Where control turns projects into profit

This guide explains how to set up different billing modes for each phase of a job. It allows you to accurately quote and bill for complex work that combines fixed-fee and time-based methods.

Some jobs are not straightforward. You might need to charge a fixed fee for discovery, then bill by the hour for the delivery phase. Job phases let you manage this complexity within a single job, keeping your quotes, invoices, and reports clean.

Before you start

You need permissions to create and manage jobs.
Job phases are available on the Pro and Ultra plans.

Understand phase billing modes

You can assign one of four billing modes to a phase. This tells AtomicSam how to calculate the phase's contribution to the Job Total and invoice.

Billing Mode	Description	Best For
`Fixed Fee`	A set price for the phase, regardless of the time and expenses logged.	Work with a clearly defined scope and deliverables.
`Actuals`	Bills for all time and expenses logged against the phase.	Flexible or ongoing work where the scope may change.
`Capped`	Bills for actuals up to a set budget limit. You will not bill over the cap.	Providing the client with flexibility inside a predictable cost ceiling.
`Non-Billable`	Tracks time and expenses without adding them to an invoice.	Internal tasks, pro-bono work, or correcting mistakes.

Set up phases on a new job

You can enable and define phases right when you create a job.

Navigate to Jobs and select New Job.
Fill in the client and job details in the top section.
In the Job Structure section, turn on the Phases toggle.
Your first phase, named "Phase 1", appears. Edit the name to be more descriptive, like "Discovery" or "Design".
Select a Billing Mode for this phase from the dropdown menu.
If you choose Fixed Fee or Capped, you must enter a value in the Phase Total or Cap Amount field.
Select Add Phase to create another phase. Repeat these steps for each part of your job.
As you add phases, watch the Job Total at the top of the page. It automatically sums the totals of all your Fixed Fee and Capped phases.
When you are finished, select Create Job.

Add phases to an existing job

You can also add a phase structure to a job you have already created.

Open the job you want to change.
Select the Structure tab.
Turn on the Phases toggle.
⚠️ Heads up: If you have existing time entries or budget information on the job, AtomicSam will prompt you to move that information into a single, new phase.
Select Add Phase.
Give the new phase a name and choose its Billing Mode.
Enter a total or cap amount if the billing mode requires it.
Select Save Changes.

Invoice for specific phases

Phases allow you to create separate invoices for different parts of a job.

Open the job and navigate to the Billing tab.
Select New Invoice.
In the invoice creation screen, find the Invoice For dropdown. By default, it is set to Entire Job.
Open the dropdown and select the specific phase you want to bill for.
The invoice line items will update to show only the billable amounts for that phase.
Review the details and select Approve & Send.

💡 Tip: You can create multiple invoices for a single phase. For example, you can invoice for a 50% deposit on a Fixed Fee phase by creating an invoice and manually setting the amount.

Good to know

The quoted Job Total only includes the sum of Fixed Fee and Capped phase amounts. It does not predict or include any amounts for Actuals phases.
When your staff members log time, they must select both the job and the specific phase their work relates to.
You can filter the Job Financials report to see profitability by phase or for the job as a whole.
Once a phase has been included on an invoice, you can no longer delete it.

Set up job phases with different billing modes