# Managing Project Members & Rates Every team member who needs to log time to a project must first be assigned to it. This page covers how to add and remove team members on a project, and how to set custom rates at the project level — both for non-service projects (project-member rates) and for service-based projects (project-service-member rates). --- ## Two Modes of Member Assignment How you assign team members depends on whether the project uses services: | Project mode | How members are assigned | Rate override level | | ------------ | ------------------------ | ------------------- | | **Without services** | Directly to the project via the **Members** multi-select | Project-member rate | | **With services** | To individual services within the project, via each service card | Project-service-member rate | Both modes are configured on the project form (create or edit). The **Enable Services** toggle determines which mode is active. --- ## Non-Service Projects: Adding Members Directly When a project does not use services, team members are assigned directly. 1. Open the project (create or edit). 2. In the **Members** multi-select, choose the team members who should have access to this project. 3. Click **Save** (or **Create Project** if creating). Selected team members can immediately log time to this project. To remove a team member, deselect them from the **Members** multi-select and save. ### Setting project-member rates When you add team members to a non-service project, a **Member Rate** table appears below the member selector. Each selected team member gets a row with a **Hourly Rate (/hr)** input. This rate — the **project-member rate** — overrides both the project's default rate and the team member's base rate when they log time to this project. It's the most specific rate available on non-service projects. If you leave a team member's rate blank, the input shows a placeholder indicating which rate will apply instead: - **"Project rate: X/hr"** — if the project has a default rate - **"Base rate: X/hr"** — if the project has no rate, but the team member has a base rate The description above the table explains: *"Rates here take priority. If empty, the project's hourly rate is used. If the project has no rate, the member's base rate applies."* ### Where project-member rates fit in the rate hierarchy For non-service projects, the [rate hierarchy](https://docs.invup.me/books/time-tracking/page/understanding-the-rate-hierarchy) is: | Priority | Rate level | Source | | -------- | ---------- | ------ | | 1 | **Project-member rate** | The rate you set in the Member Rate table | | 2 | Project rate | The project's default Hourly Rate field | | 3 | Member base rate | The team member's organization-level base rate | --- ## Service-Based Projects: Adding Members Through Services When a project uses services, team members are assigned to specific services within the project — not to the project directly. A team member might be assigned to "Tax Advisory" and "Bookkeeping" but not "Audit" on the same project. Member assignment on service-based projects is managed through the service cards on the project form. For step-by-step instructions, see [Managing Project Services & Rates](https://docs.invup.me/books/projects/page/managing-project-services-rates). ### Setting project-service-member rates Each service card on the project form shows the team members assigned to that service. Each team member has a **Hourly Rate (/hr)** input where you can set a custom rate for that specific team member on that specific service within this project. This is the **project-service-member rate** — the most granular rate level in Invup. It overrides every other rate in the chain. [![Admin - Project Services.png](https://docfiles.invup.me/uploads/images/gallery/2026-03/scaled-1680-/admin-project-services.png)](https://docfiles.invup.me/uploads/images/gallery/2026-03/admin-project-services.png) ### Where project-service-member rates fit in the rate hierarchy For service-based projects, the [rate hierarchy](https://docs.invup.me/books/time-tracking/page/understanding-the-rate-hierarchy) checks these levels: | Priority | Rate level | Source | | -------- | ---------- | ------ | | 0 | Non-billable check | $0.00 if the service is non-billable | | **1** | **Project-service-member rate** | **The rate you set per team member on the service card** | | 2 | Member-service rate | Set on the [service detail page](https://docs.invup.me/books/services/page/member-specific-service-rates) | | 3 | Project-service rate | The service card's Service Rate field | | 4 | Service base rate | The service's default rate | | 5 | Project rate | The project's default Hourly Rate | | 6 | Member base rate | The team member's organization-level base rate | --- ## Removing Members ### From a non-service project Deselect the team member from the **Members** multi-select and save. Their project-member rate is removed along with the assignment. ### From a service-based project Remove the team member from the individual service card. If a team member is assigned to multiple services, you need to remove them from each service separately. Removing a team member from a project does not delete their existing time entries — those entries remain in the project's history. --- ## When to Use Project-Level Rate Overrides **Use project-member rates when** a team member should be billed at a different rate on a specific project than their base rate. This is common when different clients have different negotiated rates — for example, a consulting firm might charge a senior consultant at $275/hr for most clients but at $225/hr for a long-standing client's project. **Use project-service-member rates when** the override needs to be specific to both the team member and the type of work. For example, an architecture firm might charge a principal architect at $300/hr for "Schematic Design" but $250/hr for "Construction Administration" on the same project. **Rely on defaults when** all team members on a project should be billed at the same rate. Set the project's default hourly rate and skip individual overrides — simpler to manage and less prone to configuration errors. For a complete explanation of how rates are resolved, see [Understanding the Rate Hierarchy](https://docs.invup.me/books/time-tracking/page/understanding-the-rate-hierarchy).