When adding an expense you can specify the cost, price, and markup of the expense and the project it should be assigned to. In addition, you can attach files to them (e.g. a receipt, proof of payment, etc). Expense items are only linked to projects, instead of tasks, and thus will only show up on the project budget.
To be able to add an expense item to a project you will first require the appropriate permission. Managers, Controllers, and Admins can add expense items to projects in your Forecast account.
There are two ways to add an expense item, from the 'My Expenses' tab and the Budget page of a project.
Adding an expense item through the Budget page
- Click on the Budget tab from within a project.
- Once on the budget tab, click on Expenses.
- Click on New Expense. This will trigger the expense pop-up module.
- Fill in the mandatory fields of the expense item and click Add.
Adding an expense item through 'My Expenses'
The 'My Expenses' page proves you with a quick overview of all the expenses that you have created across your portfolio of projects and it informs you which of them are Billable and if they have been Approved. To create an expense item from this page:
- Click on My Expenses from the My Tasks page.
- Once on the My Expenses page click on New Expense Item.
- Once you fill all of the mandatory fields in the pop-up module click on Add.
Submitting your expenses details
To create an expense item you have to fill in, at least, the mandatory fields present in the expense items pop-up module. The table below explains the fields, whether they are mandatory or optional and how they affect the expense item.
| Field Name | Required? | Additional Information |
| Expense Name | Mandatory | Give your expense a name. |
| Date | Mandatory |
Choose the date when this expense took place. Any revenue or costs associated with the expense will be placed on this date. For financial data, expenses in the past are treated as Actuals whereas expenses in the future are treated as Remaining. |
| Category | Mandatory | Decide under which predefined expense category this expense item falls under. |
| Project | Mandatory | Decide which project this expense item belongs to. If you are creating from the Budget page of a project, it will automatically select the project you are viewing. |
| Person | Optional | Assign this expense item to a person if applicable. By default, an expense is assigned to the user creating it, but another member of the project team can be selected, or you may 'clear' to leave it unassigned. |
| Phase | Optional | Decide whether you wish to associate the expense item with a Phase in your project or not. Available only when creating an expense through the Budget page. |
|
Quantity |
Mandatory | Register the quantity of the expense. |
|
Unit Cost |
Optional | Register the expense's cost. |
| This expense is planned | Optional | Indicate whether the expense is planned or not. Only expenses marked as planned will factor into Planned Cost, Planned Revenue or Planned Profit. This is available as an option for managers, controllers and admins. |
| This expense is approved | Optional | Indicate whether the expense is approved. Unapproved expenses will not factor into the project budget. This is available as an option for managers, controllers and admins. |
Expense billing options per budget type
Non-billable projects
Non-billable projects cannot have billable expenses. All expenses on non-billable projects will be cost-only.
Fixed Price projects and Fixed Price retainers
Expenses on Fixed Price projects and Fixed Price retainers can be Billable as part of Fixed Price, Billable on top of Fixed Price or Non-billable.
| Billable as part of Fixed Price | The expense will have associated revenue but will not increase the total revenue on the project. This revenue (Total Price) is determined by the Markup or Unit Price |
| Billable on top of Fixed Price | The expense will increase the total revenue of the project. This revenue (Total Price) is determined by the Markup or Unit Price. |
| Non-billable | This expense will contribute to costs but not revenue. |
T&M projects and T&M and Fixed Hours retainers
Expenses on T&M Projects and T&M and Fixed Hours retainers can be Billable or Non-billable.
| Billable | The expense will increase the total revenue of the project. This revenue (Total Price) is determined by the Markup or Unit Price. |
| Non-billable | This expense will contribute to costs but not revenue. |
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