Expense management software built for client work
What this feature does
Expenses keep your project margins accurate. Team members snap receipt photos and log costs against client projects. Managers approve them, and the billing system pulls them straight onto the next invoice. This stops receipt loss and helps you reclaim billable project costs immediately.
An expense is attached to a project and can carry a markup, so a rebilled cost reaches the client invoice at the right price without being retyped.
How to set up expenses in TimeTracker
Set up your categories
Open Settings and then Expense categories. A name is up to 40 characters and cannot repeat.
Log the spend
Enter the amount and currency, pick a category, and attach a client or project if there is one.
Attach the receipt
A receipt goes on while the expense is still a draft, or after it has been sent back to you.
Submit it for review
Submitting sends it to an approver. You can pull it back to draft until they decide.
What admins and owners see
Approve without billing
Approving clears the spend. Putting it on an invoice is a separate step that happens later.
Reject with a reason
A rejection needs a written reason, and it sends the expense back to draft so it can be fixed.
See the real cost
Owners and admins see what the business actually paid and the markup. Other reviewers see the billable value.
What your team sees day to day
Your log is your own
The expense log shows your rows. There is no see everyone view on that screen at all.
Withdraw before a decision
You can pull a submitted expense back to draft, but not once somebody has approved it.
Popular features
Invoicing software that bills from tracked hours
Approved time turns into itemised invoice lines with tax and multiple currencies handled for you. Check it over, then send it.
Explore Invoicing→See where the time really goes
Break hours down by client, project, and team member. Find the work that pays off and the projects that run over.
Explore Reports & Dashboards→Bill for every hour you earn
Mark each entry billable or non-billable while you work. Approved hours roll straight into reports you can bill from.
Explore Billing→Employee time tracking your team will actually use
One click starts a timer, or people type hours in by hand. Every entry ties to a client, project, and task, so the record stays clean.
Explore Time Tracking→
Keep projects on track and in budget
Define project phases, set budget caps, and track work progress in real-time. See margins and utilization without building reports manually.
Explore Project Management→Configure custom rates for every agreement
Manage complex billing agreements with ease. Set client rates, assign member role pricing, and handle multi-currency projects with zero confusion.
Explore Rates→Timesheets your team submits on time
Hours build into a timecard as people work. Send the week for approval, lock it once it is signed off, and bill from a number that cannot quietly change.
Explore Timesheets→A worked example
Three bills, one still to review
AWS cloud hosting comes in at $342.00 under Infrastructure. Site audit travel is $25.80, filed under Mileage for 45 miles. A software license adds $120.00 under SaaS tools. The first two are approved and the license is still pending, so one bill is left to review.
Limits and edge cases
- Markup can only be set on a billable expense, and it can never be a negative number.
- A receipt can only be attached while the expense is a draft or has been sent back.
- Once an expense is invoiced it is finished. Voiding the invoice is the only way back.
- The expense log shows your own rows only. Team wide views live in the approvals queue.
- Category names stop at 40 characters, and two categories cannot share a name.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I log project expenses in TimeTracker?
- You can log expenses with receipts and assign them to projects. Learn about mapping on our features hub.
- Can I attach receipts to expense logs?
- Yes, you can upload receipt image files directly to expense entries. Read more on the expenses page details.
- How do expenses roll onto client invoices?
- Approved expenses appear as line items on drafts. Learn about billing configurations on our invoicing page.
- Are expenses tracked against project budgets?
- Yes, total costs combine hours and expenses against budget caps. Find budget setups on the project management page.
- Can I categorize expenses for tax reporting?
- Yes, you can set categories like travel or software. See organizing options on our use cases page.
- Does expense tracking support multi-currency logs?
- Yes, you can record expenses in different currencies. Read about rates on our rates page.
- How do managers approve expense claims?
- Managers can approve claims inside the approval tab. Read about locking logs on the timesheets page.
- Can I export expense logs to accounting tools?
- No. Approved expense claims export to CSV rather than syncing to QuickBooks or Xero. See what does connect on our industries hub.
- Is expense tracking free for freelancers?
- Yes, solo users can log expenses for free. Learn more on our dedicated freelancer page.
- What pricing plans include team approvals?
- Team approvals are part of our premium offerings. For detail summaries, see our pricing page.
Start tracking time today
Set up TimeTracker in minutes and put expenses to work. Track hours by client, project, and task, and bill for every hour your team works.
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