Time and expenses

Consultant records time against a work date, client, engagement, hours, and billable flag. Notes explain the work when a manager needs context. Draft time can be checked before submission. Submitted time appears in Timesheets Awaiting Approval, allowing Engagement Manager to compare it with the engagement’s hours budget and the related service lines.

Expenses record the engagement, team member, date, category, amount, billable flag, and receipt URL. A travel charge can move from Draft to Submitted for review and later be marked Approved, Reimbursed, or Rejected. The expense amount contributes to the engagement’s expense total, while its billable calculation helps the team separate customer charges from internal spend.

• Time entry. Time Entries records effort by person, client, and engagement and distinguishes billable from nonbillable hours.
• Expense item. Expenses records the cost category, amount, receipt link, and state for an engagement charge.
• Manager queue. Submitted time and expense lists give the engagement owner a place to review open items against agreed work.

Set a deadline for submitting time and expenses after work occurs. Agree who checks that a time entry points to the correct client and engagement, especially when a consultant serves several clients in the same week. Define when a travel charge is billable and who confirms a receipt is sufficient. The manager should also agree how submitted entries affect budget reporting before their status changes.

Time and expense status changes need an accountable owner. The manager’s handling of submitted time and expense queues should follow an explicit operating procedure. Decide how a rejected item returns to the contributor and how a reimbursed expense is distinguished from a billable charge to the client.

A Consultant works six billable hours on Monday and two nonbillable hours on internal coordination for the same engagement. The time entries preserve both amounts while the billable hours calculation separates them. Engagement Manager checks Timesheets Awaiting Approval and compares total logged hours with the engagement’s remaining hours. The consultant also submits a $120 travel expense with a receipt URL. The manager checks its engagement and billable flag before its status is changed.

Run a second case where the expense is linked to the wrong engagement. The reviewer should return it to the contributor before it affects the intended client handoff. Check the expense total and the team member’s logged hours after correction. Billing Specialist can then use the same engagement context when reviewing billed value; a receipt URL alone is not a payment record.

• Timesheets Awaiting Approval — Submitted effort by person, date, engagement, and hours.
• Expenses Awaiting Approval — Submitted charges with amount, date, owner, and engagement.

See delivery review and engagement review. The implementation page covers the first operating cycle.