How Do I Bill a Savings Share?
Can Discovery handle shared savings?
Yes. However your savings share agreements are structured, the share is one fee in Discovery, and it bills on the same client invoice as everything else.
You set it up in two steps:
- Pick the fee type that matches the scope of the agreement: one service, one location, or the whole client account.
- Pick the billing style that matches how the savings are measured: a Fixed amount you calculate, or a Formula that Discovery recalculates every billing period from audited savings.
A fee's line items are grouped under the Line Item Category you pick. Use the same category on every savings share fee to keep them all in one place.
Step 1: Pick the fee type for the agreement's scope
The fee type sets which savings the share applies to. Create the fee from the page of the thing it covers.
| Fee type | Use it when savings are shared on | Create it from |
|---|---|---|
| Client Service Fee | One service | The service's page |
| Location Fee | Every service at one location | The location's page |
| Client Account Fee | The entire account: all locations and all services | The client account's page |
Every fee type has a free-text Label. It fills in from the Line Item Category's display name, and you can change it to something clear, such as "Savings Share". Location Fees and Client Account Fees also have a Header Label.
Use one fee per scope. A Client Account Fee's scope includes every location and service in the account, and a Location Fee's includes every service at that location. If fees at two levels both share audited savings, the same savings bill twice.
Step 2: Pick the billing style for how savings are measured
| Billing style | Use it when | Who calculates the share |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | Savings are measured against the client's historical baseline | You set the amount; Discovery bills it on your schedule |
| Formula | Savings come from invoice auditing, which Discovery already tracks | Discovery, every billing period |
Example A: Fixed, 50% of the cost you took out
Agreement: (old all-in cost before the broker − new all-in cost with the broker) × 50%
Discovery doesn't factor the client's historical baseline into billing. You calculate the share outside Discovery and bill it as a set amount.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Billing Style | Fixed |
| Amount | The calculated share. Old cost $10,000/mo − new cost $8,000/mo = $2,000 saved → $1,000/mo fee |
| Frequency | Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, One Time, or Per Client Invoice |
| Start Date | Effective date of the savings share agreement, when you want billing to begin. On a Location Fee this field is called First Month Billed |
| End Date | Optional. When the share arrangement ends |
| Line Item Category | The category given to the line items this fee generates |
| Label | Free text, for example "Savings Share" |
If the rate changes, update the fee amount. Discovery won't recalculate a fixed fee for you.
Tip: keep the baseline in Discovery. Store the old all-in cost as location metadata on each location the agreement covers, so the number behind the fee isn't in a side spreadsheet. Metadata fields are set up for your account by DSQ. Once a baseline field is added, for example "Baseline Location Cost", it appears in the Metadata section when you create or edit a location, and you enter the amount there.
Metadata is reference only. The fee amount doesn't recalculate from it.
Example B: Formula, 20% of audited savings
Agreement: audited savings × 20%
The savings come from invoice auditing, which Discovery tracks. Discovery calculates the share for you every billing period.
Works with all three fee types. {audited_savings} is available on Client Service Fees, Location Fees, and Client Account Fees, and the fee's scope decides which invoices count.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Billing Style | Formula |
| Formula | {audited_savings} * 0.2 |
| Frequency | Monthly, Quarterly, Annually, or One Time |
| Start Date | Effective date of the savings share agreement. On a Location Fee this field is called First Month Billed |
| End Date | Optional |
| Line Item Category | The category given to the line items this fee generates |
| Label | Free text, for example "Savings Share" |
How Discovery calculates it: each billing period, Discovery adds up (original invoiced amount − final audited amount) for every charge within the fee's scope. It then applies your formula.
- Which invoices count: vendor invoices in Approved, Posted, Manually Posted, Paid, or Revenue Check Failure status. Invoices still in Extract or Audit don't count.
- Which period a saving lands in: for a Location Fee or Client Account Fee, the vendor invoice's fiscal period. For a Client Service Fee, the charge's service start date.
- Increases count too: if an audit raises a charge, the increase is subtracted from that period's savings, which lowers the fee.
- No savings, no fee: if audits reduced nothing that period, the fee bills $0.
Limitations
- Baseline-based savings aren't calculated for you. Discovery doesn't know the client's cost before you started, so a baseline share is a Fixed fee you calculate. Location metadata can hold the baseline, but the fee doesn't read from it.
- Fixed fees don't update themselves. If the client's costs or your rate change, edit the fee amount.
- Tiered splits don't fit one formula. Formulas allow numbers, Discovery's formula variables, parentheses, and + − × ÷ only, with no IF or other conditions. A split such as "30% up to $5,000, then 20%" can't be written as one formula. Contact us and we'll help you map it.
- Formula fees can't bill per client invoice. Per Client Invoice is only offered for Fixed fees.
- Savings wait for approval. A saving counts only once its vendor invoice is Approved or later, and each billing run only looks at its own period. Run billing after that period's vendor invoices are approved, or savings still in audit may be missed.
If you have additional questions or need more in depth information, please feel free to send us a message using the help beacon in the lower right-hand corner.