The Service Library is your firm's internal catalog of all the services you provide to clients. Each service here includes a clear description, essential billing rules, and outlines the Work Templates that define how the work gets done. This guide will walk you through building your very first service in Karbon, covering all the crucial details including billing configuration.
Prerequisites
Before you begin creating a service in your Service Library, make sure you've completed these foundational setup steps:
You've created Service Types under Settings > Workflow > Service Types.
You've mapped your Work Types to those Service Types.
You've set up your Work Templates to represent all your recurring tasks and workflows.
How to Build a New Service
1. Go to Settings > Service Library.
2. Click Add Service.
3. Now, complete the service details in the modal that appears:
Service Name: Give your service a clear, client-friendly name (e.g., "Monthly Bookkeeping," "Annual Tax Filing"). This name will be visible to clients in Engagements.
Service Type: Select the category this service belongs to (e.g., "Tax & Compliance," "Bookkeeping Services").
Description: Write a short explanation of what's included in this service. This description will also appear in engagements sent to clients.
Configuring Billing for Your Service
This section details how to set up the billing frequency and fee type for your service.
Billing Frequency:
Choose how often you'll bill the client for this service. This sets the recurring cycle for your invoices.
Monthly
Weekly
One-time (Note: One-time billing is typically handled manually through specific billing runs outside of recurring engagements).
Service Fee Type:
Select how your fees will be calculated for this service:
Fixed Fee: You bill a flat, consistent amount for the service per period, regardless of the actual time tracked by your team.
Best For: Subscription-based services, predictable scopes of work, monthly recurring services (e.g., bookkeeping retainers), or clients who prefer price certainty.
How it works: When you choose Fixed Fee, you'll set the total Service Fee in the next step. If you link Work Templates to this service, you'll then distribute this total service fee across your linked Work Templates, ensuring their sum equals the total service fee.
Time & Materials: Clients are billed based on the actual time logged by your team members, using their defined hourly rates or other itemized charges.
Best For: Project-based work where the scope may vary, ad hoc consulting, or services where flexibility is needed and fees may fluctuate.
How it works: When you choose Time & Materials, you generally won't set a Service Fee here, as it's calculated based on logged time. Ensure your hourly rates for each staff member are configured under Colleague/Role Settings.
Service Fee:
Set the total amount to be billed for this service.
If you selected Fixed Fee, enter the specific amount (e.g., "$750").
If you selected Time & Materials, this field may not be applicable or can be left blank, as the fee is dynamically calculated from logged time.
Note that this amount can be adjusted for specific clients later when creating individual Engagements.
Engagements to Payments is currently in Early Access. If you're interested in learning more, we encourage you to reach out to your Customer Success Manager.
Helpful Next Steps:
Create and Map Service Types in Karbon: Learn how to set up your foundational categories to properly organize your services.
Configure Billing Frequency and Fee Types for Services: Dive deeper into the different billing options to ensure accurate client invoicing.
Build and Send Your First Karbon Engagement: Explore the full process of creating and sending a client engagement, connecting your newly built service to a client agreement.