Getting Set Up
What’s the difference between a Client and an Account?
Understand how client records and their associated accounts work together for billing and time tracking.
What’s the difference between a Client and an Account?
Each Client record represents a legal entity that your firm has a formal relationship with.
Each Account represents a workstream or billing arrangement under that client — for example, an hourly billing account (rate schedule) or a fixed-fee project.
Overview
-
Client (Legal Entity):
The organization that signs engagement terms and receives invoices.
Stored once in the system with core details like address, VAT, payment terms, and compliance notes. -
Account (Workstream):
A subdivision of that client — typically a rate schedule or project account.
Each account can hold multiple time entries, rate schedules, or projects.
Example
| Client | Account(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Acme Group Ltd | Acme Group – Hourly Billing | Ongoing hourly billing (rate schedule) |
| Acme Group – Project A | One-off fixed-fee project |
Why this structure matters
- Keeps legal and billing details centralized at client level.
- Allows multiple invoices per client for separate workstreams.
- Supports fine-grained reporting on time and utilization.
Tips
- Never duplicate a client record just to create another invoice; instead, create an additional account.
- If a client stops work permanently, mark their client record inactive instead of deleting it.