Understanding Bill Rate History
Overview
Bill Rate History helps ensure that reports, invoices, and historical records continue to reflect the Bill Rate that was in effect when work was originally performed.
Prior to this feature, changing an employee's Bill Rate could affect previously recorded transactions. This made it difficult to reproduce historical reports or explain differences in billing after rates changed.
With Bill Rate History enabled, each new transaction stores the Bill Rate that was used at the time it was created. Historical records continue to use that stored value, even if the employee's current Bill Rate changes later.
Why Bill Rate History Matters
Businesses frequently adjust Bill Rates for employees because of promotions, contract renewals, customer agreements, or annual pricing changes.
Without Bill Rate History:
Historical reports may display different values after a rate change.
Past invoices can become difficult to reconcile.
Financial reports may no longer match previously printed copies.
Bill Rate History preserves the value that was used when the work occurred, helping maintain consistent historical reporting.
How Bill Rates Are Determined
When a transaction is created, the system determines the Bill Rate using the following priority:
A Bill Rate assigned directly to the employee.
If no employee Bill Rate exists, the system calculates one using:
The transaction's effective Pay Rate
The applicable Billing Factor
If neither method can determine a Bill Rate, the transaction will not have a Bill Rate.
When Bill Rate History is enabled, the resulting value is stored with the transaction.
What Happens After a Bill Rate Changes?
Changing an employee's current Bill Rate affects future transactions.
Existing transactions normally continue using the Bill Rate that was saved when they were created.
This allows historical reports to remain consistent over time.
When Can Historical Bill Rates Change?
Depending on your company's configuration, administrators may choose to update stored Bill Rates when transactions are edited or when maintenance tools are used.
If your organization has enabled these options, historical transactions may be recalculated as part of those administrative processes.
If you are unsure how your organization is configured, contact your system administrator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why didn't yesterday's transaction change after I updated an employee's Bill Rate?
Bill Rate History is designed to preserve the Bill Rate that was in effect when the transaction was originally created. Changing today's Bill Rate does not normally change historical records.
Will future transactions use the new Bill Rate?
Yes.
New transactions created after a Bill Rate change will use the employee's current Bill Rate (or a newly calculated Bill Rate if no employee Bill Rate exists).
Can historical Bill Rates be updated?
Yes.
Depending on your company's settings, administrators may update stored Bill Rates by editing transactions or using administrative maintenance tools.
Why is the Bill Rate blank?
A Bill Rate may be blank if the system cannot determine one. This can occur when:
No employee Bill Rate has been assigned.
A calculated Bill Rate cannot be determined because the required information is unavailable.
Contact your administrator if you believe a Bill Rate should have been assigned.
Need More Information?
For information about configuring Bill Rate History, see Configuring Bill Rate History.
If you are troubleshooting unexpected Bill Rate behavior, see Troubleshooting Bill Rate History or contact your system administrator or Sundial Support.