Save time on your next proposals by building a library of your most common services.
Having predefined services that can be customized makes creating proposals quick and easy.
In order to make it easier for you to set up your Anchor library, we will include our free Example Services on the page. You can change/edit them however you wish to get a head start on your own service list.
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Use the library to maintain your service templates and align your offering across clients. Preparing a few templates in advance can also speed up the process.
Navigate this article
Adding a new service
Open the Services page and click 'New service'.
Define the service name, description, and occurrence.
š”A good service description makes your agreement clear, reduces back and forth with your clients, and makes it easier for them to approve it. š¤
āChoose a pricing structure and a billing trigger.
For unit or hourly-based services, you can only use;
Manual billing - in cases of units or hourly-based service you need to enter the final amount of units/hours to bill. Once added, youāll be able to bill that service.
For a fixed-priced service, you can choose between:
Manual - the invoice will be manually issued
Automatic - invoices will be sent without requiring any action on your end. In some cases, this option will be disabled. See a table of options below.
Use auto-payment for preapproved hours
When setting up unit or hourly-based services, you can define a preapproved cap for automatic payments.
For example, in the image below we set a preapproved cap of 2 hours, and that means that the payment will be processed automatically, as long as the preapproved hours are not exceeded.
Setting up an hourly service with an 'On-demand' billing occurrence allows you set up a pre-approved amount that can reset each billing period, so you can bill your client whenever there is work to charge for. You can learn more [here].
Setting up Service-specific terms
You can attach terms directly to any service or bundle, so each service carries its own scope, conditions, or liability language. Clients see exactly which terms apply to which service, so you won't need to rely on a single set of agreement-level terms to cover everything.
To add service terms:
Open a service in the Service Library or in a proposal.
Scroll to the Service terms field.
Enter your terms.
Click Save.
Terms set in the Service Library apply as a default template. You can override them for any individual proposal or draft without affecting other agreements.
Where clients see service terms:
In the proposal PDF and pending proposal in the Anchor portal, under the "Additional terms" section.
In the signed agreement PDF and in the Anchor portal, under a new "Service terms" section.
You can add or edit service terms on a live agreement without requiring client re-approval. Changes are recorded in the activity log and trigger an amendment email to the client.
Editing a service
Click the edit button in the service library.
The inline editing on the Services page only affects future agreements, not existing ones. It is similar to editing a service template for future use.
If you changed "Bookkeeping Services" to "Bookkeeping Services - Hourly Rate", your approved agreements with "Bookkeeping Services" would not change.
Any changes you make to a service in an approved agreement will be saved for that agreement only and will not affect any other agreements.
What billing options are available?
Anchor offers two types of services: one-time and ongoing.
Their pricing and billing triggers are split into more variables, so there are a total of 16 service options.
Here is a table of services with their billing options (click to enlarge):
Service type | Pricing | Billing cycle | Billing trigger |
One time | Fixed | One time |
|
One time | Hourly/Units/Range | One time | Manual |
Ongoing | Fixed |
|
|
Ongoing | Hourly/Units/Range |
| Manual |
Reference fields for services
Reference fields let you attach your own details to a service, using a name and a value that you choose. They are a great way to keep your Anchor services connected to the other systems and processes your firm uses.
Some ideas to get you started are:
An internal service ID or code from another system, such as your practice management or accounting software
A PO number
The team member who owns the service
Reference fields are for your firm's internal use. They are saved on the service in your account, and they don't appear on proposals, agreements, or invoices.
To add reference fields to a service:
Open the Services page and click 'New service', or click the edit button on an existing service.
In the Reference fields section on the right, enter a Reference field name (for example, "PO number") and a Value (for example, "12345").
To add more, click Add reference field. To remove a field, click the X next to it.
Click Save.
Where you can use your reference fields:
In CSV imports and exports, so you can bring reference fields in with your services and match Anchor data to your other systems. They also appear in the payouts export.
Through the Anchor API and webhooks, so your own automations can read them.
Once a service is part of a signed agreement, its reference fields remain accessible through the API to power automations.
Still have questions? Feel free to send us a message by sending an email to [email protected]. Our team is always happy to help!