Track project costs and profit
Add expenses to a project and follow its hours against budget, what it is worth, what it costs and the profit.
Each project keeps a running score: hours against the budget, the billable value, and the profit after the cost of your time and any expenses. Add costs as they happen to keep the profit honest.
Steps
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Read the four numbers. At the top of a project: Progress (tasks done), Hours (against the budget), Billable value (invoiced and still to bill) and Profit (value minus cost).
The project in numbers -
Open the Costs tab. It shows the cost of the time (hours × cost per hour) and every expense, with the total cost.
Open the Costs tab -
Add a cost. Under Add a cost, say what it was (materials, travel, a subcontractor), the amount and the date. Click Add cost.
Add a cost -
Check the profit. The expense is added to the total cost, and Profit goes down by the same amount.
Check the profit
Tip The hours turn red when the project uses more than its budget, so you can talk to the customer before it gets worse.
Good to know
- The cost of time uses the project's Cost per hour; the value uses Bill per hour on billable hours.
- Project costs are for tracking. Pay suppliers with a bill in Purchases as usual.