Professional Fee Schedule User Guide

1. Overview

The Professional Fee Schedule (PFS) is a standardized tool used by firms, agencies, and institutions to define, calculate, and communicate the fees associated with professional services. This guide provides a stepbystep walkthrough for creating, editing, and applying a fee schedule within a typical software environment, ensuring consistency, transparency, and compliance with regulatory or contractual requirements.

Key objectives of the PFS user guide are to:

• Explain the logical components of a fee schedule.
• Show how to configure fee rules, rate tiers, and exceptions.
• Demonstrate how to generate fee quotes and invoices automatically.
• Provide best practices for ongoing maintenance and audit.

2. Structure of a Professional Fee Schedule

2.1 Core Elements

A typical fee schedule consists of the following core elements:

1. Service Category Broad groupings (e.g., Consulting, Legal, Engineering).
2. Service Code Unique identifier for each specific service.
3. Description Clear, concise definition of the service.
4. Rate Type Fixed fee, hourly rate, perunit, or percentage of project value.
5. Base Rate The default monetary value before adjustments.
6. Adjustment Rules Modifiers such as seniority premiums, location factors, or volume discounts.
7. Effective Dates Start and end dates that define the period a rate is valid.
8. Eligibility Criteria Client, contract type, or regulatory conditions that trigger a specific rate.

2.2 Example Table

3. Setup & Configuration

3.1 Accessing the Fee Schedule Module

Log in to the application with a role that includes Fee Schedule Administrator permissions. Navigate to Modules Finance Professional Fee Schedule. The landing page displays a list of existing schedules and a New Schedule button.

3.2 Creating a New Schedule

1. Click New Schedule. A blank form appears.
2. Enter a Schedule Name (e.g., 2024 Consulting Rates).
3. Select the Currency and default Tax Treatment.
4. Define the Effective Start Date. The system will automatically set the end date to Openended unless specified.
5. Save the header information before adding line items.

3.3 Adding Line Items

Use the Add Service button to open the lineitem editor. Required fields are highlighted:

Service Category:  [Dropdown]Service Code:      [Autogenerated or manual entry]Description:      [Free text]Rate Type:        [Hourly | Fixed | PerUnit | Percentage]Base Rate:        [$0.00]Adjustment Rules: [Add rule  Condition + Modifier]Effective Dates:  [From  To]Eligibility:      [Client Group, Contract Type, etc.]    

After completing the fields, click Save Line. Repeat for each service you wish to include.

3.4 Defining Adjustment Rules

Adjustment rules are conditional statements that alter the base rate. The rule builder uses a simple IFTHEN logic:

IF   Location = "Remote"THEN Rate = Base Rate  1.10    

Multiple rules can be stacked; they are evaluated in order of priority.

4. Using the Fee Schedule

4.1 Generating Quotes

When creating a new project or engagement, select the appropriate fee schedule from the Quote Builder screen. The system will pull matching service codes based on the clients eligibility profile. Users can override the automatically selected rate for a single instance by entering a Custom Rate this action is recorded in the audit log.

4.2 Applying Rates to Invoices

During invoicing, the Apply Fee Schedule wizard matches each billable line to the schedules active rates. Any adjustments (e.g., seniority premium, regional factor) are applied automatically, and the final amount is displayed for review before posting.

4.3 Reporting

The builtin reports include:

• Rate Utilization shows how often each service code is billed.
• Revenue by Category aggregates income per service category.
• Effective Rate Changes lists upcoming expirations or rate hikes.

All reports can be exported to CSV or PDF for external analysis.

5. Maintenance & Governance

5.1 Periodic Review

Schedule a semiannual review to verify that rates remain competitive and compliant. The review checklist includes:

1. Confirm that all active contracts reference the correct schedule version.
2. Check for orphaned service codes (i.e., codes with no recent usage).
3. Validate that adjustment rules still reflect current business policies.
4. Update inflation indices if rates are indexed to external economic data.

5.2 Version Control

Do not edit an active schedule directly. Instead, create a new version, copy existing lines, make the required changes, and set the new schedules start date to the intended rollout date. The system retains a full audit trail of who created, modified, or deactivated each version.

5.3 Archiving Expired Schedules

When a schedules end date passes, mark it as Archived. Archived schedules are readonly but remain accessible for historical invoicing and audit purposes.

6. Troubleshooting Common Issues

6.1 No rate found for service code

Possible causes:

• Effective dates do not include the current date.
• The clients eligibility criteria do not match any rule.
• The service code was entered incorrectly or does not exist in the selected schedule.

Resolution: Verify the schedules active period, doublecheck the client profile, and ensure the code spelling matches the master list.

6.2 Unexpected Adjustment Applied

Review the rule order on the line item. The first rule that evaluates to true is applied unless the rule is set to cumulative. Adjust the priority or modify the condition to achieve the intended result.

6.3 Duplicate Service Codes

The system prevents exact duplicates within the same schedule version. If you encounter duplicates after importing a CSV file, run the Validate Import utility to identify conflicting rows, then correct or remove them before reimport.

7. Additional Resources

• Company Fee Policy Document
• Online Training Module Fee Schedule Management
• API Guide for Integrating External Systems
• Finance Support Desk