Applying project minimums AND discount/surcharges question
I have a question and want to know how others deal with this.
Before XTRF, when we had a project that had a project minimum AND a discount/surcharge, we did the math in this order:
1) Apply Project Minimum 2) Apply the discount/surcharge 3) Get total
That would lead to this type of fee (number are just to show an example):
* Project with $10 receivables. 1) Apply $50 minimum. 2) Apply 25% rush fee 3) Total is $50+25%=$62.50
However XTRF does the math like this:
1) Apply discount/surcharge 2) Apply the project minimum 3) Get total
That leads to this fee structure for the same receivables:
* Project with $10 receivables. 1) Apply 25% rush fee. 2) Apply project minimum. 3) Total is $50 applied to ($10 + 25%) = $50.00
Our concern is we already have agreements with our clients on how we charge them and we don't want to negotiate changes.
Does anyone else deal with this? Our work around is for projects with project minimums AND discount/surcharges, we end up adding fees and project minimums as positive or negative receivables. However, that is a work around and a bit challenging for our PMs. Any other thoughts on this?
XTRF, is there a way to have an option on how discounts/surcharges are applied?
Customer support service by UserEcho
We are currently having the same issue. I guess in this case we would ignore the minimum fee and replace the CAT receivable of $10 with a flat task fee equal to the minimum fee $50. This way we apply the minimum fee manually and the system then applies the discount/surcharge. Not ideal, but it works.
Indeed, we have the same issue
1. In tasks, discounts/surcharges are applied as last in the order and it is not modifiable. This is what you are experiencing.
2. Minimums could also be define per job type in rates. They are then taken into account within individual receivables, so when there is a discount/surcharge one level up, ie. for the task, it will be applied to that minimum. And I think this would reflect the way you work.
It's been a few months, so we've developed our processes... We basically are doing what you say - applying to jobs but not to the project. However, it does mean we need lots of work-arounds.
For example, when we have a project with two jobs, we have at least three main scenarios...
Case 1. The two tasks together are below the project minimum. We’ll need to apply a project minimum to the combined tasks by zeroing out one task and applying the project minimum to the other.
Case 2. The two tasks individually are below the project minimum, but together are above the project minimum. We’ll simply need to ignore the project minimums on both tasks.
Case 3. One task is above and one is below the project minimum. We’ll simply need to ignore the project minimums on the smaller task.
It's all working, but it does require a lot of PM manual processing and training.