Fee templates on work types

October 23rd, 2026

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Attaching fee templates to work types

Fee templates on work types overview

The latest published version of a fee template can be added directly to a work item, or to a statement of work that the work item inherits from. Either way the result is a commercial model on the work item, and that is where fees are estimated and actuals recorded.

The work type settings, and the statement of work where one is in use, then determine how a template can be applied.

Five ways a template reaches a work item

Route	When it applies
Inherited from a statement of work	The most common route. The statement of work carries the commercial models, and the instruction or matter created from it inherits them.
A user selects one on the work item	Where the work type allows templates to be added manually. The user selects from the template picker.
A workflow node	Add Commercial Model in the visual workflow designer, so attachment can be automated on creation, on phase change, or from any triggered plan.
The public API	A commercial model can be created against a work item through the public API.
Repointing an existing model	Change the template behind a commercial model that is already attached, or add an alternative arrangement alongside the existing one.

A template is not simply copied onto the work item. It is resolved against that work item first, elements that fail their rate card rules are dropped, and only what survives is built. So the same template can produce a different set of fees on two apparently identical matters, and a template that resolves to nothing is refused outright.

Elements flagged Automatically create fee produce their fee actuals when the commercial model becomes active, not when the template is attached. A commercial model sitting in draft has no fees. Making it active is what authorises them. Where the template has Auto-activate and lock estimates on, the model goes straight to active, so the fees are there immediately. That is the usual explanation for fees appearing that nobody added.

Why the same template produces different fees on different matters

Elements are evaluated against each work item as the template is attached, so the same template can produce a different set of elements on two matters. Rate card rules are the usual cause: an element whose rules do not apply to that work item is dropped, and a section left with no elements goes with it. The template still attaches, with whatever applies. SeeTroubleshooting.

How a work item gets its commercial models

A commercial model on a statement of work is not a note of which templates are allowed. It is a real commercial model, with its own phase, estimate and notes, and it goes through the same approval lifecycle as one on a matter. The statement of work holds the agreed arrangement itself, quoted and approved there.

A matter beneath it gets its commercial models in one of two ways, and they work differently.

Route	What happens	What controls it
Copied down	The statement of work's default commercial models are copied onto the work item, as its own commercial models.	Inherit from related commercial models on the receiving work type.
Chosen by hand	Somebody adds a commercial model on the work item, choosing from what the Add Commercial Model panel offers.	Restrict available templates to those specified on the commercial agreement on the work type the commercial model is being added to.

The two settings are independent. Inherit decides what arrives on its own. Restrict decides what a person may choose. Neither reads the other. For what the panel offers, see Attach a model to a work item.

What copies down, and when

Only default commercial models copy. Alternatives stay on the statement of work. A model still in Draft or Updating also stays behind, on the assumption that it is work in progress, so only Pre-Approved, Approving, Active and Finalised models are copied.

Three things trigger a copy:

A work type transformation that includes the copy commercial model converter. Clio Operate supplies this only on the transition to opportunity, although it can be attached to other transformations.
Setting an instruction's preferred statement of work. This can happen when somebody chooses one, and also on its own, where adding a participant or a key date leaves exactly one matching statement of work.
Data loading a matter that carries a statement of work reference and no fee template.

A copy replaces what is already there. The copy removes the work item's existing commercial models first. So a matter that already holds commercial models loses them when a copy runs, which matters most on the preferred statement of work route, because that can run without anybody setting out to copy anything.

Inherit from related commercial models is on by default and is read on the receiving work type. Turning it off stops all three routes. Fees also have to be enabled on that work type, or the copy is refused.

What the default and alternative commercial model labels do

Neither label pre-selects anything. They decide four separate things.

Where	What the label decides
Copying down	Only defaults are copied to a work item beneath. Alternatives never are.
Adding a commercial model by hand	Having at least one alternative is what makes Restrict replace the template list rather than add to it. This is the defect Fran has confirmed. Once it is fixed, Restrict applies on its own and this row comes out of the table.
Estimates	Only default commercial models are returned as the estimate for the work. An alternative is an option, not the figure the work is estimated against.
Documents and reporting	Where a document or a form asks for a single commercial model, the first default is used, falling back to an alternative only where there is no default.

So a default is the agreed arrangement, and an alternative is an approved fallback a fee earner may choose instead.

Before you start configuring templates on work types

Configuration to put in place first

A published fee template. Drafts are not offered anywhere.
Matching Currency. The template currency has to match the work item currency. This is a hard filter on the picker.
Rate cards. Where the template references rate cards, the rate card items need rules that resolve against the work items in question. Elements that fail their rules are dropped.
An approval model. Needed where a commercial model has to be approved before it becomes active.
The Unbilled Revenue global feature. Fee actuals post to an unbilled revenue account, and this feature names it. See below.

Decisions to make first

Decision	Why it matters
Which work types are commercial agreements	Purpose decides which settings are available on a work type, and which work types can be inherited from.
Whether operational work types inherit or choose	Inheriting keeps the fees aligned with the agreement. Choosing gives the fee earner freedom. A work type can also do neither, and have models added directly.
Whether to restrict to the agreement	Restriction narrows the picker to the templates already on the work item's statement of work.
How many commercial models a work type can hold	Allowing multiple supports one arrangement per phase, and alternatives offered side by side. Restricting to one keeps a matter's fees unambiguous.
Whether actuals can be created	A work type can carry a template with an actual structure without fees being created on it, so the structure still passes down to the matter.
Whether commercial model titles must be unique	Where a work type holds several models, unique titles stop a fee earner posting to the wrong one.

Fee structures & Unbilled revenue global features

Two global features matter here. Fee Structures is the master switch for fees and holds the site-wide fee behaviour. Unbilled Revenue decides which account a recorded fee posts to. Both sit in the Finance category, and both are configured before any work type settings.

Fee structures global feature

Navigate to Modeller > Global features > Finance > Fee Structures.

This feature holds the site-wide settings, and it is also the master switch. Fees cannot be configured on any work type until it is enabled here.

It also lists the work types, so the per work type settings can be reached from here as well as from the work type itself. See Work type settings.

Setting	What it does
Approval model	The approval model used where a work type does not override it. The Fee Structures global feature is not valid without an approval model. Set it before going near work types, even where no work type overrides it.
Allow users to enter check in details when submitting	Whether moving a commercial model through its phases requires a check-in.
Change reason - should a change reason be entered	Whether a check-in requires a change reason. See Option Sets below to configure the change reasons.
Notes - should additional notes be entered	Whether a check-in requires notes.
Show zero value fee actuals	Whether fee actuals with a zero value are displayed. This setting controls visibility. It does not change the rule that a fee actual can never hold a zero amount.

Option Sets

In Option Sets click the cog to configure the Fee Structure Change Reasons.

See Option Sets for further details and how to configure them.

Configure fee structures by work type

For details see Work Type Settings.

Unbilled revenue global feature

Navigate to Modeller > Global features > Finance > Unbilled revenue.

Recording a fee actual can post unbilled revenue to the chart of accounts. This global feature decides whether it does, through Record Unbilled Fees in Chart of Accounts, and which account it lands in.

This global feature depends on the Access Chart of Accounts Global Feature, so the accounts and their segments are configured first.

Default Unbilled Revenue Account Code	The account that unbilled revenue is held in, used for every fee type that does not have an override. Empty until set. A segment code picker presents one selection per enabled Chart of Accounts segment, and every one has to be completed or the feature reports as invalid.
Fee Type Overrides	Optional. One row is available per fee structure handler, so a firm can treat each fee type differently. No rows exist until one is added. This is how a firm gets separate accounts for unbilled hourly fees and unbilled fixed fees. There is no pair of top-level settings for it: the split is made by overriding the fee types that should go somewhere other than the default.
Record Unbilled Fees in Chart of Accounts	Whether that fee type posts unbilled revenue at all. Turning it off is how a fee type is excluded from unbilled revenue entirely, rather than pointed at a different account.
Unbilled Revenue Account Code	The account that fee type's unbilled revenue posts to instead of the default. Every enabled segment has to be completed, the same as the default path, but only where the row is active and recording unbilled fees.

Work type settings

There are two routes to these settings, and they reach the same configuration.

From the global feature: Modeller > Global features > Finance > Fee Structures, which lists the work types. Use this when configuring several work types in one sitting.
From the work type: Modeller > Work Types > the work type > Manage Features > Fee Structures. Selecting the feature opens its configuration panel inline. Use this when working on one work type alongside its other features.

Enable the Fee Structures global feature first

The per work type Fee Structures feature is a child of the global one. Where the global feature is off, the feature on a work type displays greyed out with Global feature disabled: 'Fee Structures'. Enable Fee Structures globally, then configure it per work type.

The settings displayed depend on the Purpose set for that work type, because several of them only make sense for an operational work type.

Setting	What it does	Applies to
Purpose	Depending on the role of the work type, fee structure configuration serves one of two purposes: Commercial Agreement - Acts as a framework to define and control the fee structures for child work types. It does not inherit from other types but can be inherited by them. Typically a statement of work, which holds the agreed arrangement and passes it down to the matters raised under it. Operational Work Type - Defines the default fee behaviour for a specific work type. It can inherit templates from a parent Commercial Agreement and may also be restricted to use only templates defined in that agreement. Typically a matter, which is where the fees are estimated and the actuals recorded. Firms use and name their work types differently, so check what a given work type is actually for rather than assuming from its purpose.	--
Fee Structures feature enabled	Fees are available on a work type once the feature is enabled for it under Manage Features. There is no separate toggle inside the feature. A template resolved against a work type without the feature is refused with Fees are not enabled for this work item type.	Both
Enable actual creation	Whether fee actuals can be created on this work type. A fee template can be set up to produce actuals, but that only takes effect where the work type allows it. With this off, no fee actual can be recorded against a work item of this type, and none are created automatically, whatever the template says. It is set per work type rather than per template, so the same template can behave differently depending on where it lands. A firm might turn it off on the statement of work work type, so no fees are recorded against the agreement itself, and leave it on for the matter work type, so the matters inheriting from it record fees as normal.	Operational
Allow multiple fee structures	On by default. Whether more than one commercial model can be added manually to a work item of this type. For example where an alternative pricing option is offered alongside the primary one, or where different aspects of the same matter run on separate arrangements. It controls manual addition only. Where a work type is set not to allow multiple but inherits from a commercial agreement carrying several models, the commercial agreement wins and all of them are inherited. The setting stops a user adding a further one by hand. Allowing multiple supports one arrangement per phase of a matter, and alternatives offered side by side. Restricting to one keeps a matter's fees unambiguous.	Operational
Inherit from related commercial models	On by default. Whether the work type inherits commercial models from its parent commercial agreement. This controls the copy-down, and it is checked on the target work type rather than the source. A statement of work will not pass its models down to a work type that has this off. See Fee templates on work types overview for what copies down.	Operational
Restrict available templates to those specified on the commercial agreement	Narrows the template picker on a work item to what its statement of work allows. Use it to keep fee arrangements on client work aligned with what was agreed at the statement of work stage. This is a switch, and the list of allowed templates is whatever models are attached to the work item's statement of work. Two work items of the same type can therefore offer different templates. Where no statement of work can be found for the work item, the setting is ignored and every published template is offered. It has no effect at all on a work type whose Purpose is Commercial Agreement, which always sees the full published catalogue. See Attach a model to a work item for what the panel then offers.	Operational
Require unique commercial model titles	Enforces unique commercial model titles on a work item. Where it is off, a duplicate title produces a warning and the offer of a rename. When on, the rename is enforced. Recommend turning on if a work type is likely to have more than one commercial model using the same base template, because the fee selector on a time entry lists sections by model and distinct titles are what let a fee earner tell them apart.	Operational
Use default approval model	A toggle, on by default, so the site-wide approval model applies. When off, select an approval model for this work type, and the selection is then mandatory.	Both

Set up inheritance between two work types

Inheritance needs settings on both work types, and the one that actually switches the copy-down on sits on the target rather than the source.

On the statement of work work type, set Purpose to Commercial Agreement.
On the target work type, set Purpose to Operational Work Type.
Turn Inherit from related commercial models on for the target work type.
Turn Restrict available templates to those specified on the commercial agreement on to limit the target to the commercial models on the agreement.

Add templates to a statement of work

A fee template does nothing on its own. Adding one to a work item creates a commercial model, and it is that model, not the template, that carries the estimate, the rates and the controls on what can be recorded.

Attaching a template to a statement of work is the most common way one reaches a matter, because the models on a statement of work are copied down to the work items created under it.

Only a work type whose Purpose is Commercial Agreement, which in most firms means a statement of work, is set up by attaching models to it. What a matter can use is controlled by settings on its own work type instead, because a work type cannot hold models and only a work item can. See Work type settings.

A fee earner can still add a model to a matter manually. It is the exception rather than the way fees are set up.

This tab covers attaching the models, what the copy-down carries onto the matter, and what can be adjusted before the matter exists.

Add a model

Open the statement of work Contract Management > SOW
Select Finance > Fee Structure in the left navigation.
Select + to add the fee template. There is one on Default Models and one on Alternative Models, select the one the model is for.
The Add Commercial Model blade opens, listing all the current published fee templates, which can be searched.
Select the link icon beside the template required.
The commercial model is created straight away, with a title of the template's display name.
Where a model of that name already exists on the work item, a naming dialog opens before the model is created. Where the work type has Require unique commercial model titles on, a different name has to be entered. Otherwise it is only a warning and the name can be kept. Either way, select Add to finish.

The commercial model has to be worked on the statement of work

Adding a template creates the commercial model, it does not finish it. The commercial model arrives in Draft unless the template has Auto-activate and lock estimates on, in which case it goes straight to active.

While it is in Draft, somebody works the estimate on the statement of work: adjusting amounts where the template allows it, adding notes, then submitting it for approval. The statement of work is where the arrangement is agreed, so that is where the estimate is settled.

This is why the phase decides what copies. A commercial model in Draft or Updating is still being negotiated, so it stays on the statement of work. Only once it reaches Pre-Approved, Approving, Active or Finalised is it treated as agreed and carried down.

The same phase model applies here as on a matter. See Manage fees on a matter > Phases and approval.

Default and alternative models

A statement of work displays two sections, and which one a model is added to decides what happens to it.

Section	What it is for
Default Models	The arrangement the work is expected to run on. These are copied down to the work items created under the statement of work, as long as the receiving work type inherits. Only models in Pre-Approved, Approving, Active or Finalised are copied. A model still in Draft or Updating stays on the statement of work, on the assumption that it is work in progress.
Alternative Models	Priced alternatives, there for comparison. Work items created under the statement of work can use them, but they are not carried down by the copy. They are also the lever that limits what those work items can choose. Where a work type is restricted to its commercial agreement and the statement of work holds alternatives, its picker offers those alternatives and nothing else.

The two sections display only on a commercial agreement

The split into Default and Alternative Models comes from the work type's Purpose being set to Commercial Agreement. Where Purpose reads Operational Work Type, the widget displays one flat list instead. Statement of work types are set to Commercial Agreement on upgrade, so the two sections are what a configurator should expect to see. See Work type settings.

How a statement of work is found

Where a work type is restricted to its commercial agreement, the platform has to locate the statement of work governing a work item before it can narrow the picker. It takes the first of these that exists.

The nearest ancestor work item whose Purpose is Commercial Agreement, for example a statement of work above the matter's instruction.
The statement of work that one of the work item's existing commercial models was copied from.
A statement of work linked to the work item as a preferred statement of work related work item.

Because the lookup is not only a parent check, a matter raised outside the statement of work route can come under one later. Add a preferred statement of work link, and the restriction applies the next time somebody opens the picker.

Settings that affect adding a model

Setting	Effect when adding a model
Fee Structures enabled on the work type	Without it there is no widget to add from. The widget displays Fee Structures is not enabled for this work type.
Finance - Commercial Model - Add	The permission to add. Without it the add action is not available.
Allow multiple fee structures	With it off, only one model can be added by hand. Inherited models do not count against it, so a work item can still end up with several.
Require unique commercial model titles	With it on, a duplicate name has to be changed in the naming dialog before the model is created. With it off the dialog only warns.
Inherit from related commercial models	Whether this work type receives copied-down models. Only the receiving type's setting is checked, so a statement of work will not pass its models to a work type that has this off.
Restrict available templates	Has an effect on an operational work type only.

How the copy-down works

The statement of work carries the commercial models, and the matter created from it inherits them. A statement of work can carry more than one, for example one per phase of the work.

A configurator attaches one or more commercial models to the statement of work and works them to the active phase.
A user creates a matter and selects that statement of work.
The commercial models come through to the matter automatically. Nothing is selected by hand.

What the matter inherits

Rule	Detail
Models in Draft or Updating are not copied	A commercial model in Draft or Updating on the statement of work stays there, because it is assumed to be work in progress. Models in Pre-Approved, Approving, Active or Finalised are copied.
Alternatives are not copied	A commercial model flagged as an alternative option is excluded from the copy-down, even where it is active. An alternative exists for comparison on the statement of work, not to be carried onto the matter.
The copy starts in Draft, with one exception	Where the source work type is a Commercial Agreement, a copied commercial model starts in Draft whatever its phase on the statement of work. A template configured with Auto-activate and lock estimates starts in Pre-Approved, which is read-only. Copying between work types that are not Commercial Agreements preserves the source phase.
Estimate values come from the statement of work	The estimate uses the default values from the statement of work's current estimate structure, not the original values from the base template. Where the statement of work value was adjusted, the matter inherits the adjusted value.
Editability comes from the base template	How far the estimate can be edited is governed by the base template configuration: requirement level, allow multiple, and allow override of amount.
Notes are carried across	Notes recorded on the commercial model are copied with it.
Existing models on the target are removed first	The copy-down deactivates the commercial models already on the target work item before cloning the source models in. A model that already carries fee actuals is left alone, so recorded work is never deactivated by an inheritance.
Provenance is recorded	The copied estimate and actuals are flagged as inherited, so it is possible to tell an inherited model from one added by hand.

Adjusting the estimate before the matter exists

An estimate can be worked while the work item is still an instruction, before it reaches the matter. Optional elements can be added and overridable amounts adjusted at that stage, subject to the base template. Mandatory elements display without a delete action. The same adjustments are available once the work item becomes a matter.

Other routes onto a work item

Five routes put a commercial model on a work item. The statement of work route is much the most common, and it has a tab of its own: Add templates to a statement of work. The other four are below.

A user selects a template on the work item

Where the work type allows it, a user adds a commercial model from the Financial Frameworks widget. Clio Operate displays the templates available for that work item, filtered by currency and by the work type's restriction settings. Selecting one builds the estimate and actual structures immediately.

See Manage fees on a matter for the user journey.

A workflow node

Add Commercial Model is available in the visual workflow designer. Use it to attach a commercial model automatically, for example, on work item creation, on a phase change, or from any triggered plan. This is the route to use where attachment should not depend on someone remembering to do it.

The public API

Commercial models can be created against a work item through the public API. Use this for integrations that price work outside Clio Operate, or for bulk attachment during a data load.

Repointing an existing commercial model

Action	What it does
Change template	Points an existing commercial model at a different template version. Use it to move a model to a newer version during a repricing exercise.
Add alternative model	Points an existing commercial model at a different template version. Use it to move a commercial model to a newer version during a repricing exercise. Selected from Change template on the Financial Frameworks widget, and only available while the commercial model is in Draft or Revising.

Publishing a version does not move anything

A commercial model pins to a template version. Publishing a new version of the template has no effect on work items already using an earlier one. Moving them is an explicit action, and the usual pattern is to update the statement of work so new matters pick the new version up, and leave existing matters where they are.

Permissions

These permissions govern commercial models, their contents, and write-off.

Permission	What it allows	Previously
Finance - Commercial Model - Add	Add a commercial model to a work item.	New
Finance - Commercial Model - Update	Change the notes, title and phase.	New
Finance - Commercial Model - Delete	Delete a commercial model from a work item.	New
Finance - Commercial Model - Estimated Fees - Read	View estimates.	Finance - Fees - Estimates - Read
Finance - Commercial Model - Estimated Fees - Edit	Update estimated fees.	Finance - Fees - Estimates - Edit
Finance - Commercial Model - Fee Actuals - Read	View fee actuals.	Finance - Fees - Actuals - Read
Finance - Commercial Model - Fee Actuals - Maintain	Create or edit fee actuals.	Finance - Fees - Actuals - Edit
Finance - Commercial Model - Revert Phase	Revert an active model to draft phase, or a finalised model back to active.	Finance - Fees - Estimates - Revise Quote
Sharedo - Create - Write Off Fees	Raise a fee write-off. It also decides whether Write Off Fees and Undo Write-Off display on the fee actual list views, so there is no separate permission for the bulk action.	New
Sharedo - Create - Approval Write Off Fees	Create the approval task for a fee write-off. Needed wherever write-offs route through an approval, which is the usual arrangement.	New
Sharedo - Update	Undo a write-off. Undo posts reversing financial transactions against the write-off, so it needs the same right as editing it. Someone can therefore raise a write-off and be unable to undo it. Already granted to the primary owner and contributor roles, so it only needs attention where a firm uses its own roles.	Not new. The generic work type update permission
Finance - Fee Actuals - Bulk Override Across Matters	Running the Reclassification Wizard, which moves migrated fee actuals to another billing status in bulk. It widens the reach of a reclassification rather than granting a new one, so the user also needs to be able to set the target status on a single fee.	New
Finance - Fee Actuals - Set External Billing Status	Overriding a fee actual's billing status from an external finance system, through the public API. Required for the billed externally and written off externally statuses.	New
Fees - Change billing status	Changing a fee actual's billing status between unbilled and the external statuses from within the application, in either direction. Either this or Set External Billing Status allows a move to unbilled, because the two cover the same change from two different entry points. This is also the permission that returns a fee from an external status to unbilled.	New
Time - View Fee Costs	Doesn't relate to fees directly as it is a Time permission rather than Finance, but affects what a fee earner sees of fee data. Controls whether fee rates and charges display on the time recording screens and the time entry list view.	New

How missing permissions behave

Without Estimated Fees - Read or Fee Actuals - Read, the corresponding tab displays a message naming the permission required.
Transitions between phases are individually permissioned, so different users can be given different levels of access to the same work item's fees.

Reverting an active model is deliberately restricted

The revise permission, reopens something that was locked on purpose. It is held separately from the ordinary edit permissions, so grant it to the people who are allowed to re-quote rather than to everyone who can edit an estimate.

Configure the widget and list views

Fees are displayed on a work item through two widgets and three list views, each added to a portal page by a configurator. Nothing is displayed to a user until these are configured.

Widget or list	What it displays
Financial Frameworks	The full fee screen, split into a list of commercial models on the left and the detail of the selected one on the right. Usually placed on its own page under Finance.
Financial Frameworks - Card List	A compact card list of the commercial models, for the matter dashboard. Selecting a card opens the detail in a blade.
Fixed Fee Actuals	The fixed fee actuals on the work item, with the full bulk action menu.
Hourly Rate Fee Actuals	The hourly fee actuals on the work item, with the write-off actions only, because hourly fees are driven by their time entries.
Fees Write-Off	The write-offs raised against the work item, with the amounts written off and how much has since been undone.

For what each of them displays, see How to view fees on a work item.

The Financial Frameworks widget

The widget goes on a portal page like any other, and its settings decide which of its four tabs a fee earner sees. Turning tabs off is how a firm locks a view down, for example hiding actuals on a work type where only the estimate matters.

Add the widget to a page

Open the portal page for the work type in the page designer.
Add the Financial Frameworks widget to the layout.
Set the options below.
Save the page.

Widget settings

The widget settings control which tabs display in the commercial model view.

The widget also has a History tab, but it has no setting. It is on for every commercial model and cannot be turned off

The Financial frameworks - card list widget

The card list is the card half of the full widget, without the detail panel beside it. It lists the commercial models as cards, and selecting one opens the Commercial model view blade, which carries the same tabs as the full widget.

Add the card list to a page

Open the work item portal page in the page designer.
Add Financial Frameworks - Card List from the Finance category.
Set the title, the icon and whether to show the frame.
Save the page.

The fee actual list views

Two list views sit alongside the widget and carry the fee actuals themselves. They are separate from the widget and are added to the page in their own right.

Fixed Fee Actuals

The fixed fee actuals on the work item. Carries the full bulk action menu.

Hourly rate fees actuals

The hourly fee actuals on the work item. Carries only the write-off actions, because hourly fees are driven by their time entries. Supports quick filters for time keeper and date range.

Billing Status reports where the fee has reached in billing, which is separate from where it has reached in its phase model. A fee can be approved in its phase model and still be unbilled. A fee starts at Unbilled and moves to Billed or Written off.
Posting Status displays the financial stage of the fee, taken from its chart of accounts entry. A fee has a single entry, because it cannot be reversed once it reaches posted.
Fee Section displays as Commercial Model Name > Fee Section, so a template attached twice and renamed is still readable. On core-time-entries it is an available column rather than a bound one, so a configurator has to add it to the view. On the two fee actual views it is bound by default. Where a time entry has no fee section, the cell is blank.

The bulk actions menu

On the delivered matter portals the bulk actions menus are installed for you. On a fee actuals list you add yourself, turn on Allow bulk actions and pick the matching custom bulk menu context.

Fixed Fees: Allow bulk actions on, with the custom bulk menu context fixed-fee-actuals-bulk-menu-context.

Hourly Rate Fees: Allow bulk actions on, with the custom bulk menu context hourly-fee-actuals-bulk-menu-context.

Fees write-off list view

The Fees Write-Off list view shows every fee write-off on the current work item. For each write-off, it shows the amounts, hours and units written off, how much has since been undone, and whether the write-off still stands. For full details see Write off fees.

Troubleshooting attaching templates to work types

If the add template action is not available on the statement of work or work item

Cause	What to check
The user lacks the permission	Finance - Commercial Model - Add. See Permissions.
Fee Structures is not enabled on the work type	The widget says so in place of the list. See Work type settings.
The work item already has a model	Where Allow multiple fee structures is off, only one is allowed. A matter carrying its inherited model has no add action, which is working as configured. Note the defect above, where an alternative also triggers this.
The purpose is not what was expected	Check Purpose. An operational work type displays one list rather than two sections, so a configurator looking for Alternative Models will not find them.

The template is not in the picker

Cause	What to check
The template is still a draft	Only published versions are offered. Publish it from the designer.
Currency mismatch	A hard filter. The template currency has to match the work item currency.
The work item currency cannot be resolved	No error is displayed to the user, so an empty picker with no message points here.
The template is disabled	Check Enabled on the template.
Fees are not enabled on the work type	Check that the Fee Structures feature is enabled for that work type, and that the global feature is enabled.
The work type is restricted to its commercial agreement	The picker narrows to the templates on the work item's statement of work. Turn Restrict available templates to those specified on the commercial agreement off, or set Purpose to Commercial Agreement, to lift the restriction.
The statement of work carries an alternative option	The full catalogue is suppressed and only those models are offered.

The commercial model was not inherited

Cause	What to check
The model was in Draft or Updating on the statement of work	Neither phase is copied. Work the model to Pre-Approved or beyond on the statement of work first.
Inheritance is off on the target	Inherit from related commercial models is checked on the target work type, not the source.
The target work type is a commercial agreement	A commercial agreement does not inherit from other types. Check Purpose.
The source models were removed on copy-down	The copy-down deactivates existing models on the target before cloning. Check whether a later copy-down replaced an earlier one.

The attachment was refused

Message	Meaning
The selected fee template has no fee elements that apply to this work item. All elements were excluded by the Rate Card rules attached to the configured items.	Every element failed its rate card rules for this work item. Review the matching rules on the rate card items.

A second commercial model cannot be added

Check Allow multiple fee structures on the work type. The setting controls manual addition only, so a work item can still hold several inherited models while refusing a manual one.

A duplicate title warning appears

Clio Operate warns where a commercial model title is already in use on the work item, and offers a rename. Where Commercial model titles must be unique is on for the work type, the duplicate is refused rather than warned about.

The title check now looks at the title

Earlier releases compared the template name and version rather than the commercial model title. That produced warnings where no duplicate existed, and missed duplicates where one did. The check now uses the title.

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	Widget title	The heading above the widget. Defaults to Financial Frameworks and can be overridden per page, which is worth doing where a firm uses its own word for a fee arrangement.
	Show estimate	Displays the Estimate tab. On by default. The tab is still withheld from a user without Finance - Commercial Model - Estimated Fees - Read, so leaving this on does not guarantee everyone sees it.
	Show actual	Displays the Actuals tab. On by default. Needs Finance - Commercial Model - Fee Actuals - Read, and adding a fixed fee actual from the tab needs Fee Actuals - Maintain. The tab is absent whatever this setting says where the base template has no sections targeted at actuals.
	Show estimate vs actual comparison	Displays the Estimate Vs Actuals tab. On by default. Turning it on reveals When estimate is a range, compare to. Needs both an estimate and actuals on the model, so it is absent where the base template targets only one of them.
	When estimate is a range, compare to	Decides whether a ranged estimate is compared on its minimum, maximum or midpoint value, and the value selected here is what displays in the estimate column. Defaults to the maximum estimated value. Displays only when Show estimate vs actuals comparison is on.
	Show notes	Displays the Notes tab. On by default. Notes are held on the commercial model rather than the estimate, so they stay editable after the model goes active.