> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Client rates
> Set a default hourly rate on a client in TimeTracker, understand where it sits in the rate chain, and when a more specific rate wins instead.
A client's **default rate** is the hourly amount you charge that company when nothing more specific applies. It is a **billing** rate – what you charge – never a cost.
## Where it lives
On the client page, under **Details**:
| Field | Meaning |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Default rate (per hour)** | The hourly billing rate for this client. Blank means no client-level rate. |
| **Default currency** | The currency the rate is expressed in. |
Set it when you create the client, or edit it later. See [/clients/client-details](/clients/client-details).
## Where it sits in the rate chain
TimeTracker picks the **most specific rate that exists**. The client rate is the last of four tiers.
| Order | Tier | Beats the client rate? |
| ----- | ----------------------------- | ---------------------- |
| 1 | Task rate | Yes |
| 2 | Project rate for that person | Yes |
| 3 | The person's own billing rate | Yes |
| 4 | **The client default rate** | – |
If a person has their own billing rate, that wins over the client rate. The client rate only applies when nobody more specific has one.
A missing rate is not zero. If no tier has a rate, the entry has **no** billing rate – it stays unresolved rather than silently pricing at \$0.
The full rule, including how effective dates are picked, is at [/rates/how-rates-are-chosen](/rates/how-rates-are-chosen).
## When to use a client rate
Use it when you charge **one flat hourly figure** for that account, whoever does the work.
| Situation | Best fit |
| --------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "Bluebird pays \$120/hr for everything" | A client default rate |
| "Sarah bills at $100, Jonas at $120" | Person rates – see [/rates/set-a-person-rate](/rates/set-a-person-rate) |
| "This one project has discounted rates" | Project rates – see [/projects/project-rates](/projects/project-rates) |
| "This task is fixed price" | A task rate |
## Cost is never a client rate
A client rate is only ever a billing rate. There is no client cost rate, and there never will be – a cost belongs to a **person**, not to a company you bill.
| | Billing rate | Cost rate |
| ------- | ---------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| Answers | What you charge | What the person costs you |
| Set on | Task, project, person, client, workspace | The person only |
| Margin | The gap between the two | |
See [/rates/cost-rates](/rates/cost-rates).
## Example
Northwind Studio bills Bluebird Coffee at a flat `$120/hr`, so Maya sets Bluebird's default rate to `120` with currency `USD`.
But Sarah Lin has her own billing rate of `$100/hour`, and Jonas Bergman has `$120/hour`. Person rates are **more specific** than the client rate, so:
| Person | Rate used on Bluebird work | Why |
| ----------------------- | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ |
| Sarah Lin | \$100/hr | Her person rate wins over the client rate |
| Jonas Bergman | \$120/hr | His person rate wins – it happens to match |
| A new hire with no rate | \$120/hr | Falls through to the Bluebird client rate |
Sarah tracks 3 hours on "Homepage wireframes". At $100/hour that is **$300\*\* of billable value. Her cost rate is $45/hour, so it costs Northwind **$135\*\*. The margin on those 3 hours is **\$165**.
## Currency
The client's default currency travels with the rate. If Bluebird is billed in `EUR`, set both the currency and the rate on the client.
When a rate comes from a tier that carries no currency, TimeTracker falls back to the workspace base currency. See [/rates/currencies-and-exchange-rates](/rates/currencies-and-exchange-rates).
## What happens next
* The rate applies to time tracked **from now on**. Time already recorded keeps the rate it was captured with, so a rate change never rewrites your books. See [/rates/rate-snapshots](/rates/rate-snapshots).
* Billable value on the project's Overview and in reports picks it up on the next entry.
* Invoices built from billable time use the snapshotted rate on each entry, not today's rate.
## Permissions
| Action | Capability |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------ |
| Set or change a client default rate | `client.manage` |
| See billing rates anywhere | `rate.viewBilling` |
| See cost rates | `rate.viewCost` |
| Manage person and project rates | `rate.manage` |
Editing the client rate goes through the client form, so it is governed by `client.manage` rather than `rate.manage`.
## Plan gating
Setting a **billing** rate – including a client default rate – is free. Setting a **cost** rate requires **Pro**. Cost and margin figures already recorded stay readable on Free. See [/concepts/plans-and-features](/concepts/plans-and-features).
## Common questions
Because something more specific exists. A task rate, a project rate for that person, or the person's own billing rate all beat it. Check the person's rate first – it is the usual answer.
No. Each time entry captures the rate that applied when it was recorded. Changing the rate today only affects tomorrow's entries.
No. Cost belongs to a person. See [/rates/cost-rates](/rates/cost-rates).
There is no tier below the client rate, so the entry has no billing rate at all. The workspace sets the base currency, not a fallback rate.
A non-billable project produces no billable value regardless of the rate. See [/concepts/billable-vs-non-billable](/concepts/billable-vs-non-billable).
## Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
| ------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "Enter a rate of 0 or more." | Negative or non-numeric value | Enter a number such as `120` or `120.50` |
| Billable value is blank on new entries | No tier has a rate | Set a person rate, or a client default |
| The rate is right but the currency is wrong | The winning tier carries a different currency | Check which tier won at [/rates/how-rates-are-chosen](/rates/how-rates-are-chosen) |
| The rate field is greyed out | You hold `client.view` only | Ask an admin for **Manage clients** |
## Related guides
The full five-tier rule.
What you charge, explained.
What a person costs you.
Overrides at the project tier.
Where the rate field lives.