Marking expenses billable

You didn't show all of the image; if you are Job Tracking, that needs to be on the Items tab. You are supposed to set up and use Items. The Job reporting relies on Items. Items control the flow of data to the accounts, and can be two Sided, for expense and for income as that same thing you incur and charge to the customer. Inventory has three account links. If you are working with the Expenses tab, for COGS or a Balance Sheet account (such as Customer Prepayment or Tenant Security Deposit), that is why you have this issue = the Wrong Tab is being used for the data entry.

I have a handout for this, attached.

Here's an attached image for items, as an example.

I appreciate your response, but it contradicts what is in the attachment:

"On Purchase Transactions (check, credit card charge, Bill), I enter the data on the Expenses tab and I 'job track' it (assign the customer to the detail lines) to note this as a Direct cost.  I also mark it as Billable."

This is exactly what I am trying to do- and have always been able to do- but suddenly the 'billable' checkbox is gone.  

Of course it contradicts: "but it contradicts what is in the attachment"

Because, as I explained, Job Tracking and reporting means you were supposed to be entering Items on the Items tab. Not that Expenses tab. Example:

I run a Remodeling contractor business. Our payment for Garbage pickup includes the Shop Expense on the Expenses tab, which is Never job tracked. On the Items tab, I list the Garbage Service item for each Dumpster on site at each location where we are working. Some are Billable and some are not, depending on the contract with that customer for their project. The Check = the Total I am paying, and the Tabs = my Allocations.

And Items allow you to use Quantity, to set cost and price for the same thing.

If you run your Job Profitability Detail report, everything you entered is under the bottom line = No Item. Please see my attachment to see how this is Different, when you use the Job Tracking tools and functions by using Items properly.

And I also explained this: If you are posting to certain Accounts directly using the Expenses tab, the Billable status is Not Functional for all account types. An example is COGS and Balance Sheet accounts, because you are supposed to be using Items for this.

Please see my attachment; there is One Error on it as No Item = the Building Permit. Now run one of yours.

Please see the attached image.

Greetings, @marcia5.

@qbteachmt is correct! Allow me to share additional information on how to mark an expense as billable.

Let's make sure that your QuickBooks preferences is set to mark expenses as billable. Here's how:

1. Go to Edit.
2. Choose Preferences.
3. Select Time and Expenses.
4. Under Company Preferences, put a check mark on Mark all expenses as billable.
5. Click Ok. 

That should do it! This should allow you to create bills and mark your expenses as billable.

Let me know how it works on your end. I'm always here to help you manage your Account Payables in QuickBooks Desktop.

Thank you.  The box is checked next to mark all expenses billable, yet it's still not an option.

I get all the stuff about items, but really it's more practical for me to bill expenses directly.  I don't do it often, and I don't need to track job profitability.  I just occasionally pay an expense for a customer and want to add it to their invoice.

As I stated in my original question:  I have been doing this for years without a problem, and now- without having changed any settings- it doesn't work.  Is this a new update that doesn't allow it?

So it turns out that someone changed the expense account I was trying to post billable expenses to an income account.  Problem solved.  Thanks

Thanks for getting back to us, marcia5.

I appreciate you for following the information provided by my colleague and sharing the details on how you resolved the issue. Please know that you're always welcome to post if you have any other questions. Community team will always got your back.

Wishing you and your business continued success. 

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@qbteachmt wrote:

You didn't show all of the image; if you are Job Tracking, that needs to be on the Items tab. You are supposed to set up and use Items. The Job reporting relies on Items. Items control the flow of data to the accounts, and can be two Sided, for expense and for income as that same thing you incur and charge to the customer. Inventory has three account links. If you are working with the Expenses tab, for COGS or a Balance Sheet account (such as Customer Prepayment or Tenant Security Deposit), that is why you have this issue = the Wrong Tab is being used for the data entry.

 

I have a handout for this, attached.

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I downloaded your handout and what a fantastic overview of a topic I've been researching for myself for several weeks on and off.  Well done, and thank you!

Question:  What about scenarios where you're not trying to bill customers so much as you are desiring to keep track of "pass-through" transactions?  Example:  My company has a Lowe's LAR account and the owners occasionally let their children and employees use it for purchases that at a small discount.  I need to track those somehow and just get reimbursed for the expense.  It's not even an expense to my company in the course of business.  It's just an account being used for a pass-through purchase.   Variations of this theme abound, especially in small business and closely held corporations.  We just share things, bottom line.  But we DO want to keep track of everything well so we can answer for it all - I just don't believe it's right to include that in the income OR the expense. 

So The question, rephrased, is...  

How to (best) track pass-through purchases by multiple people in multiple accounts such that everyone's purchases and reimbursements are (easily?) reconciled and reported?

I've toyed with a separate A/R account... that would keep everything in one place and still keep track of individual customers and their stuff.  But you can't associate items with AR accts... so relegated to allocating to the AR acct directly via Expense tab.  But then no billing system capability...

thoughts?

I have the same problem.  I just noticed when I write a check, the billable option and customer/ job option are  gone. Please see my attachment.  I don't have billable option like your screen shot

Hello,

I have the same problem.  billable and customer/job are gone when I write a check.  I used to have this option.  Please see my screen shot in the attachment.  

I can help you fix unusual responses within the system, anakinra.

To get the most recent fixes and features, you'll want to make sure that your QuickBooks software is updated to the latest version. Then, you can check your preferences if the billable expenses option is selected. 

Let me provide the steps again:

1. Go to Edit and select Preferences.
2. Select Time and Expenses from the left menu.
3. From the Company Preferences tab, put a checkmark on Mark all expenses as billable.
4. Click OK.

Close all windows first and then create a check again. If you get the same thing, I'd suggest reaching out to our Phone Support Team so they can investigate it further. 

Keep me posted on how this works. I'll be around to help. Have a great day!

I don't have the customer/job, billable option.  what happened to it?

Let me help you, Anakinra.

The feature might be turned off. You can follow Catherine_B steps at the top. 

If it won't make any difference, let's try to turn it on and use the feature through a test account. Here's how:

1. Close your file.
2. Click Open a sample file in the No Company Open window.
3. Select a sample file. 

From there, turn it on and use the feature. If you're able to do so, go back to your main company file, and let's run the Verify/Rebuild tool. The unexpected behavior can be caused by a corrupted file. 

Feel free to get back to this thread if you need more help. We're right here to assist you. Take care!

The Billable option is not working for me as I enter expenses on the "Items" page.  I've tried various ways to tag an expense to a project but not have it marked as billable as the customer will not be reimbursing us; but, I do want to track the expense on that project.  That feature has worked for decades and is still showing on the form.  You just can't click on it.  This is really crazy.  Why is it taking so long to fix?  How did it get broken?  Is anyone working on fixing it?

Please advise.

Thank you,

Cheryl

Thanks for replying to this thread, CAC48.

I can see a duplicate post for this exact query you posted. My colleague, ShangY, has already answered a similar question you've posted. You can view her answer through this thread: 

Solved: Re: Billable expense option (intuit.com).

Don't hesitate to keep in touch if you need anything else about managing expenses in QuickBooks. As always, the Community is always here to attend to your concerns. Take care and stay safe.