Admin set-up

You can configure Ayora to match your organisation’s structure and pricing approach.

Configurable parameters include:

• Clients
• Fee earner grades
• Fee earner charge-out rates by grade and practice group
  • Standard rates
  • Exception rates linked to clients
• Fee earner cost rates by grade and practice group
• Taxonomy: work types
• Taxonomy: work streams
• Fee menus (fee scales)
• Fixed fee scope items (fixed fee quote components)

Rates (standard and client)

The Rates area lets you define the charge-out and cost rates used when building quotes.

1. Open the Quote Builder admin area.
2. Select Rates from the top ribbon menu.

You will see rate types for:

• Standard rates (live)
• Client rates (live)
• Matter rates (in development)

Standard rates

Standard rates are organised around your organisational structure.

1. Start from a department.
2. Within a department, select a practice area.

For each practice area, define:

• A standard charge rate by fee earner grade
• A standard cost rate by fee earner grade
• One or more currencies (if you quote in multiple currencies)
• Effective dates

Effective dates control when rates are included in quotes.

Client rates

Client rates are organised by client group.

1. Select a client group.
2. Review the client entities within that group.
3. For each client entity, attach one or more rate cards.

Creating a new rate card

1. In Client rates, click New rate card (top-right).
2. Add metadata for the rate card.
3. Set the scope:
   • Apply the rate card to an entire client group, or to a specific client within that group.
   • Assign the rate card to a specific practice area, or apply it globally.
   • Choose the currency.

4. 

5. After saving the initial setup, create rates grade-by-grade.

Fee Menus (admin configuration)

Fee Menus are configured in the admin console.

Configuration requires specifying:

• Practice area
• Work type
• Specific client group
• Fee Menu name

Features (such as transaction value) can act as anchors for certain fees and can reference values like number of documents.

A preview appears on the right side of the screen to test the Fee Menu as it’s being built.

Available Fee Menu components

• Simple fixed fees
• Featured tiered component
  • Can be progressive.
  • Behaviours can include:
    • a fixed price at a given input value,
    • an ad-valorem price at a given input value,
    • a rejection (quote separately at this value),
    • a cap (time-based pricing subject to a cap).
• Selection fields
• Direct input fields
• Unit pricing
• Assumptions/behaviours
• Overall discount

Fixed fee scope items (admin configuration)

Fixed fee scope items allow specific scope items to be priced on a fixed-fee basis, instead of time and materials.

Use fixed fee scope items when you want part of a quote to be fixed-fee, while the rest of the quote remains time and materials.

How fixed fee scope items work

• You define a fixed scope item (the scope item it applies to, plus one or more fixed-fee options).
• You define one or more conditions, each with options that an end user can select.
• You link a fixed-fee option to one or more condition options.
• During quote building, if the selected options match the linked conditions, the assistant can offer the fixed-fee scope item option.

Before you start

Create the conditions first. You will need them when you define fixed-fee options.

Creating conditions

1. Open the Cloud Builder admin area.
2. Navigate to Fixed fee scope items.
3. Create a new Condition.

4. Name the condition.

   • Example: Due diligence

   

5. Add one or more options (these are what end users will select).
   • Example options: Red flags, Full report

Repeat as needed. You can create multiple conditions.

Creating fixed-fee scope items

1. In Fixed fee scope items, create a new Scope item.
2. Name the fixed-fee scope item.

3. Associate it with the correct:

   • Practice area
   • Work type
   • Work stream

   

4. Create one or more fixed-fee options for this scope item.
   • Example: Red flags with a specific amount
5. Add assumptions for each fixed-fee option.
   • Write these as natural language.
   • These assumptions override any descriptions coming from templates.
6. Associate the relevant conditions.
   • Example: Link the Red flags fixed-fee option to the Red flags condition option.
7. Allocate the default template resourcing profile for the scope item.

Glossary

• Pricing Agent: Chat-based interface that interprets inputs, finds relevant precedents and policies, and drafts quotes.
• Quote Builder: Non-agent interface for creating and editing quotes with full manual control.
• Pricing Frameworks: Pricing approaches used to structure a quote (for example Time & Materials, Fixed Fees, Success Fees with Break Fee).
• Work streams: High-level phases that organise a quote.
• Scope items: Individual components inside a work stream.
• Fee Menus: Pre-configured fixed-fee scales that drive a question-based quoting flow.
• Precedent: A historic matter or quote used as a reference point for fees and resourcing.
• Template: A reusable quote structure for repeatable matters.
• Realisation: Expected proportion of billed value that is recovered.
• Charge-out rate: Headline rate for a timekeeper grade.
• Effective charge-out rate: Adjusted rate after discounts and realisation assumptions.
• Resourcing profile: Allocation of work (and implied hours) across timekeeper grades.
• Person-hours: Calculated hours implied by fee ranges and rates.
• Margin / profit score: Measure of profitability given fees, resourcing, and cost rates.
• Assistant: Feature that helps address bugs and circularities by keeping totals and line items consistent.
• AFA: Alternative fee arrangement (a non-Time & Materials pricing structure).