Compare project cost estimates vs. actuals

Learn how to forecast your project income and costs in QuickBooks Online Advanced.

Project cost estimates allow you to forecast income and costs to determine the potential profitability of a specific project. In QuickBooks Online Advanced, you can estimate costs for products and services, convert estimates to invoices, and track actual expenses against your initial plan.

• Configure expense settings for project estimates
• Create a project cost estimate
• Track project income and expenses
• Run project estimates vs. actuals reports

Configure expense settings for project estimates

Before you create project cost estimates, make sure you can add products and services to your expense forms.

1. Go to Settings and select Account and settings.
2. Select Expenses.
3. Find Bills and expenses, then select Edit.
4. Turn on Show Items table on expense and purchase forms.
5. Select Save, then select Done.

Map products and services to expense accounts

1. Go to Settings and select Products and services (Take me there).
2. Find the product or service you want to edit, then select Edit in the Action column.
3. Select the I purchase this service from a supplier checkbox.
4. Select the Expense account dropdown, then select an Expense or Cost of Sales account.
5. Select Save.

Repeat these steps for each product or service you want to estimate costs for.

(Back to top)

Create a project cost estimate

Use a project cost estimate to forecast expenses and income for specific products or services. You can share this estimate with your customer, but they will not see your costs, markup, or profit margin.

1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product
2. Find and select the project you want to estimate.
3. Select the Add to project ▼ dropdown, then select Project estimate.
4. In the Product/service column, select a product or service.
5. In the Qty column, enter the estimated quantity.
6. For Your rate, enter the cost rate. If you only want to estimate income, leave this section blank.
7. For Customer rate, enter the sales rate. If you only want to estimate costs, leave this section blank.
   Note: The Markup% column populates automatically based on the difference between the rates. If you edit the Markup%, the Customer rate updates automatically.
8. Add any additional products or services required for the estimate.
   Note: If needed, you can edit the Markup%, and we’ll update the Customer rate based on the new percentage.
9. Review the total estimated costs, income, and profit margin.
10. Select Save or Review and send to share the estimate with your customer.
11. If you wish to send the email, review it, and select Send estimate.

Note: If you’re attempting to create an estimate, but you get sent to the Project estimate page instead of the Estimates page, from the Estimates page, go to Manage, select Customisation, then select Project estimate conversion to turn it off.

Update estimate status

New estimates default to a Pending status. The estimate details appear in the Projects dashboard or reports only after the status is updated to Accepted or Declined.

To edit the status:

1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product
2. Find and select the project.
3. Select Transactions.
4. From the Action column, select the dropdown, then select Update Status.
5. Select Accepted or Declined, then fill out the details.
6. Select Ok.
   Note: You may need to refresh your page to update the dashboard.

(Back to top)

Track project income and expenses

Now that you’ve added a project cost estimate, you can start tracking your sales and expenses for the project.

Create an invoice from the project cost estimate

After the customer accepts your estimate, you can convert that estimate directly into an invoice. That way, you don’t have to enter the same info twice.

1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product
2. Find and select the project.
3. Select Transactions, then find the estimate.
4. From the Action column, select the dropdown, then select Convert to invoice.
   Note: This may vary based on the status of your estimate.
5. Update the invoice details if needed.
6. Select Save or Review and send to share the invoice with your customer.
7. If you wish to send the email, review it, and select Send invoice.

Note: If you're entering other income transactions (like sales receipts), make sure you use the exact products or services selected on the cost estimate to ensure they match in reports.

Assign bank feed expenses to a project

If you’ve connected your bank to QuickBooks, it’ll be easier to assign bank transactions to projects and add them to your Estimates vs. actuals report.

1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product
2. Select the expense you’d like to add.
3. Select the Customer/project dropdown, then select the project.
4. Delete anything currently in the Account dropdown, then select a Product/Service.
5. Select Add.
   Note: To edit the rate or quantity, select Split and enter the details there.

Now your bank transaction will appear on your Estimates vs. actuals report.

Manually assign expenses to a project

The bank feed is the fastest way to enter expenses, but you can also do it manually. Here’s how:

1. Select + New or + Create.
2. Select Expense, Cheque, or Bill.
   • In case of an Expense: Select the Payee and Payment account you’re paying from.
   • In case of a Cheque: Select the Payee and Bank Account you’re paying from.
   • In case of a Bill: Select the Supplier.
3. Close the Category details section, then expand the Item details section.
4. Enter the same product/service(s) you selected on the cost estimate.
5. Enter the quantity and amount you’re paying.
6. From the Customer/Project column, select the dropdown, then select the project.
7. Select Save and close.

Note: If the Customer/Project column is missing, review your settings in Configure expense settings for project estimates section.

(Back to top)

Run project estimates vs. actuals reports

The Projects dashboard displays a chart comparing estimated vs. actual income and costs. For a detailed breakdown:

1. Follow this link to complete the steps in product
2. Find and select the project.
3. Select Project Reports, then select Estimates vs. actuals.

Drill down into report totals

Select specific totals on the report to view related details in QuickBooks Online:

• Select Estimated costs or Estimated income to go to the details list.
• Select Actual income to go to the Sales by Customer Detail Report.
• Select Actual costs to go back to the Project Reports page.

(Back to top)

Related links

• Create projects in QuickBooks Online