Your role
Engagement manager
The engagement manager runs the engagements day to day, reviews returns before they are filed, drafts the month's bills and watches the team's utilisation.
Kila describes the role as: “Runs the engagements: the team, tasks and deadlines, reviews returns before they are filed, drafts the month’s bills and watches utilisation.” At Mizani Associates it is James Mutua.
When you sign in
Link to this section: When you sign inKila opens Returns, such as “Clients’ returns due in November 2026: the status of each, who prepares it and who reviews it.” At the top it counts what is Filed, Due this week, Late, Waiting for records and Prepared, to review. Mine narrows the board to your own returns.
Your day
Link to this section: Your day- Review returns that associates have prepared, from Returns or the Prepared, to review count.
- Run the engagements: open them, set budgets and rates, and put the team on them. See Open a project for a client, Set a project’s budget and rates and Put the team on a project.
- Watch the team’s time and utilisation on Practice › Time (Team week) and the Timesheets tab: Check your team’s utilisation.
- At month end, draft the bills: Run the month-end billing.
- Chase what is owed: Remind a client about overdue invoices.
What you can do
Link to this section: What you can do- Open engagements, change their budget, rates, team and status, add milestones and start retainers.
- Log time for anyone on the team, and record expenses.
- Invoice unbilled work and write it off with a reason: Invoice unbilled time and expenses.
- Draft and change the month’s bills; a partner approves them.
Everything the role is allowed to do
- General
- View dashboard; Approve or reject requests
- Point of sale
- View sales
- Catalog
- View products and services
- Stock
- View stock
- Customers
- View customers; Create and edit customers
- Services
- View services and bookings; Manage services and resources; Book and manage appointments; Create job cards; Assign job cards; Work on assigned job cards; Quality-check and verify finished job cards (any job); Insurance repairs: claims, assessments, authority to repair and release letters; Issue parts to any job card and order parts for jobs
- Practice
- See every matter, not only those on their team (restricted matters stay with their team); Keep the court diary and deadlines for every advocate and matter; Record and verify client identification (KYC) and risk ratings; Review and sign off clients’ returns before they are filed
- Credit
- View credit and agreements
- Finance
- Submit expenses
- Reports
- View reports
- Staff
- View staff records, attendance and leave; Record attendance for others and approve manual clock-ins; Record and approve leave
- Branch operations
- View checklists, audits, issues and the branch scorecard; Complete opening, closing and log checklists and report issues; Assign, date, verify and cancel branch issues
- Salon and venues
- Send messages to client segments (lapsed, birthdays, a service or stylist); Events and venue hire: quotes, deposits, confirmations and cancellations
What needs someone else
Link to this section: What needs someone else| Approval limit | Up to |
|---|---|
| Discounts | 15% |
Needs a manager
A partner approves each bill you draft before it is invoiced: “A partner approves this bill before it is invoiced (not the person who drafted it).” The firm’s settings, such as the roles’ rates, are the owner’s.
Common questions
Link to this section: Common questionsCan I approve the bills I draft? No. A partner approves them: “not the person who drafted it”.
How do I see someone’s week? On Practice › Time, choose Team week, or choose the person on the Timesheets tab of Practice › Engagements.
Can I log time for someone who forgot? Yes. Log time has a Who list for managers.
- Engagement partner and Associate.
- Professional services: how Kila works for an accounting firm.