Create and Map Service Types in Karbon

Service Types in Karbon are fundamental to organizing and managing your firm's work efficiently. They provide high-level categories that align Karbon’s workflow structure with your firm’s actual service offerings. By properly setting up and mapping your Service Types and Work Types, you lay the foundation for improved organization, streamlined Service Library management, accurate reporting, and seamless Engagements.

What are Service Types?

Service Types are broad categories that group related Work Types, reflecting the services your firm provides (e.g., "Tax Services," "Bookkeeping," or "Advisory Services"). They help you:

Categorize Your Firm’s Offerings: Group specific Work Types under broader categories to mirror your firm's structure.
Organize Your Service Library: Services in your Service Library are assigned to a Service Type, making your offerings easy to find and manage.
Streamline Billing and Reporting: Service Types enhance the alignment of billing workflows, Work Templates, and reporting by providing categorized data.
Improve Organization and Workflow: Create a more intuitive structure for your team, simplifying work planning and management.
Enhance Client Visibility: Service Types are visible to clients on Engagements and through the Karbon for Clients portal, providing clarity on your service offerings.
Customize Relationships: Tailor the mapping between Service Types and Work Types to suit your firm's specific needs.

Understanding the Difference: Work Type vs. Service Type

Customers often ask about the distinction between a Work Type and a Service Type. Here’s a clear breakdown:

	Work Type	Service Type
What it is	A label for the actual task or job being completed.	A category for grouping related Work Types.
Used for	Workflow tracking, automation, and reporting.	Organizing services in the Service Library.
Examples	“Monthly Bookkeeping,” “Tax Return Prep”	“Bookkeeping Services,” “Tax Services,” “Advisory”
Mapped to	Mapped to one Service Type.	Mapped to services in the Service Library.
When to Use	Define what kind of work is being done by the team for a client.	Organize your offerings in the Service Library, defining which broad service line a task falls under.

Creating Service Types

The first step is to establish the categories that reflect your firm's services.

What to Do:

Go to Settings > Workflow > Service Types.
Click Add New Service Type.
Enter a clear name that represents a category of work your firm provides (e.g., “Tax Services” or “Advisory Services”).
Click Save.

Tip: Use naming conventions that reflect your firm’s structure and align with your actual services. New firms will have pre-populated service types to ease onboarding, while existing firms will need to manually create and map their Service Types.

Can I edit Service Types later?

Yes! You can always:

Edit the name of an existing Service Type.
Remove unused Service Types.
Re-map Work Types as your firm's offerings evolve.

Mapping Work Types to Service Types: Best Practices

Once your Service Types are created, the next crucial step is mapping your Work Types to them. This ensures your actual tasks align with your defined service offerings.

What to Do:

Go to Settings > Workflow > Service Types.
For each Service Type, select the Work Types that align with that category of work.
Click Save.

Best Practices for Mapping:

Avoid duplication: Do not create multiple Service Types or Work Types that describe the same task or service category.
Don’t map internal work: Leave internal tasks (e.g., administrative work, training, internal meetings) unmapped from any Service Type. This ensures cleaner reporting on client-facing services.
Unique Linkage: Each Work Type can only be linked to one Service Type at a time.

Why Mapping Matters:

Ensures your Service Library accurately reflects and aligns with the actual work being done by your team.
Improves accuracy and clarity in reporting and billing.
Simplifies work planning by effectively grouping similar services.

Where Service Types are Used

Service Types are integral across several key areas within Karbon:

Service Library: They categorize your billable services when you create new entries in your Service Library.
Engagements: In Engagements, Service Types help group services for internal categorization and provide visibility to clients on the engagement document.
Reports: They are used in various reports for tracking service performance and profitability by category, offering deeper insights into your firm's operations.