Rate cards and multi-currency: consistent billing across every client and region

Rate cards let you define your bill rates once and then apply them consistently across every project. Your ops and finance teams set the rates and currency centrally, and your project managers pick the right card when building a budget. That means standardized rates, everywhere they’re needed.

And for teams billing in multiple currencies, Float now supports rate cards in any currency you work in. Set a rate card’s currency when you create it, and the right rates follow the project when a project manager selects that card.

Rates your whole team can count on

Standard or “rack” rates
If you have a default set of bill rates before any client-specific discounts or negotiations, you can set them as your baseline rate card. Every fee-based project will have access to it, so your team is always starting from the same numbers.

For existing customers, any role-based bill rates you have today will be automatically copied into a default rate card when the feature rolls out. You won’t need to rebuild anything.

Client rates
Got a long-standing client with negotiated discounts? Or one where you’ve agreed to premium rates? Create a rate card for that client. When a project manager sets up a new project and selects the client, only the relevant rate cards appear. The right rates get applied without anyone having to remember what was agreed six months ago.

You can also duplicate an existing card and adjust from there. If your standard rates need a 10% discount for a specific client, all you need to do is duplicate the standard rate card, add the discount, and save.

Multi-currency rates
For teams working across borders, you can create rate cards in different currencies for the same client. Say you’re running projects in both London and Tokyo for the same account, each with its own negotiated rates. Create a rate card per currency, assign it, and the correct bill rates are automatically applied to the project.

Learn more about creating rate cards

Bill in your client’s currency with multi-currency

When you create a rate card, you set its currency and enter the bill rates in that currency directly. That rate card then carries its currency and rates through to any project it’s applied to, so the bill side of a project is always exactly what you set on the card.

Multi-currency comes in on the cost rates side. Here’s how the two work together: Finance or Ops leaders enable the currencies your organization works in and set their exchange rates centrally in Company settings (formerly Team settings).

When a project gets created by a Project Manager or Owner, they select the project’s currency, and Float applies that exchange rate to your cost rates for the project’s duration. Your bill rates stay fixed by the rate card you selected in that currency.

So, let’s look at an example:

Your team is US-based, and most projects are too, but you have a handful across the pond in the UK. First, make sure GBP is set up as a currency with the right exchange rate. Then create a GBP rate card with your agreed bill rates. When you set up the project, set its currency to GBP: the exchange rate converts your team's cost rates into GBP, while your bill rates come straight from the card. Both sides land in GBP, so margin is calculated and shown there.

The exchange rate is maintained for the project’s duration, providing a predictable baseline for margin calculations. Your Single project report will also show costs and margins in the project’s currency, so margin reviews stay clean and directly linked with the figure that the client is being billed in.

Learn more about setting up multi-currency

Get started

You’ll find rate cards in Data Studio, alongside clients and roles. Rate card creation is limited to Admins and Account Owners. Project managers can apply rate cards when setting up fee-based budgets (time & materials or fixed fee), provided they have permission to view bill rates.

• Starter: create rate cards in your home currency and apply them to each project.
• Pro: everything in Starter, plus client- and currency-specific cards that auto-surface on the right projects, with up to five currencies.
• Enterprise: everything in Pro, with unlimited currencies for teams operating at global scale.

Rate cards in Data studio represent the first piece of something bigger

Rate cards live inside of Float’s Data studio. Data studio is a new area in Float that will act as the container for your shared operational data. Clients, roles (+ cost rates), and rate cards are the starting point because they’re the components most commonly shared across offices and teams. Over time, Data studio will grow into the central place where you import, connect, and maintain the information your team runs on, with faster ways to keep it all accurate as your organization scales.