Billing in Central was created to save valuable time for Interview Engineers. The majority of billing entries (conducted interviews and QC) are automatically created, submitted, and approved in Central. Consulting activities (such as Mentor and Content work) and most incentives (such as Expert graduation) need to be manually added by Interview Engineers. Billing instructions for consulting work and incentives are listed in the billing guides section.

Monthly Billing Schedule

Please submit consulting billing entries no later than EOD (12:00 a.m. PT) on the last calendar day of each month. For maximum accuracy and minimum headache, we recommend submitting manual entries throughout the month, as the activities occur.

Interview Engineers are paid for their work on a monthly basis via Tipalti. Payment will be received by the 20th of each month via Tipalti. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, payday will fall on the next business day. Timing of receipt may vary month-to-month due to various reasons such as individual bank processing times. Our team works hard to beat this deadline as often as possible!

When will my manual submission be approved? Most billables are reviewed and approved throughout the month, but it's common for approvals to be completed in the last/first couple days of each month. Don't panic if you see your billing entries lingering in the "submitted" stage!
How do I submit billing entries for client interviews, late cancels, or QC work? Central automatically approves any tracked activities, so no action is needed to bill for client interviews and/or QC work.
What if I miss the submission deadline? Late submissions will be applied to next month's payment. Please reach out to Community Operations via the Ask CommOps form. Thank you.

Rate Cards

You can locate your billable types and corresponding rate on your "Rate Card" in Central.

Below is an example of an Interview Engineer 'Rate Card'

Adding Billing Entries to Central

For non-Central tracked activities that need to be manually entered, Interview Engineers can either manually enter each individual billing entry or use the Upload CSV feature to add multiple entries. Follow these steps:

Head over to "Billing Entries" on your Central profile page

Select "Create Billing Entries" in the upper right hand corner of the page

Fill in each field accurately (category and quantity errors can cause payment delays) and please include detailed notes. If your entry contains multiple IV IDs, please ensure to include all IV IDs in the Notes section.

If you prefer to upload a CSV with multiple entries, click "Upload CSV" and follow the prompts.

CSV Upload Format

-`<date>,<billable_as_you_see_in_your_billables_page_under_csv_column>,<quantity>, <interview ID>, <note>`

There is a max of 50 entries per CSV upload.
Date should be formatted mm/dd/yy.
If interviewer ID is not applicable, use an extra comma in its place (don't exclude the whole column)
- For example date,kind,interviewer,quantity,note
- If exporting from another software (ie. Numbers or Excel), this should be automatic
If the CSV upload is successful, each individual billing entry will display on the page.
If the upload fails, Central will describe the error. This most likely means that the CSV formatting was incorrect.

CSV Download

The CSV download gives you a programmatic format to inspect your billing entries. You’ll get a column for the billable (name/type of work), amount to be paid, work date, approval state, any notes, and the work item record. The work item record is either an interview, a QC, or null depending on the billable type.

Billing Guides

Assessment Candidate Billing Guide

Live Review Billing Guide (Senior IVEs)

Interview Overage Billing Guide

Perks, Referrals, and Incentives!

Expert Promotion Incentive

This incentive is awarded for passing the Apprentice phase and reaching Expert level. Add this billing entry in Central under "IVE: Expert Graduation" and learn more about Expert promotions here.

Shared Meals Perk

Occasionally, our Interview Engineers find themselves in the same city and want to meet up for a meal. Karat encourages this community connection, and we can't wait to see photos! Before you book that reservation, please partner with Community Operations by submitting a request in the Ask CommOps form and choose 'I need help with billing' -> 'I'd like to do a meet up' for approval and share the full names of all attendees.

Shared Meals details:

You can expense up to $50 USD/per IVE:
- Reimbursement will be provided for the amount spent or
- if the meal exceeds this amount, reimbursement will be provided for the maximum allowable cap of $50 per IVE.
- Note that if the receipt amount is not in USD we will use a currency conversion site to determine the comparable USD amount spent.
This perk is for active Interview Engineers only.
- Minimum of 2 and maximum of 6 IVEs.
This perk can be used quarterly.
This perk must be used within the quarter it is requested.

Shared Meals requires a receipt for reimbursement, so it is NOT entered in Central. Please follow the instructions below.

Keep your receipt and copy this Expense Report template for reimbursement.
Export the expense report as a PDF and email it to invoices@karat.com at any time of the month.
Add receipt image(s) to the template and submit only one document.
Include the full names of all attendee names if you paid for someone else.
Reimbursement will be issued in the next payment cycle.
Last but not least, please share a pic in the Travel category!

Lunch on Karat Incentive

Lunch on Karat has moved to an incentive. This incentive is currently closed. Community Operations will announce when this incentive reopens.

If you conduct six or more interviews in one day, you are invited to enter a 'meal incentive' billing entry of $25 USD. Please note, one day is considered a 24 hour period.

IVEs must use the following Billing Entry: "IVE: Lunch Reimbursement - $25.00 (dollar)".
Create one billing entry for every 6 or more interviews in a 24 hour period. Billable quantity should always be one.
IVEs must note in the description the six interview IDs per lunch reimbursement.
Receipts are NOT required. We like the idea of buying you lunch, but the $25 is yours to spend how you'd like.

Community Operations will review the manual billables on the standard monthly IVE billables timeline and payment will be processed in the next payment cycle. This incentive can only be used one time per month. Below are a few clarifications about this incentive:

Late Cancels and No Shows do not count -- Ended Early does count
Assessment Interviews and Live Reviews count
Does not apply to QC -- only interviews

Referral Incentives

Referrals and Social Outreach Guide

1. Expert Promotion @ **$500**

You are eligible for this incentive when your referral conducts 10 client interviews as an Expert.
Please submit a billing entry using IVE: IVE Referral Bonus, quantity $500, and indicate the IVE's name in the comment.
You must be an active IVE to claim this referral and meet volume requirement minimums.

2. Senior Promotion @ **$500**

You are eligible for this incentive when your referral is promoted to Senior within one year of when they started.
Please submit a billing entry using IVE: IVE Referral Bonus, quantity $500, and indicate the IVE's name in the comment.
You must be an active IVE to claim this referral and meet volume requirement minimums.

3. Milestone: 300 interviews within 1 year @ **$500**

You are eligible for this incentive when your referral reaches 300 client interviews within one year of when they started.
Please submit a billing entry using IVE: IVE Referral Bonus, quantity $500, and indicate the IVE's name in the comment.
You must be an active IVE to claim this referral and meet volume requirement minimums.

Billing in Central - Sandbox