1. CORE Help Center
  2. Using CORE
  3. Time & Expenses
  4. Best Practices
  5. Time & Expenses

How to write off time and expenses

Updated

You might need to do write-offs time and expenses due to various reasons, such as if you exceed a fixed fee contract. You cannot bill for that written-off time or expenses, but still need to know what actual time and expenses were incurred by the project. How does the write-off work in BQE CORE?

There are several ways to write off service fees or expenses prior to generating an invoice. You can use any method that suits your situation. 

Write-Up/Write-Down:

Writing off time entries can be handled by using the Write-Up/Down feature in the Invoices screen (Invoice Batch). In this case, you can change the bill amount of the selected time entries to $0.00. Doing this will keep it tied to the invoice, making it part of WUD as well as Gross Margin reports. You can also write off or write down the invoice amount by changing the Net Bill amount, which automatically generates a WUD. Check CORE Help Center for details on WUD.

Non-Billable:

Making time or expense entries non-billable is recommended than marking them as billed. Non-billable time entries can be associated with an invoice and shows as ‘No Charge’. They will also display on the Gross Margin reports. If you mark the time or expense entries as non-billable, they show on the cost side of your reports, but not on the revenue side.

  1. From the Invoices screen, select the project's billing record in the Invoice Batch screen and and go into its time and expense details.
  2. Uncheck the Billable option for the desired time (or expense) entries. 

or

  1. Go to the Time Entries screen.
  2. Uncheck the Billable option for the specific time entries. The best way to do this is to select all the time entries you want in the list view and update the status using Batch Update. Check Update Time Entries for details.

or

  1. On the Expense Entries screen, filter the data to view the relevant entries.
  2. Un-check the Billable box for those expense entries. You can also select multiple entries on the grid and use Actions > Batch Update to set the billable status to False. Check Update Expense Entries for details.

Mark Billed: 

Mark Billed option is essentially writing off time or expense entries resulting in no revenue, but there is a cost. It is not included on detailed invoices nor the Gross Margin reports because it is not tied to the invoices.

  1. From the Invoices screen, select the project's billing record in the Invoice Batch screen and go into its time and expense details.
  2. Check the Mark Billed option for the desired time (or expense) entries. Check CORE Help Center for details on WUD.

For profitability reporting, all these scenarios should be included. Mark Billed and Non-Billable options both involve costs charged to a project; thus when reporting profitability for clients, projects and employees, all costs charged to projects should be included. WUD is reflected in the net invoice amounts totaling to “Billed” (for profit reports showing billed work). This results in a truer measure of profitability. If you want to see the gross margins by invoice (what was billed and direct costs associated with it), then run the profit by invoice report in CORE. If you have written off time in CORE using the Invoices > Write-Up/Down feature, on printing the Aging Activity report, these written off projects are shown.

Check CORE Help Center for details on Time Entries and Expense Entries.

Write Off

The Write-Off option for time and expense entries is only available when Revenue Recognition is enabled in Settings. If Revenue Recognition is disabled, the write-off flag is hidden, and entries are excluded from billing, but their billable status remains unchanged. You can write off time and expense entries individually or in bulk using the Write-Off option available in the Time Entries and Expense Entries screens, as well as in batch billing (via the T&E Details screen with the Batch Update support).

When entries are marked as write-offs:

  • They are excluded from manual and batch invoicing.
  • If the Revenue Recognition setting is enabled, associated WIP revenue is reversed automatically.
  • If the Revenue Recognition setting is disabled, entries are still excluded from billing, though the write-off flag is hidden.
  • Billable status remains unchanged.
  • Cost stays posted.
  • They are excluded from Write-Up/Down (WUD) calculations.

Check CORE Help Center for details on Time Entries , Expense Entries and Invoices.

Related articles