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A project rate overrides one person’s rate on one project. A client rate is a flat fallback for everyone working on that client’s projects. Both are billable rates only – neither carries a cost.

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When to use each

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Project rates

A project rate is set per person, per project. It beats the person rate and the client rate, and it is beaten only by a task rate.

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How to set one

1

Open the project

Go to Projects and pick the project.
2

Open Settings → Team

The team table lists everyone on the project.
3

Find the Project rate column

A person with no override shows Inherits. A person with one shows the amount.
4

Click the value

It becomes an editable field.
5

Type the rate and save

Press Enter or click the save button. Press Escape to cancel. You see “Project rate updated.”

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The Team table columns

The Cost column is read-only here. There is no project cost override – someone costs you the same whoever they are working for. Change cost at Settings → Rates.

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What saving does

Saving a project rate adds a new dated row effective today. It does not rewrite history, so time already tracked on the project keeps the rate it was priced at. The rate uses the currency of the existing override, or the workspace base currency if there is none.

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Example

Bluebird Coffee negotiated a discount on the Website Redesign project. Priya Raman opens the project team table: Sarah’s next 10 hours on that project are worth 10 × $90 = $900. Jonas’s next 10 hours are still 10 × $120 = $1,200. On every other project, Sarah goes back to $100/hour. The override applies only where it was set.

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Client rates

A client rate is a single Default rate (per hour) on the client record. It applies to anyone working on that client’s projects who has no more specific rate.

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How to set one

1

Open the client

Go to Clients and pick the company.
2

Set the default currency

Default currency starts on your workspace base currency.
3

Set the default rate

Enter a number of 0 or more in Default rate (per hour). Leave it blank to have no client rate.
4

Save

The rate becomes the last-resort level in the rate chain for that client’s projects.

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Where it sits in the order

The client rate is the lowest level. It only applies when nothing more specific has a rate. Task → Project → Person → Client This trips people up. If everyone has a person rate, a client rate is never used. It is a fallback for people who have no rate of their own – not a way to force a flat price.

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Example

Fenwick Legal has a Default rate of 95.00 USD. To actually flatten the price for everyone on that account, set a project rate for each person, or clear their person rates.

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Which override should I use?

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Permissions

Someone who can see the project team but not billing gets the table with the money columns absent, not an error. See /rates/rate-permissions and /concepts/roles-and-capabilities.

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What happens next

  1. New time on that project – or that client’s projects – resolves through the new level.
  2. Time already tracked keeps its original rate. See /rates/rate-snapshots.
  3. Budgets and profitability for the project use the new figures for new work.

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Common questions

No. Cost is a property of the person only. The Cost column on the project team table is read-only for that reason.
The inline editor saves effective today. For a dated change, use the person’s rate history at Settings → Rates, which lets you pick an effective date.
Set the person’s project rate back to their normal figure. There is no “clear” action on the inline editor, so the practical route is to type the value you want to apply from now on.
Because the person has a rate of their own, and the person level is more specific. See /rates/how-rates-are-chosen.
No. It applies only to the project it was set on.
Yes, each rate carries its own currency. Mixing currencies means you will be asked for an exchange rate when you invoice. See /rates/currencies-and-exchange-rates.

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Troubleshooting

How rates are chosen

The full precedence order.

Set a person rate

The level below these two.

Billable rates

What a billable rate is.

Cost rates

Why cost has no override.

Rate permissions

Who can set and see rates.

Rate snapshots

Why past work is safe.