Your business
IT services
An IT firm bills projects and support contracts. Kila keeps each project's budget, the team's time and the costs, and bills monthly support as a retainer with included hours.
An IT services firm builds systems for clients and supports them afterwards. Kila treats it as a professional firm: each piece of work is a project, billed by the time spent, by a fixed fee in milestones, or by a monthly support retainer that includes some hours.
What is special
Link to this section: What is specialKila gives an IT firm the same Practice section as a consultancy: My day, Projects, Time, Client requests, Billing, New client and Practice reports.
- A support contract is a retainer: the client pays the same each month, and the hours beyond what it includes are billed at the team’s rates: Set up a retainer with included hours.
- A build is a project with a budget in shillings and hours, and Kila marks it before the budget runs out: Set a project’s budget and rates.
- Hardware or licences bought for a client are recorded on the project and billed on: Record an expense on a project.
There is no demo IT firm yet. Mizani Associates, an accounting firm, shows the same projects, time and billing screens.
How Kila sets it up
Link to this section: How Kila sets it upThe main screen is Clients and projects.
Rules it follows:
None. Kila's standard rules apply.
Its words:
| Most businesses | IT services |
|---|---|
| customer | client |
| sale | invoice |
| receipt | invoice |
| staff | team member |
Its set-up steps
Link to this section: Its set-up steps- Business details and KRA PIN
- Services and rates
- Team members and rates
- Clients
- First project or retainer
Its home page
Link to this section: Its home pageEach card shows only where the firm uses what it counts, and to the people whose role may see it.
- My day
- Client requests outstanding
- Billing this month
- Lock-up and realisation
- Unbilled time and expenses
- Invoices due and overdue; cash received
- Withholding certificates to collect
- Over budget
- Fees billed by fee earner this month
- Team utilisation
- Retainers billing this month
- Payments waiting for confirmation
- Approvals and reviews waiting
- Licences, permits and returns due
Roles it starts with
Link to this section: Roles it starts with- Billing and credit control: Issues the approved bills, sends statements, chases overdue clients and collects withholding tax certificates.
- Project lead: Runs projects and retainers: the team, the budget and scope, retainer hours, and the month’s bills.
- Consultant: Works on the projects on their team: tasks, client requests and their own time and expenses.
Where to go next
Link to this section: Where to go next- Professional services: everything a professional firm needs.