Tracking balance of subcontractors contract by project

Welcome to the Community, @dp1424. I can help you track the balance of the subcontractor's contract for a project in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

The Track Project Profitability feature in QBO Plus and Advanced helps allocate income and expenses to specific projects, making it easier to see how much each project is bringing in and how much it's costing you.

To track subcontractors' balances for a project, let's set up a project first and create purchase orders to track the amount owed to each subcontractor for a specific project.

To begin with, let's set up a project:

1. Sign in to your QBO account.
2. Go to the Projects tab.
3. Click New Project.
4. Enter the project details, including the client as a Customer.
5. Once done, select Save.

For more information about creating a project, here's an article: Manage projects in QBO.

Second, let's add the subcontractors as vendors:

1. Go to the Expenses tab and select Vendors.
2. Click on New Vendor.
3. Enter the subcontractor’s details.
4. Ensure to set up a vendor for each subcontractor.

Third, let's create a purchase order to track costs and all the items and services you need:

1. Go to the + New button.
2. Select Purchase Order.
3. Enter the subcontractor’s name on the Vendor dropdown.
4. Enter the contract details, including the project you created.
5. Once done, click Save and Close.

Fourth, record the expenses when you receive bills from your subcontractors to track all the costs associated with a project:

1. Click the + New button.
2. Select Expense.
3. Ensure you assign the expense to the subcontractors.
4. Select the project you created in the Customer/Project section.
5. Once done, select Save and Close.

Lastly, let's run reports to gain insights into the business's financial health and its overview:

1. Go to the Reports tab.
2. Search for the Vendor Balance Detail or Vendor Balance Summary reports to see the balance of subcontractors’ contracts.
3. You can also run project-specific reports such as Project Profitability Summary or Expenses by Vendor for Project to track the overall profitability and expenses of the project you created.

Additionally, I'll attach these articles on creating and managing classes and allow you to add specific classes to purchase orders:

• Get started with class tracking in QBO
• Create and manage classes

Moreover, you can utilize this article as a future reference in memorizing reports to save its current customization settings: Memorize a report.

I'll be here to assist you further if you need more detailed guidance about tracking the balance of a subcontractor's contract for a project. Have a productive day.

Thank you very much CarlSJ! I was missing the purchase order step! I'm going to give this a try!

Thank you very much CarlSJ! It looks like I was missing the purchase order step.  I will give this a try!

Hello, dp1424.

We in the Community are extremely happy that you were able to find my colleague's post helpful. We're more than happy to help you if you need more assistance.

If you need tips and resources to manage your QuickBooks Online account and finances, feel free to visit our Support page to learn more. This provides information to help your navigation experience be more effective.

Keep us posted if you have other questions or concerns. I’m here to help you out. Take care and have a great day!

Hi, I just gave this a test run but the Vendor Balance Summary only shows the bills for the period I selected. It doesn't show the purchase order amount or the difference. Please advise. 

I appreciate what you've done, Dp1424. Let me share information regarding the availability of running a Vendor Balance Summary report.

The Vendor Balance Summary report in QuickBooks Online (QBO) generally shows the total balance owed to each vendor, but it doesn’t include purchase orders or the differences between them and the bills.

As a workaround, you can get a detailed report that includes purchase orders, bills, and payments from the Transaction List by Vendor report.

Here’s how you can do it:

1. Go to the Reports menu.
2. Search for Transaction List by Vendor.
3. Customize the report:
   • Set the date range to the period you need.
   • In the Filter section, select the transaction types you want to include (e.g., Purchase Orders, Bills, Bill Payments).
   • You can also filter by specific vendors if needed.

This report will give you a detailed list of all transactions for each vendor, including purchase orders, bills, and payments.

You can also customize your vendor reports. This way, you can edit your reports according to your preference.

For further questions regarding reports in QBO, you can enter your concerns in the comment section. I am more than happy to assist you.

Hello again, but how can I get the report to show the balance of the purchase order? I followed these instructions and have a report showing the bills, payments and purchase order amount but I would like it to calculate the remaining balance on the purchase order?

Hello again, but how can I get the report to show the balance of the purchase order? I followed these instructions and have a report showing the bills, payments and purchase order amount but I would like it to calculate the remaining balance on the purchase order?

PS It has been very difficult to reply or even create a new post in the Community.  I get one or the other of the following errors: 

1. Correct the highlighted errors and try again. (nothing highlighted) Maximum flood limit reached

2. Authentication Ticket Mismatched, failed authentication 

I am using Chrome and cleared my cache. 

Hello there, @dp1424.

Let me present some helpful tips so you run a report that shows the remaining balance of the purchase order in QuickBooks Online.

To show the remaining balance of the purchase order, we can generate an Open Purchase Order Detail report, which displays all outstanding balances on your purchase orders. Let me walk you through how to do this.:

1. Log in to your QuickBooks Online (QBO) account, and go to Reports.
2. In the search bar input Open Purchase Order Detail report.
3. Edit the reporting period click on the Customize button and tap Change columns to modify the details on the report.
4. Choose all the necessary data, including Open Balance.
5. Once everything is done, select Run report.

You'll now be able to view and check the remaining purchase order balances in QBO.

Regarding the issues you mentioned about encountering errors when replying or creating a new post in the Community, this may be due to an outdated cache causing conflicts with the syncing process. To fix this, I suggest accessing your account in an incognito window. Here are some keyboard shortcuts you can use:

• For Google Chrome browser: Ctrl + Shift + N
• For Mozilla Firefox browser: Ctrl + Shift + P
• For Safari browser: Command + Shift + N

Once resolved, please return to your regular browser to clear its cache or utilize another supported one.

In addition, you may click this article to view details to guide you on how to add an accepted purchase order to a transaction for your vendor: Add purchase orders to expenses, bills, or checks in QuickBooks Online.

You can also check these articles to get the most out of your financial reports and learn specific ways to customize your reports to get awesome insights:

• Customize reports in QuickBooks Online
• Common custom reports in QuickBooks Online

Please click the Reply button if you have any other questions regarding purchase order in QuickBooks Online. I'm more than happy to help. Have a great day, @dp1424!