Can I use Product/Service to bill clients for Billable Expenses?

I want to ensure this is taken care of, @jeffbean.

There are times that the browser is full of frequently-accessed page resources, thus accumulating and corrupts the browser cache causing the runtime user interface to malfunction.

To start, access the QuickBooks account using a private/incognito browser. You can use the shortcut keys below:

• Safari: Command + Shift + N 

• Google Chrome: CTRL + Shift + N

• Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge: CTRL + Shift + P 

Once you're in, enter your billable expenses again. If you're able to do so, we'll go back to your regular browser and clear the cache to get rid of the stored junk files.

If the same thing happens, you can use other supported browsers. It could be that the one you're currently working on has a temporary issue with QuickBooks.

I've got a link here that provides you with articles about managing expenses and vendors: Enter expenses, pay bills, and write checks. 

Please know that you can always get back to us if you have other questions. I'm more than happy to help. Take care.

@Maybelle_S  Thank you for your response.

When I posted this, it appeared to me that QBO was functioning as it was intended, it just functioned poorly. When I choose a Product/Service from the pulldown menu on the line item of a Billable Expense, it immediately deletes the Description and zeroes the Amount. I did not think this was a malfunction.

This has been how it has functioned for more than a year, across three different browsers.

To be sure, I did test it twice, as you suggested, both in a private window (Firefox) and incognito (Chrome). Same result. 

I still don't believe this is a malfunction. If it were, that would be great, because then I would ask what QBO will do to get it fixed. If this is a malfunction, please be clear and confirm that QBO is not supposed to function this way.

If however, as I suspect, this is another instance where two QBO functions do not work well together, I would appreciate hearing of any workaround or some other approach that might be better.

Hi there, @jeffbean.

Thanks for getting back here. I appreciate also the information you shared about your concern. Please allow me to give additional details about making your items billable to your clients.

Item Details in the Bill or Expense will show your products and services for each type (Inventory, Non-inventory, and Service). Just make sure that the I purchase this product/service from a vendor box is checked, so you can select it on the drop-down. Here's how:

1. Go to the Sales menu and choose Products and services.
2. Look for the items you want to show on the drop-down and click Edit.
3. Scroll down to the Purchasing information section and check the box for the I purchase this product/service from a vendor .
4. Once done, select Save.
5. Then, go back to the Bill or Expense form and go to the Item details section.
6. Click the drop-down and you'll now see the products or service you need to add. 

Also, when you enter your billable travel expense categories in the Category details section, the invoice will only show the Date, Description, and Amount. The category name itself will not appear because this is not a product or service. Categories are linked to accounts in your Chart of Accounts and a sales form requires an item. This is why selecting a product on invoices overwrites the info. 

To help you with this, you can use the Description field of the expense or bill to input the details you want your clients to see. It will be automatically copied to the invoice and save you time. 

For your reference, please see this article: Enter billable expenses. 

Lastly, to help you keep track of what items you buy or sell, you can run several inventory reports. To get started, please visit this page: Use reports to see your sales and inventory status.

If you have further questions about making your products billable to the customer, please post a reply below. I'm always around to help. Have a good one. 

@DivinaMercy_N  Thank you for your response.

You have directed me to "Item Details in the Bill or Expense." You then tell me to "make sure that the I purchase this product/service from a vendor box is checked." The problem is that I do not have any such box on my Expense screen; it doesn't look anything like the screenshot you provided. I have no idea what you're talking about or to what you're referring. Please provide specific directions on how to navigate to the screen to which you are referring.

As I noted in my original post, I had at first suspected that the Item Details on the Expense screen might be part of a solution, but as I also noted, none of the many services that I had already created were made available by QBO to choose for any item. The pulldown menu for the Product/Service field is empty. It doesn't show any of the many services that I had created and are available from my Products and Services List.

If this is the approach I am supposed to use, please provide specific directions on how to make my services in my Products and Services List available in the pulldown menu in the Product/Service field on the Item Details in the Expense screen.

Hi @jeffbean,

Thank you for the prompt reply. Allow me to clear things up for you about billable expenses in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

As you stated in your previous posts, the system is working as designed with billable expenses. Whenever you link a billable expense to an invoice, it will show the service date, as well as the amount. You can utilize the Description column to include details for the billable expense to your customer.

Check out this article for additional information on this process: Enter billable expenses. It includes a short video of the process for your reference.

Tag me in a comment below if you have other questions about billable expenses in QBO. I'll get back and answer them for you. 

@Ryan_M  Thank you for your response. You are the third QB Team member to respond. None of you have answered my question.

Each of you has introduced a new twist. As I requested clarification, no one has followed up. This thread is a series of non-sequiturs.

 @Maybelle_S  suggested my experience with Quickbooks was a browser malfunction.  @DivinaMercy_N said I could use the Item Details in an Expense screen to identify Products/Services as I wanted, but I can't follow her directions, can't see where she got her screenshot, and I can't find anywhere in the QBO app that looks anything like what she's describing. And now @Ryan_M , you've not addressed my question of whether I can use the Products and Services List to provide more detail for Billable Expenses in an invoice. The two videos you link do not show the use of the Product/Service field and you didn't mention it at all.

I had created items in the Products and Services List that would serve my purposes well to provide more detail on the invoice for my clients about the Billable Expenses. But I can't use them because, when selected, they delete the data provided from the Billable Expense. I had hoped I was missing something, but after three responses, it appears I am not. It appears this is the way QBO is designed to work, which is to say, it doesn't. At this point, someone from QBO could simply admit that it won't work, but I'm past the point of expecting that.

I am having this exact problem did you ever find a solution?

Thanks for following this thread, ejob.

The previously shared steps above are used to resolve the concern about using product/service to clients for the billable expenses. I suggest trying them out. If it doesn't work, I suggest contacting our QuickBooks Care Team. This requires to be taken a closer look to investigate why your QuickBooks stops working. This procedure requires company information which needs to be pulled up in a secure environment.

Here's how you can reach us:

1. Go to the Help menu at the upper right.
2. Select Contact Us.
3. Enter your concern.
4. Click Let’s talk.
5. Choose Get a callback. 
6. Type in your contact info.
7. Select Confirm my call.

Please know that the availability of support depends on which type of subscription you're using. You can check out this article for our contact information. Click on the QuickBooks Online drop-down to see the most updated support schedule: Support hours and types

The Community is always open if you have other questions while working with payroll. I'll be around to help. Wishing you a great day ahead!

@ejob  No. Quickbooks never provided a solution. In reply to you, a Quickbooks employee said they did, but that's false.

I do have a workaround. It's not good, it's not pretty, but it got me past this. If it would be helpful for you to hear about it, reply here to let me know and I'll see if I can describe it.

@Charies_M  That's wrong. The steps provided before do not "resolve the concern about using product/service to clients for the billable expenses." I have explained in detail why they do not work.

You are the fifth Quickbooks employee to post to this thread and, instead of resolving the problem, blowing sunshine like you had.

Phone conversations with Quickbooks Support is, in my experience, a vast time-suck. The representatives are widely divergent in knowledge, capability, and attitude. On average, more than two phone calls are needed to resolve any problem, and on average, less than half of the problems are solved.

As I noted in reply to @ejob , I did figure a workaround. It's not pretty, and it doesn't provide the function promised by Quickbooks, but which they fail to deliver. If anyone's interested and think it might be helpful, let me know here and I'll see if I can describe it for you.

Same exact issue. I'm still researching it as well.  It is very frustrating all the billable info has to be retyped in the description and I have to go look for the amount that was suppose to be added by clicking the bill to customer item.  Understand your pain.  

jeffbean 

I would like to get that workaround.   

Thanks EvelynPolizzi

If you have a workaround for this, i'd like to get info.  I'm new to QBO but have clients that are reimbursing me for travel expenses and I'd like to track the expenses and invoice appropriately.  Thanks.

Welcome and thank you for choosing QuickBooks Online (QBO), @bobkc.

I can help you with recording your transactions appropriately in QBO. 

You can record this expense as billable. Then, link this expense to your customer's invoice. But first, you must turn on the billable expense tracking from the Gear icon (⚙). 

Follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Gear icon ⚙ and proceed to the Account and settings.
2. Click the Expenses tab and then go to the Bills and expenses section, select Edit ✎.
3. Turn on the following:
   • Show Items table on expense and purchase forms
   • Track expenses and items by customer.
   • Make expenses and items billable.
4. Set all the necessary information.
5. Select Save.

Once you're done, you can record these travel expenses:

1. Go to the + New button and select the transaction (Bill, Expense, or Check) you want to create.
2. Select the payee.
3. In the Category column, select the expense account for the transaction.
4. Enter the description and amount of the expense, then select the Billable checkbox.
5. In the Customer column, select the customer you want to bill for this expense.
6. Select Save and close.

Lastly, link the billable expense to your customer's invoice:

1. Go to the + New and select Invoice.
2. In the Customer dropdown menu, select the customer you created a billable expense for. This opens the Add to invoice window.
3. Click Add on the billable expense you want to charge to your customer.
4. Select Save and close.

You can check this article for more information about turning on billable expense tracking, billing a customer for an expense, and adding billable expenses to invoices: Enter billable expenses.

Check out this article for more information about editing, reviewing, and deleting expenses in QBO: Enter and manage expenses in QuickBooks Online.

Here's a reference on how you can record sales transactions in two ways in QBO: Record invoice payments in QuickBooks Online. 

I'm always here if you need more help in recording your transactions. Let me know in the Reply section below. Have a great rest of the day!

MaryJoyD - thanks for this reply.  The instructions make sense but I don't have the option to turn on "Show items table on expense and purchase forms Track expenses and items by customer.  See attached screen shot of my options when I edit.  Thanks.

Replying again to add addl info - I actually can't turn on the 2nd and 3rd setting:

1. Turn on the following:
   • Show Items table on expense and purchase forms
   • Track expenses and items by customer.
   • Make expenses and items billable.

Hello, bobkc.

I'd like to chime in and ask some additional details regarding the options.

What version of QuickBooks Online are you subscribed to? Are the 2nd and 3rd options grayed out? For the time being, let me add some info about the billable expenses feature.

The make expenses and items billable is currently available in QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced. If you have this version but can't select the options, we can do some basic troubleshooting steps.

When you visit a website, the information is saved in your cache, and over time these data can get corrupted due to several reasons. Whenever it happens, it can easily lead to issues like blank pages, connectivity, and what you are experiencing now.

To rule this out, let's open an incognito or private browser. When using this mode, your browsing history, search history, and cookies are not saved, which helps identify any browser-related problems.

Here are the keyboard shortcut:

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

Then, sign in to your account and go the Gear > Account and settings > Expenses. If you're able to turn on the 2nd and 3rd settings, let's go back to your regular browser and clear its cache. Clearing your browser's cache is always a good idea because it helps your applications run better on your computer. Important: Please be sure to close the browser and restart it after clearing the cache and cookies.

Additionally, you can use a different supported browser.

Please keep me updated about the result. I'd be glad to assist you out again. Take care and stay safe.

Thanks for this reply.  I am on QBO Essentials so it looks like I need to upgrade.  The feature list for Plus and Advanced don't include the billable expense feature.  I'll go forward with an upgrade and report back on what I see.

Upgraded to QBO Plus and Billable Expenses was available.  Followed directions from MaryJoyD and looks like everything works.  Was able to categorize travel expenses and include in monthly invoice.  Thank you for all of this help.

@bobkc @grow your company You both asked for my workaround. (Sorry to be so late in responding!)

It's not complicated, though it is extra work. Product/Services simply do not work for billable expenses, as you've experienced, and as I've described in exquisite detail before. And for all the digital ink spilled in this thread by Intuit employees, they've not even addressed the problem, let alone solved it. I would have liked to have use them for the information they would provide in Name, Type and Sales Description fields. But since I can't use Product/Services for billable expenses, those data fields aren't available for invoicing.

So I do use the billable expenses and add them to the invoice, which is fairly straightforward and as I think was described most recently by @RenjolynC .

The trick to the workaround is what you have to do before creating the billable expenses. The only data fields from the billable expenses that QBO will make available for the invoices are Date, Description, and Amount, along with any attachment. So any information you want your client to see on the invoice to understand the billed expense line item all has to be jammed into the Description field.

For us, traveling to clients' sites to provide consulting services, this usually means adding all the information detailing the travel-related expenses. So the values in the Description field often have to duplicate values in other data fields. So our billable expense Description values are expansive narratives like "Alaska Airlines airfare SEA-JFK 5/4/2022 for team training" or "Restaurant dinner 5/9/2022 following team training," etc. (And because QBO doesn't regularly provide both Description and Memo values in various reports and screens, we have to duplicate whatever is in the Description in the Memo, too.)

Sorry it's not an elegant solution, but it works. It's what we have to do because Product/Services don't work for billable expenses.

I use the same work around. I use this for cost plus construction projects where the costs of the expense is directly passed onto the customer. In the description feild I put the supplier name and invoice number. It is for sure a painful system but it works. 

I've the same problem for years. I believe when the service description field is checked "I sell this product/service to my customers." - it overwrites your expense description with a big donut when adding to an invoice.  We've always had to ctrl-c copy the expense description first, then add to invoice, then paste in the description. The field then gets crammed with info. Probably easier to write more info on the receipt and attach.

I know better than to contact support for such issues.

All they need is a requirement within the product/service definition to - Use existing expense description and/or memo fields for an expense-generated 'service name' 

No one wants to create 100 product service definitions for all the possible reimbursable expense types used, we just want a generic category that uses existing expense information already detailed in the expense record.

I wont hold my breath.