Effective dated rates software
- Historical rates
- Date-locked
- Retroactive calculations
- Zero
- Rate schedule transitions
- Automated
Historical rates
Retroactive calculations
Rate schedule transitions
What this means
Effective dated rates allow teams to schedule or record rate updates that only apply to hours tracked after a set date, keeping past calculations unchanged.
Finance directors, agency leads, and consultants who update rates annually and must protect the accuracy of historical reports.
Updating rate sheets corrupts historical financial records
If your tracking system only stores a single rate per person, updating a rate changes every hour they ever tracked. This corrupts past financial reports, changes closed project margins, and makes year-over-year reporting impossible.
Signs this is happening on your team
- Updating a rate changes past timesheet valuations
- Historical project profitability reports change overnight
- You must manually lock database tables to protect closed periods
- Rebuilding historical billing reports requires manual spreadsheet math
- Annual rate increases require creating brand-new user accounts
What this costs you
Corrupting historical reports ruins financial audit trails, delays annual reviews, and causes billing errors if past unbilled hours change value.
Date-specific rate schedule timelines
TimeTracker supports effective-dated rate schedules. When you update a rate, you select the date it takes effect. Hours logged before that date use the old rate, while new hours use the updated rate automatically.
From problem to outcome
- Problem
Historical report corruption
FeatureRatesOutcomeDate-locked rate schedules
- Problem
Complex manual rate transitions
FeatureTimesheetsOutcomeAutomatic rate selection by entry date
- Problem
Painful audit preparation
FeatureReports and DashboardsOutcomeConsistent, historical financial reporting
How it works in TimeTracker
Create a rate entry with an effective start date
Set the billing and cost rates for the schedule
Track hours across rate changes without gaps
Generate reports that preserve correct historical valuations
Built for teams like these
Agencies
Tailored timesheets and billing tools designed specifically for Agencies workflows.
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Tailored timesheets and billing tools designed specifically for Law firms workflows.
Explore→Accounting firms
Tailored timesheets and billing tools designed specifically for Accounting firms workflows.
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Effective Dated Rates by industry
Popular features
Configure custom rates for every agreement
Manage complex billing agreements with ease. Set client rates, assign member role pricing, and handle multi-currency projects with zero confusion.
Explore Rates→Timesheets your team submits on time
Hours build into a timecard as people work. Send the week for approval, lock it once it is signed off, and bill from a number that cannot quietly change.
Explore Timesheets→See where the time really goes
Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.
Explore Reports & Dashboards→Related free tools
Frequently asked questions
- What happens to old time entries when a rate changes?
- Nothing. All time entries dated before the effective date of the new rate keep their original billing and cost values.
- Can we schedule rate changes in advance?
- Yes. You can set a future effective date for a rate (e.g., January 1st), and the system will switch rates on that day automatically.
- Can billing and cost rates have different effective dates?
- Yes. Billing and cost rates are managed independently, allowing you to update costs (like salary changes) on a different schedule than client billing rates.
- How are reports calculated across rate changes?
- Our reporting engine calculates each entry using the rate active on its specific date, rolling up accurate totals even if the period spans a rate update.


