the Rates list shows one row per rate, with its Type, Activities, Rate, Reference and creation date.

1. Creating a Rate

Rates are created and managed from Configuration > Billing > Rates.

1. Go to Configuration > Billing > Rates.

2. Click the + Rate button (top right) to open the Create rate window.

3. Complete the fields described below, then click Add.

Create Rate – Fields Shown

The Create rate window, with Type set to Global — “the firm’s standard rate.”

Worked example shown in the video: Type = Global, Activities = Attendance + Drafting, Rate = £250, Rate table left as “Not part of a table,” Billing Grade left as “Any seniority,” Reference = “Alpha Dog Lawyers LLP.” This creates a firm-wide £250/hour rate for Attendance and Drafting time that applies to everybody, on any matter not otherwise covered by a more specific rate.

On-screen note: “Only new entries change” – shown on screen when adding the rate. The video does not demonstrate this further (for example with a before/after example), so treat it as: changes made here affect new time entries going forward.

2. Setting Up Billing Grades

Billing Grades are the seniority levels the firm bills by, managed from Configuration > Billing > Billing Grades.

Billing Grades: “The seniorities this firm bills by. Assign one to each person in User Management, then price them on the Rates tab — either firm-wide, or in a rate table you attach to a matter. People without a grade keep billing at their own rate.”

Configuration > Billing > Billing Grades. Grades shown: Equity Partner, Junior Associate, Partner, Senior Associate, Special Counsel (all active), and three retired grades.

1. Go to Configuration > Billing > Billing Grades.

2. Type the new grade’s name into the New grade field (the video enters “Trainee Solicitor”).

3. Click Add. The new grade appears at the top of the list, switched on.

Each grade in the list has a toggle switch and an edit (pencil) icon.

Switch off to retire: Turning a grade’s toggle off retires it — retired grades are shown greyed out with a “Retired” label, further down the list (the video shows three pre-existing retired grades: Retired Grade 1, 2 and 3).

3. Assigning a Billing Grade to a User

Billing grades are assigned to people from User Management (the Attorneys list).

User Management – Attorneys list, with the Edit icon on a user’s row.

1. Open User Management and select the Attorneys tab (Groups is shown alongside it, but not opened in the video).

2. Find the person in the list — columns shown are Name, Surname, Email, Permissions, Status and Created At, with checkboxes for “Show Disabled users” and “Accounts Authorisation only” and a User search box.

3. Click the pencil (Edit) icon on their row to open Update Lawyer.

The Update Lawyer window, showing the Billing Grade field and the person’s Rates.

Update Lawyer – Fields Shown

Note: assigning a Billing Grade here is what allows that person to be priced by grade elsewhere — on a Global rate restricted to a grade, or in a Rate Table (see Section 5).

4. Building a Rate Table

Rate Tables are named sets of rates that can be attached to a matter, managed from Configuration > Billing > Rate Tables.

Rate Tables: “Named sets of rates you can attach to a matter. Name one here, then on the Rates tab add a rate per billing grade and tag it with this table. A lawyer opening a matter picks the table from a list.”

Configuration > Billing > Rate Tables. Existing tables shown: Corporate Discount, Discounted Rate, Staff Discount, and one retired table.

1. Go to Configuration > Billing > Rate Tables.

2. Type a name into the New rate table field (the video enters “Agreed Client Rates”).

3. Click Add. The new table appears in the list, switched on.

Retired: kept, but not for new matters: As with Billing Grades, each rate table has a toggle and an edit icon. Switching a table off retires it — it is kept (visible, labelled “Retired”) but can no longer be selected for new matters.

5. Adding a Rate Tied to a Rate Table and Grade

To make a rate table actually charge different amounts per grade, a rate is created on the Rates tab and tagged with both a Rate table and a Billing Grade.

1. Go back to Configuration > Billing > Rates and click + Rate.

2. Set Type to Global and choose the Activities the rate covers (the video uses Attendance).

3. Enter the Rate (the video enters £350).

4. In the Rate table field, choose the table this rate belongs to — the dropdown lists the tables created in Section 4 (Corporate Discount, Discounted Rate, Staff Discount). The video selects Corporate Discount.

Create rate, with Rate table set to Corporate Discount.

5. In the Billing Grade field, choose the grade this rate applies to (the video selects Partner).

6. Enter a Reference and click Add.

One rate per grade: Shown on screen while setting the Billing Grade. A rate table prices people by their billing grade, so a separate rate row (repeating steps 2–6 with a different Billing Grade) is added for each grade that should be priced differently within that table.

Worked example shown: Rate table = Corporate Discount, Billing Grade = Partner, Rate = £350/hour for Attendance — i.e. “£350 an hour for a partner” within the Corporate Discount table.

6. Attaching a Rate Table to a Matter

When creating or editing a matter, the Department step includes the rate table and rate override settings for that matter.

Matter – Department step. The Rate table field is open, listing the tables available to attach (Corporate Discount, Discounted Rate, Staff Discount).

Fields Shown on the Matter’s Department Step

Priced by each person’s grade: Shown when the Rate table dropdown is opened. Selecting a rate table here prices each person working on the matter according to their own billing grade’s rate inside that table.

Not on the table? Normal rates: Shown immediately after. Anyone working on the matter whose billing grade the chosen table does not price keeps billing the way they always would (i.e. falls back to their normal/Global rate).

Override default rate: Shown highlighting the £/hour Value field next to Rate table. The video highlights this field but does not demonstrate entering a value or show the resulting effect.