# Billing Tiers

Billing Tiers enable you to accommodate:

* Preferred rates for long-term clients
* Differentiated pricing for retainers versus ad-hoc work
* Specialised rate structures for enterprise, non-profit, or international clients
* Internal experimental or promotional pricing structures

Each client can be linked to a specific Billing Tier, ensuring that all estimates, task rates, and invoices automatically reflect the correct pricing structure without manual overrides.

#### Multi-Currency Support through Billing Tiers

Billing Tiers are currency-specific. This allows agencies operating internationally to create structured pricing models in different currencies (e.g. ZAR, EUR, USD, GBP) without conversion workarounds.

By separating tiers by currency:

* Quotes and invoices remain consistent with the client’s billing currency
* Reporting remains clean and structured
* Exchange rate exposure is managed intentionally rather than implicitly

This makes Billing Tiers particularly powerful for agencies working across borders, managing offshore clients, or operating multi-entity billing structures.

In essence, Billing Tiers give you controlled pricing flexibility while preserving operational and financial clarity across your agency.

### Creating a Billing Tier

{% stepper %}
{% step %}
Click **‘+ New Billing Tier’** to create a tier.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Name your billing tier in the **Tier Name** field.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Select the **currency** for this tier.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}
Add a **description** (optional) to define the tier’s purpose.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

#### Managing Billing Tiers

Billing Tiers can be either deactivated or deleted, depending on your operational needs.

**Deactivating a Billing Tier**

A Billing Tier can be deactivated when it is no longer in active use. That means, it may only be deactivated once there are no clients or jobs currently assigned to it.

Deactivation is typically the preferred approach when:

* A pricing model is being phased out
* You are restructuring your rate strategy
* You want to prevent future use while retaining a historical record

By deactivating rather than deleting a tier, you preserve a clear audit trail of how your agency structured pricing at a given time.

**Deleting a Billing Tier**

A Billing Tier can be permanently deleted only if there are no clients or jobs linked to it.

Deletion removes the tier entirely from the system. This is appropriate when:

* The tier was created in error
* It was never operationally used
* You are cleaning up unused configurations

The key distinction is that deactivation preserves historical structure, whereas deletion removes it completely.

### Updates Only Apply Going Forward

Modifying, deactivating, or deleting a Billing Tier does not retroactively affect:

* Existing task type rates
* Task prices already configured
* Jobs that have already been created

Agencydesk references a Billing Tier only at the point when new task types are created. Once a task type’s pricing is established, it is no longer dynamically tied to the Billing Tier.

This ensures financial stability and historical accuracy. Your past work, pricing structures, and job data remain intact and unchanged, even if your pricing strategy evolves going forward.

{% hint style="info" %}
A **Default** Billing Tier will be added when setting up Department Default Hourly Rates.

Hourly and unit rates for tasks and costs will be specified in the **Tasks** and **Costs** setup.
{% endhint %}

{% embed url="<https://youtu.be/YS5LmRJ3wCM>" %}
Agencydesk: How to Set Up Billing Tiers
{% endembed %}


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