Client billing settings explained — markup, overtime multipliers, and invoicing

Last updated: August 21, 2026

Summary: Each client has settings that control how much you bill and how invoices are produced. The billing ones — the markup, the overtime and double-time bill multipliers, and how earning types are billed — determine the bill rate that lands on the invoice. This article explains each setting, shows how a bill rate is calculated end to end, and points to the invoicing settings that control how those charges are grouped and displayed.

Pay rate vs. bill rate (the foundation)

Every assignment has two rates:

  • Pay rate — what the worker earns per hour.

  • Bill rate — what the client is charged per hour.

The gap between them is your gross margin. The client settings below mostly control how the bill rate is derived from the pay rate, and how overtime and other hours are priced.

Markup — how the regular bill rate is set

Markup sets the regular bill rate as a percentage on top of the pay rate:

bill rate = pay rate × (1 + markup)

For example, a 45% markup on a $40.00 pay rate produces a $58.00 bill rate ($40 × 1.45). When a markup is configured on the client, the regular bill rate is derived automatically from each assignment's pay rate, and the bill rate isn't edited by hand on jobs and assignments under that client.

Markup is typically set by Ascen when your client is configured. If a client has no markup set, you instead enter the bill rate directly on each assignment (see How do I change the bill or pay rates for an assignment?). Either way, the pricing calculator lets you preview the bill rate and margin before you commit — see How do I use the pricing calculator?

Overtime and double-time bill multipliers

Overtime and double-time hours are billed at a multiple of the regular bill rate, controlled by two client settings:

  • Bill overtime multiplier — default 1.5×. Overtime hours bill at bill rate × 1.5.

  • Bill double overtime multiplier — default 2.0×. Double-time hours bill at bill rate × 2.0.

These multiply the bill rate (what the client pays); the worker's overtime pay follows the applicable wage-and-hour rules separately. Both multipliers must be at least 1. Changing a multiplier affects overtime bill rates on existing assignments for that client, so it's change-with-care — you'll be asked to confirm.

Note: For a specific assignment, you can also set an explicit overtime bill rate directly, which overrides the multiplier for that assignment.

Holiday, on-call, PTO, and sick hours

  • Holiday hours bill at a holiday multiplier applied to the bill rate (configured at the account level).

  • On-call, PTO, and sick hours bill at the regular bill rate by default.

  • Which of these earning types are actually billed to the client (versus absorbed) is itself a client setting — for example, whether sick, PTO, or holiday time appears on the client's invoice.

Worked example: one week on one assignment

Assume a client with 45% markup, the default 1.5× overtime and 2.0× double-time multipliers, and a worker with a $40.00 pay rate:

  • Regular bill rate: $40 × 1.45 = $58.00/hr

  • Overtime bill rate: $58 × 1.5 = $87.00/hr

  • Double-time bill rate: $58 × 2.0 = $116.00/hr

If the worker logs 40 regular + 5 overtime hours:

  • Regular: 40 × $58.00 = $2,320.00

  • Overtime: 5 × $87.00 = $435.00

  • Invoice total for the week: $2,755.00

Other billing settings that affect the invoice

  • Surcharge fee per hour — a flat per-hour amount added to billing (used, for example, for an ACA surcharge).

  • Rate differential — a small adjustment (up or down) to the billing rate.

  • Expense markup — a percentage billed to the client on top of reimbursable expense amounts. You can set a default that applies across your clients, and override it for an individual client. The markup is applied to an expense when it is created, so changing the setting affects new expenses only — expenses already entered keep the markup they were created with. On an expense you'll see the markup and the resulting billed amount.

  • Show markup on invoices — whether the markup is displayed on the client's invoice (off by default; enabling it exposes your markup to the client).

  • Sales tax — whether sales tax applies, based on the work location and service type.

  • Purchase order required — require a PO before an assignment can be created for the client.

How those charges are grouped and shown

Separately from how much you bill, other client settings control how invoices are produced — whether assignments combine onto one invoice or split, and by what dimension:

  • Invoice grouping — combine everyone onto one invoice, split per assignment, or split by purchase order, work location, or period. See How can I group certain invoices together for my client?

  • Invoice frequency — weekly, biweekly, or monthly, and when invoices are generated. See When do you invoice clients?

  • Copy recipients (cc) — who's copied on invoice, timesheet, and payroll-invoice emails. See How can I add emails to cc on invoice emails?

  • Timesheet settings — the client's workweek, approval requirements, and what timesheet detail shows on invoices.

Who can change these, and how

Most billing-rate settings — markup, the overtime/double-time multipliers, surcharges, sales tax — are managed by Ascen (or, for self-funded partners, available to you directly), because they affect what your client is charged. Invoicing settings (grouping, cc recipients, PO required, display options) and per-assignment bill/pay rates are things you can generally set yourself under Clients → Edit Client and on the assignment.

To change a markup or multiplier on an existing client, or if a setting is locked, email support@ascen.com with the client and what you need.