The Simple Editor gives you a guided way to set up the financial structure of a budget or deal. Here's how to do it step by step.
👉 For an overview of the editor and when to use it, see Simple Editor: Overview.
1) Enable the Simple Editor
When creating a new budget or deal, uncheck the Advanced Editor box in the wizard.
📌 The default state of this checkbox depends on your settings under Settings > Budget. If Advanced mode is on, the box is checked by default. If it's off, the box is unchecked by default. You can always adjust it manually regardless of the setting.
2) Choose the Budget Type
Select one of three budget types:
Time and Materials — invoice based on actual hours and expenses logged
Fixed Price — invoice a set amount regardless of hours tracked
Non-billable — track time and costs without billing the client
📌 For internal budgets, the budget type is locked to Non-billable. Only time allocation options are available.
3) Set Up Services
Select the service types to include. The section on the right and its columns adjust based on your billable rate selection on the left.
You can rename any service section using the three-dot menu next to the section name.
📌 Select Show Custom Service Name to enter a custom name, and Show Description to add a short description to the service.
To mark an individual service as non-billable within a T&M or Fixed budget, click the dollar sign toggle on that service row. This is useful when a budget includes a mix of billable and non-billable work.
If you need more control than the Simple Editor provides, click Convert to advanced mode at the bottom of the left sidebar.
📌 Once you switch to the Advanced Editor, you can't go back to the Simple Editor for that budget or deal.
4) Customize Billable Rates and Estimates
Set the billable rate and estimates for your services. The available options depend on your budget type.
📌 For T&M budgets: checking Fixed cap locks the invoiceable amount at your set total, even if more hours are logged.
👉 For a full breakdown of options per budget type, see the Time and Materials, Fixed Price, and Non-billable articles.
5) Set Up the Expenses Budget
The Expenses budget section tracks expense line items separately from services. Each expense service creates a Piece service line item.
Each expense service can be set to one of three billing types:
T&M — invoice expenses as they're logged. Time tracking and bookings are not available on T&M expense services.
Fixed — invoice a preset amount regardless of actual expenses. Time tracking can be enabled via the clock icon, but we don't recommend it — logging time against a Fixed expense service can affect revenue recognition in unexpected ways.
Non-billable — track the cost without billing the client. Time tracking can be enabled via the clock icon if needed.
6) Save Your Changes
Click Save changes in the top right to apply your setup.
