Bill oncosts are additional costs incur when supplying staff and services to a client. These costs are passed on to the client and included in the final bill amount. For example, insurance and administration costs can be considered additional costs.
Bill Oncosts Overview
Bill oncosts are applicable to pay-dependent bill agreements only. They are configured in Rates and Rules by creating a bill oncost header and one or more bill oncost rates.
Bill oncosts consist of an oncost header and one or more oncost rates.
How Bill Oncosts Are Applied
Each oncost rate has a validity period, which determines when the rate applies. One or more bill oncosts can be linked to any pay code. When a pay code is processed during bill agreement interpretation:
Any bill oncosts linked to that pay code are applied.
The bill oncost is included in the bill rate calculation.
The calculated amount is included in the client invoice.
Agreement Hierarchy Assignment
Each oncost rate must be linked to where it applies by selecting a level in the agreement hierarchy, and a specific value at that level.
This determines which job orders the oncost rate is applied to.
Example hierarchy (from highest to lowest):
Country.
Job order.
Payee.
Example:
If an oncost rate is set at the Payee level and linked to John Smith, that rate applies only to job orders filled by John Smith. It does not apply to other payees, even if they are on the same job order.
📌 Note:
Only one oncost rate can apply at a time for the same hierarchy level and value
The rate that applies is determined by its validity period
If multiple valid oncost rates exist at different hierarchy levels, the system applies the rate at the lowest (most specific) level.
Supported Bill Oncost Rate Types
Each bill oncost rate must define how the oncost is calculated. The following rate types are supported:
Percentage: a rate of 10% applies an oncost equal to 10% of the payee’s gross pay.
Fixed amount: a rate of $2.50 applies a flat $2.50 oncost.
Linking Oncosts Together
Each bill oncost rate can be linked to one or more other oncost headers. This allows an oncost rate to be calculated on top of other oncost rates, enabling layered oncost calculations where required.
Australia – WorkCover Bill Oncosts
A WorkCover AU flag can be enabled on a bill oncost that is assigned to the country Australia. If WorkCover premiums need to be passed on to clients, one bill oncost must be created with this flag enabled.
When the WorkCover AU flag is enabled:
No oncost rates can be defined on the bill oncost
The bill oncost acts as a trigger for the system to automatically calculate the WorkCover oncost
📌 Note:
The WorkCover oncost is calculated using:
The WorkCover code selected on the job order in Recruitment Manager, Job Order, Pay Bill, Wage Costs)
The WorkCover rate defined in Payroll, Maintenance, WorkCover, Code & Rate.
⚠️ Important!
The WorkCover oncost rate applied to a job order is locked in when the job order is submitted to timesheet and remains the same for the entire duration of the job order.
If the WorkCover rate changes in Payroll Maintenance while a job order is active:
The updated rate is not automatically applied to that job order.
To pass the new WorkCover rate on to the client, you must create a new job order that starts on the date the new rate takes effect.
Bill Oncost Rate Validity
Bill oncost rates use a validity period to determine which rate applies at any given time.
When an item subject to a bill oncost is billed:
The applicable rate is determined by the rate that is valid on the item date
The payment date is not used to determine the rate
Validity Date Considerations
This is especially important when passing on statutory costs that change on a specific date.
Example: Australia superannuation
Compulsory employer superannuation rates are based on the date a payee is paid. If a legislated rate increase takes effect on 1 July:
A pay period that starts in the old tax year but is paid in the new tax year may require the higher rate.
If the new bill oncost rate starts on 1 July, items dated earlier may still be billed at the old rate.