Record an expense on a project

Search fees, couriers, travel to a client’s site: costs spent on a client’s work belong to its project. Recorded there, each one counts against the project’s budget, goes into the firm’s books as an expense, and waits under Unbilled to be invoiced to the client if it is billable.

Steps

1. Open the project and tap Add expense

   Open the project from Practice › Engagements (Projects in most firms), or from My engagements on your My day. Tap Add expense. Kila says: “It is recorded as an expense in the books, with the usual approvals.”

2. Say what it was

   Under What, describe the cost so the client recognises it on the invoice, such as “Courier of the bank confirmation letters”.

3. Enter the amount and how it was paid

   Type the Amount, the Day on the receipt, any VAT in the amount (None, 16% or 8%) and how it was Paid by: Cash, M-Pesa, Bank transfer, Cheque or Card. Tick Already paid if it is.

4. Choose whether the client pays it

   Leave Bill it on to the client ticked to invoice it, and set the Mark-up when billed (%) if your firm adds one. Untick it for a cost the firm keeps.

   Zoom

   Steps 2 to 4 on one form.

   

5. Tap Save

   Kila names the expense it made in the books, and whether it waits for approval:

   Kila shows:

   Done

   KES 1,500.00 recorded on Statutory audit, year to 30 June 2026 as expense EXP-…. It waits for approval.

   The Expenses tab of the project lists it with its cost, what it is billed at and Unbilled, until it is invoiced.

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What if

The expense waits for approval

At a firm that approves expenses, it waits in Approvals until someone allowed to approve expenses decides, such as the practice director at Mizani Associates. It is already listed on the project’s Expenses tab.

Kila refuses the date

Kila shows:

That did not go through

An expense cannot be dated in the future. Use the date on the receipt.

Change the Day to the date on the receipt.

Needs a manager

Expenses that are billable but should not be billed, such as a cost the firm agreed to carry, are written off from the Unbilled tab by a manager, with the reason: see Invoice unbilled time and expenses.

Related

• Invoice unbilled time and expenses: billable expenses are invoiced with the time.
• Set a project’s budget and rates: expenses count in the budget used.

Next: Invoice unbilled time and expenses.