A product is a clearly defined service package that can be ordered by several customers in identical form. It is characterized by repeatability and standardization. Products have:

Products are aimed at a broad target group and are not individual services. While a customer can customize the product to their specific needs, the underlying service remains unchanged. Examples of this are

Products are always used in Leadtime if the service is standardized and does not require a great deal of planning.

All of the company's standardized service packages and products are recorded in the product catalog.

Three different price types can be used for a product:

Variants are alternative versions of a product. They make it possible to offer different performance or price levels for the same product; in the case of a SaaS product, for example, there could be a Basic and a Pro variant. These types of product variants are also called product tiers. It is possible and useful to store different prices for each product variant.

Options extend a product with additional features that can be individually selected and added. They are particularly suitable for upgrades, e.g. additional capacities or premium support. Options trigger a surcharge on the standard or variant price.

In many projects, service providers not only want to charge for the individual project work performed, but also offer the customer standardized additional services - such as hosting, support subscriptions or maintenance packages. These services are managed as products in Leadtime and can be added directly to a project.

Adding products to a project is a strategic step - especially for new customers. This allows project work to be combined with long-term services and lays the foundation for long-term collaboration.

Example: An agency creates a website for a customer and at the same time offers a hosting and support package as a product - independently of the actual project service.

Leadtime allows you to add all types of products to projects:

These are selected via the integrated Leadtime product catalog.

Billing is automated and depends on the project status:

This rule prevents customers from paying for services before the project has been completed.

In many projects, services are not limited to working time. Additional product-type services are often added - e.g. a plugin, a configuration, a small design job or a flat-rate additional service. In Leadtime, such products can be assigned directly to individual tickets.

The aim: faster billing, more transparency and less rework in invoice verification.

The direct assignment of products to tickets has several advantages:

Important:

Only products with a one-off fixed price can be added to a ticket.

This restriction ensures that ticket items are clear, calculable and directly billable.

Switch to the ticket to which you want to assign a product.

On the right-hand side of the ticket (or via the three-dot menu) you will find the "Add product" button.

A list of available fixed-price products from your product catalog will open. Select the appropriate product, adjust the quantity or description if necessary and save.

The product is now listed in the ticket and will appear on the next invoice once the ticket has been completed

An express quote can optionally be created for products that have been saved directly on the ticket. Express offers make it possible to send the customer an official offer for an individual ticket quickly and unbureaucratically. The express quote can refer to a working time estimate AND / OR the fixed prices of products added to the ticket.

In addition to the standardized pricing rules from the Leadtime product catalog, the system also offers the option of storing free subscription models directly in projects or mandates - regardless of whether a product catalogue entry exists or not.

This function is particularly suitable for

Free subscriptions are managed in the project under Settings > Subscription billing. The view is divided into two parts:

This variant is suitable for all flat-rate service packages, e.g. for hosting, support or assistance.

These subscriptions are automatically proposed for billing at the specified frequency as long as they are within the active term.

This option is intended for consumption-based models - e.g. price per user, license or credit.

A multiplier is then entered during billing - e.g. 8 users → 8 × €10 = €80.

All free subscriptions can be edited or removed later.

Free subscriptions make Leadtime extremely flexible. They allow you to record individually agreed services cleanly, automatically suggest them and bill them transparently , even without a product catalog entry - ideal for long-term customer relationships and tailored service packages.

In Leadtime, you can invoice not only working time, but also products directly and automatically - including one-off products, express offers and ongoing subscriptions with fixed or variable prices.

Invoice verification is the place where you can view, check and finally approve all products due for invoicing.

These are assigned to individual projects and appear in invoice verification as soon as the project has reached the "Billing" status. They contain

Products with a recurring fixed price (e.g. hosting packages or support flat rates) are automatically transferred to invoice verification according to their billing interval.

Products where the price is based on usage units - e.g. number of users, storage space, emails - require manual entry of the billed quantity in invoice verification.

A product is billed at € 100 per user.

In invoice verification, you now enter how many licenses were active during this period:

In this case:

It is necessary to enter the usage units correctly, as Leadtime does not automatically derive this value from the system.

If a product was sold as part of an express offer (e.g. an ad hoc feature or a quick change), it will appear under the "Express offers" section. A separate item with ID and amount is displayed for each offer.

Example:

"Forgotten Task" with €400 fixed price in October 2024.

After checking all included product items - including

...click on "Settle" to create the invoice. The product is then finally invoiced and the entry disappears from the list of open invoices and ends up in the receivables.