Discounts
Our previous attempt to differentiate charging between UK direct clients and overseas attorneys was too complicated, and we are therefore adopting a simpler approach: charging overseas attorneys in US dollars (where possible) and setting dollar prices that are not dependent on the sterling equivalent.
If it is still necessary to offer individual contacts a further discount for any reason, this can be done, but it is necessary first to set up the discounts in Address Book/Organisation/Discounts (and make sure that this is only done for our fees, never for official fees!).
There are three situations in which you might give a discount:
- Initial conference discount, where we offer a new enquirer a 30-minute free conference, usually by telephone, with the proviso that we will charge for advice given after the first half-hour. If it becomes necessary to bill for the excess time, you will record the total time spent and then discount by 30 minutes.
- Foreign associates may be given an agreed discount on headline fees.
- Where we quote for a particular job, but spend more on it than allowed for, and do not warn the client of the extra time required, then we might wish to show what the job would have cost, but discount it down to the quoted amount. This might be important where we do future work for the client and do not want to set a disadvantageous precedent.
If you want to show a discount for a client on an invoice, this can be done in one of two ways:
- If the client is a foreign associate, for example, and we have agreed a fixed discount on our standard charges for all work, this will be set up on the Client register, Discount tab.
- An individual one-off discount can be entered as a negative charge.
Last Updated on 13 August 2025 by Keith