Expense estimates record expected non-staff costs against a task. They are part of the budget estimate and are separate from recording an actual supplier cost or employee expense claim.
Estimate fields
Field | Meaning |
Name or description | Identifies what the estimate covers, such as travel or an external service. |
Cost type | The category assigned to the estimate. Choices are configured for your account; examples include Consumables, Disbursements, Sub-contractors and Travel. |
Quantity | The number of units being estimated. |
Unit | Hour, Day or Per Item. The unit describes how the quantity and rate should be interpreted. |
Rate | The estimated price for one unit. |
Total | Quantity multiplied by rate. |
The name and cost type are separate fields. An estimate named “Travel” does not automatically select Travel as its cost type.
Budget and contract treatment
Expense estimates contribute to the underlying task estimate, alongside resource estimates. Task values roll up to the deliverable and project summaries.
Task pricing | Effect of the expense estimate |
Dynamic | Contributes to the calculated task value and its contract value. |
Fixed/manual | Contributes to the internal estimate. The separately entered client price does not automatically increase by the same amount. |
The deliverable’s billing method is a separate setting. An estimate is not itself a supplier bill, an expense claim or a client invoice.
Estimates versus actual costs
Updating an estimate changes the planned cost basis. Recording an actual expense uses the relevant cost or expense workflow. Keep that distinction when comparing budget, actual costs and amounts to invoice.