Scheduling automatic rate increases

If your client agreements include a yearly increase, Workroom can apply it for you — on the right date, every year, without anyone having to remember.

Where: Settings → Studio → Rate increases (under How work runs). You can also set one up from a project's Team & billing tab. Both lead to the same schedule.

How it works

You tell Workroom when rates go up and by how much. Time logged on or after that date is priced at the new rate, and the increase repeats on the same date every year until you remove it. Nothing needs approving and there's no "apply now" button — Workroom works out the right rate for any date from the schedule.

Each project can have one schedule.

Schedule an increase

1. Go to Settings → Studio → Rate increases and click + Schedule an increase.

2. Project — pick the project.

3. Renewal date — the first increase lands on this date, then on the same day every year.

4. Increase by — type a percentage, or turn on Work it out from a target rate instead of typing a percentage. Then choose a Reference service and what it Should become per hour, and Workroom works out the percentage.

5. Click Schedule it.

Each row in the table shows the project, renewal date, increase, average rate impact, client notice days, and an On toggle. Check the average rate impact before you save — it's the quickest way to catch a mistyped percentage.

Percentage or target rate?

• Percentage — 8% raises every service rate on the project by 8%.

• Target rate — use this when you've agreed a specific number. If Design is $130 and should become $145, that's 11.5%.

The percentage is what gets applied — to every service rate on the project. An 11.5% increase worked out from Design also applies to Project management, Site visits and every other service.

What it affects

Every rate on the project — studio defaults, project rates and per-person rates — rises by the same percentage. That flows through to the timer and manual time entries, services added to estimates, invoices, budgets and reports.

What it doesn't affect

Time already logged. An hour logged at $130 stays at $130. Invoices already sent and reports already run don't change. An increase only reaches future time.

Who hears about it

• The client, if you set a client notice. The project's client — not its stakeholders — gets an email that many days ahead, using the Rate Increase Notice template. Set the notice to 0 to tell the client nothing.

• Your team, on the day. The account owner and everyone assigned to the project get a short email, and the increase is written to the project's activity log.

Good to know

• Increases compound. 8% a year on $100 is $108, then $116.64, then $125.97.

• Don't backdate. A renewal date in the past counts every anniversary since then. A date three years ago at 8% compounds three times straight away. To start now, use today or a future date.

• Switching off isn't removing. The On toggle pauses future increases and keeps the schedule. × removes it. Neither undoes increases that have already happened.

• You can edit at any time. Workroom stores the rule, not rewritten rates, so a change only affects what happens from then on.

• Use the contract anniversary as the renewal date, and give more notice than your contract requires — the email is automatic.