Billable Expense
Billable expenses are costs incurred by employees on behalf of a client or project, such as travel or software purchases, which the company later invoices to recover. These expenses are tagged during submission, reviewed for accuracy, and synced with billing systems for client invoicing. Automated systems flag errors, enforce stricter approval workflows, and generate detailed reports by client or project, ensuring accurate billing and profitability tracking. Policies can enforce receipt requirements or caps, and expenses can be both reimbursed to employees and billed to clients simultaneously.
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is a billable expense in expense management?
A billable expense is any cost an employee incurs on behalf of a client or project that the company plans to invoice and recover later. Think travel, meals, or software bought for client work these expenses are tracked separately to ensure they’re reimbursed by the client.
When should I mark an expense as billable?
If the expense was incurred specifically for client work or for a project where costs are contractually reimbursable it should be marked as billable at the time of submission. Our system makes this easy with a simple toggle during entry.
Can I assign a billable expense to a client or project?
Yes! While entering your expense, just select the client or project from the dropdown. This ensures accurate invoicing and helps track profitability at the project level.
What happens to billable expenses after submission?
Once submitted, billable expenses are reviewed and routed for approval. After approval, they can be exported or synced with your billing or invoicing software so clients get billed promptly and accurately.
How does the system prevent billing errors?
Our platform flags missing receipts, duplicate entries, and out-of-scope expenses in real-time. Plus, each billable entry is tagged with project/client data, so nothing slips through during invoicing.
Can I generate reports specifically for billable expenses?
Absolutely. You can filter and export billable expenses by client, project, employee, or date giving finance teams the clarity they need for accurate billing and audit readiness.
Are billable expenses treated differently in approvals or audits?
They can be! Many organizations set stricter workflows for billable expenses, given their client-facing nature. Our system supports policy-based routing and maintains a detailed audit trail for every billable entry.
Can billable expenses be reimbursed to employees and billed to clients at the same time?
Yes! Employees are reimbursed as per the usual cycle, while the same expense is recorded as billable and routed to client billing. Our platform ensures internal reimbursement and client invoicing are handled separately but in sync.
What’s the difference between billable and reimbursable expenses?
Billable expenses are charged to a client. Reimbursable expenses are paid back to the employee. Some expenses can be both for example, a consultant pays for client travel (reimbursable) and the company charges the client for it (billable).
Can I bulk-tag multiple expenses as billable?
Yes. If you're uploading or reviewing multiple entries, our batch-edit feature lets you tag several expenses as billable with just a few clicks saving you time on repetitive tasks.
Will clients see the full breakdown of billable expenses?
That depends on your settings. You can choose to share detailed expense lines with receipts, or summarize billable costs by category or phase. Our platform gives you flexibility in how transparent your client billing needs to be.
What if a billable expense gets rejected during approval?
The system notifies the submitter with the rejection reason. You can revise and resubmit the expense, or remove the billable tag if it’s no longer applicable.
Are there limits or policies specific to billable expenses?
Yes, admins can define custom rules for billable expenses such as requiring receipts, manager comments, or capping amounts by client/project. These policies are enforced automatically during submission.
How do billable expenses impact profitability tracking?
Accurate billable tagging helps teams compare project revenue against expenses making it easier to track margins, client profitability, and resource efficiency.
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