ConnectWise and e-automate determine how to bill labor on service calls in different ways, ConnectWise has many more options for billing than e-automate does. This post details how to match the billing between the two systems, and when the Override Billcode mode is needed on ID965.
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Overview | ConnectWise Billing Setup | e-automate Billing Setup | Matching bill code to ConnectWise
Overview
Overview
The table below shows an overview of the different options in each system, with the overlap highlighted in yellow.
If the billing in ConnectWise only uses the options with overlap in e-automate, and only one work role rate, then a billcode can be created to match the billing. For example, all work is covered by an agreement except for Onsite work that bills at a separate rate. The e-automate bill code has a regular hourly rate of $0.00, with the activity code Onsite set to override that rate and match the ConnectWise billing rate for the work type Onsite.
For specifics on how to create that bill code, see this section of the documentation.
If any of the other ConnectWise billing options are used, then the override bill code mode must be used with ID965 as these options can't be duplicated with an e-automate bill code. For example, any tickets that use the Fixed Fee billing method, or there are multiple work role rates.
ConnectWise terms:
Work Role: Defines roles that drive billing rates (Engineer, Project Manager)
Work Type: Types that alter the billing rate (Remote support, Onsite, After Hours)
Actual Rates billing: The normal billing rate is used.
Fixed Fee billing: A billing amount is set, no matter how many hours are spent on the ticket, the ticket will bill the fixed amount.
Override Rate billing: An hourly rate is specified that is used regardless of the work role on the time entries.
Not to Exceed billing: A maximum billing amount is set, no matter how many hours are spent on the ticket, the ticket will not bill anything over this amount.
Billable option: The time entry bills as normal.
Do Not Bill option: The time entry will not be billed, and will not show on the ConnectWise invoice.
No Charge: The time entry will not be billed, and will show on the ConnectWise invoice.
e-automate terms:
Regular hourly rate: The hourly rate specified on the bill code.
Activity Code: The code applied to the labor entry on the service call that can be used to alter the hourly rate used.
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ConnectWise Billing Setup
ConnectWise Billing Setup
ConnectWise billing setup begins by defining the work roles and work types that will be used on time entries.
Jump to: Work Roles | Work Types | Billing Methods | Billable Options | Covered by Agreement
Work Roles
Work Roles
Work roles define the roles that drive the billing rates on time entries, there is no direct mapping from work roles to a code in e-automate as there is only one hourly rate that is set on the bill code in e-automate.
Work roles are created and edited in the setup tables:
Within each work role, the hourly rate to be used is set:
Work Types
Work Types
The work types can alter the billing rate on a time entry, the same way that an activity code in e-automate can alter the hourly rate applied to the labor entry.
Work types are created and edited in the setup tables:
There are several options within the work type:
1. Bill Time - this option can be set to Billable, Do Not Bill, or No Charge. Only types that use the Billable option can map to e-automate.
2. Rate Type - this option can be set to Adjusted Amount, Custom, or Multiplier. This determines how the work type modifies the work role rate. Only types that use the Custom amount can map to e-automate.
3. Rate - This is the rate to be used with this work type. This rate will match the rate that the activity code is set to bill at on the bill code in e-automate.
4. Hours min and max - This sets a minimum and maximum amount of hours to bill for this work type. Only types that have these set to zero can map to e-automate.
5. Round Bill Hours to - This sets how the actual time on the time entry will be rounded for billing. This setting must match the settings on the e-automate bill code.
Billing Methods
Billing Methods
The billing method for the service ticket in ConnectWise is set on the Finance tab of the ticket:
Actual Rates
The Actual Rates billing method bills the normal billing rate determined by the work role and work type. When this billing method is used, you can bill multiple tickets together. To match the e-automate bill code, this method must be the only one utilized in ConnectWise.
Fixed Fee
The Fixed Fee billing method sets a fixed amount to bill on the ticket. Regardless of the hours used on the ticket, the invoice bills this fixed amount. Fixed Fee tickets must be invoiced separately from other tickets in ConnectWise. This is a popular billing method in ConnectWise, if it is utilized, the override bill code mode must be used with ID965.
Not to Exceed
The Not to Exceed billing method sets an amount that will not be exceeded on the service ticket. Time entries will bill at the actual rates until this limit is reached, then further time added to the ticket will not bill. Tickets with this billing method have to be billed separately in ConnectWise. If this billing method is utilized, the override bill code mode must be used with ID965.
Override Rate
The Override Rate billing method specifies a specific billing rate to be used on the time entries, this rate will be used regardless of the work role or work type used on the time entry. If this billing method is utilized, the override bill code mode must be used with ID965.
Billable Options
Billable Options
The billable option on time entries is set here:
Billable
If this dropdown is set to Billable, the normal hourly rate will be used on the time entry. This is the only option that can be matched by an e-automate bill code.
Do Not Bill
If this dropdown is set to Do Not Bill, the time entry will not bill, regardless of the work role and work type used on the time entry. Additionally, the time entry will not show on the ConnectWise invoice. If this option is used in ConnectWise, the override bill code mode in ID965 must be used.
No Charge
If this dropdown is set to No Charge, the time entry will not be billed. With this type, the time entry will show on the invoice with a charge of $0.00. This option is intended for charges that are waived for the customer, but should still be included on the invoice.
Covered by Agreement
Covered by Agreement
When an agreement is applied against a time entry, the settings from the agreement will be used first to determine what time is billable and what is covered.
You can check how the agreement is applied on the time entry by clicking on the i button by Applied Hours on the time entry:
If the time is not covered by the agreement, you will see an X by the item stopping the agreement from covering the time:
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e-automate Billing Setup
e-automate Billing Setup
Bill codes in e-automate can be set to either standard or advanced, to properly match billing from ConnectWise, you will most likely need to create an advanced bill code. For more in-depth details on creating advanced bill codes, see this post.
Jump to: Regular Hourly Rate | Activity Codes | Billing Account Code | Billing Labor Code
Regular Hourly Rate
Regular Hourly Rate
The billing rate for every bill code in e-automate is set in the regular hourly rate field on the bill code:
Unless overridden by an activity code, this rate is what will bill for all labor on the service call.
Activity Codes
Activity Codes
Activity codes can be used in e-automate to override the regular hourly rate charged by the bill code.
Activity codes are created in Lists and Codes - Activity Codes:
The activity code should match the work type from ConnectWise.
Billing Account Code
Billing Account Code
All bill codes, whether standard or advanced, need a Billing Account code created. The billing account code determines the GL accounts where revenue and cost from the service ticket will post. The billing account codes are created in Lists and Codes - Billing Account Codes:
Even when running in Override Bill Code mode, the revenue and costs will post to the GL accounts specified per the billing account code. This mode only overrides the amount billed, not where the amounts post in e-automate.
Billing Labor Code
Billing Labor Code
The billing labor code is only used on Advanced bill codes and is where the activity code overrides are determined. If there are any work types that change the billing rate in ConnectWise, there will need to be a matching activity code with the same billing rate specified on the billing labor code.
Billing labor codes are created in Lists and Codes - Billing Labor Code:
The billing account code is also where the minimum period to bill, and the subsequent billing increments are set. These increments should match the billing increments used in ConnectWise so that the billing amounts will align.
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Matching bill code to CW
Matching bill code to ConnectWise
To create a bill code in e-automate to match the ConnectWise billing, follow these steps:
1. The hourly rate on the bill code will match the rate set to bill on the work role. Only one work role rate can be used.
2. Map the work types from ConnectWise to activity codes in e-automate.
3. Add the specific activity codes that are not covered to the bill code at the override rates.
4. Verify that the billing period increments match between the two systems.
Jump to: Step One | Step Two | Step Three | Step Four
Hourly Rate to Work Role
Step One: Work Role Rate Matches Hourly Rate
Example: The work role of "Engineer" is the only role used, it bills at a rate of $125.00 per hour. The e-automate bill code is set to an hourly rate of $125.00.
Work Role:
Bill code:
*A note on time that is covered by an agreement/contract:
If the time on the service call will be covered by the agreement/contract, the hourly rate in e-automate would be set to $0.00 to not bill the labor on the service calls. The work role in ConnectWise can still carry the hourly rate in the example, it would just be shown as a covered role in the agreement:
Activity Codes to Work Types
Step Two: Work Types Mapped to Activity Codes
Any work types are mapped from ConnectWise to the Activity Code in e-automate.
Work Type:
Activity Code:
Note that the Work Type name must match the Activity code. ConnectWise allows more characters in the work type name than e-automate allows in the activity code, the sync will match on the first 15 characters of the work type name.
Activity Code Overrides
Step Three: Activity Code Overrides
Now that the work types and activity codes are mapped, on the e-automate billing labor code set the specific rate overrides for each activity code.
For example, the work type of Onsite bills with a rate type of Customer and a rate of $175.00 per hour:
*When matching the billing between systems, only the rate type of Custom can be used as that is the only rate type allowed in e-automate*
In e-automate, the activity code of Onsite is added to the billing labor code showing an override rate of $175.00:
This process will be repeated for any work type/activity code that overrides the hourly rate on the service labor.
Billing Period Increments
Step Four: Match Billing Period Increments Between Systems
The settings for the billing period increments must match between the two systems so that the billing amounts match. In ConnectWise, there is a global billing setting for the increments to bill in:
There is also an option to set different billing increments on each work type:
Both of these settings must match the billing period increments that are set in e-automate. This is done on the billing labor code:
The created bill code in e-automate should match the ConnectWise billing now. This process would need to be duplicated for every version of billing done in ConnectWise.
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