Enter billable expenses

Find out how to record billable expenses in QuickBooks Online Plus and QuickBooks Online Advanced.

A billable expense is an expense you incur on your customer’s behalf when you perform a work for them. You can easily record and track billable expenses so your customer can reimburse them when they receive their invoice.

Step 1: Turn on billable expense

To record billable expenses, turn on billable expense tracking.

1. Go to Settings ⚙ and select Account and settings.
2. Go to the Expenses tab.
3. From the Bills and expenses section, select Edit ✎.
4. Turn on the following:
   • Show Items table on expense and purchase forms
   • Track expenses and items by customer.
   • Make expenses and items billable.
5. (Optional) Set up the following:
   • Markup with a default rate of {percentage} %
   • Track billable expenses and items as income
6. (Optional) Select the bill payment terms from the Default bill payment terms ▼ dropdown.
7. Select Save, then Done.

Step 2: Enter a billable expense

Here’s how to bill a customer for an expense.

1. Select + New.
2. Select the transaction (Bill, Expense, or Cheque) you want to create.
3. Select the payee from the Payee ▼ dropdown.
   Note: If you select Bill in step 2, select the Supplier ▼ dropdown instead.
4. In the Category column, select the expense account for transaction.
5. Enter the description and amount of the expense, then select the Billable checkbox.
6. In the Customer or Customer/Project column, select the customer you want to bill for this expense.
7. (Optional) Enter or make sure the markup % is correct, then select VAT if you want to charge VAT.
8. Select Save and close.

Step 3: Add billable expenses to invoices

Note: Your invoice screen will look different depending on whether you have old or new invoice experience. The below steps are for the old layout. If you are in the new layout, you’ll be able to return to the old layout by selecting Old layout.

To reimburse the cost, link the billable expense to your customer's invoice.

1. Select + New.
2. Select Invoice.
3. In the Customer ▼ dropdown, select the customer you created a billable expense for. This opens the Add to Invoice window.
   Note: If you are using the new layout, select the Add Customer ▼ dropdown.
4. Select Add on the billable expense you want to charge to your customer.
5. Select Save and close.