Use an expense for project-specific external cost
An expense is a project record for something purchased or paid outside specialist delivery hours: media spend, software, licenses, production, travel, a contractor, a venue or another vendor cost. It remains linked to the project and, where relevant, to a delivery sprint.
Do not use an expense to represent a specialist's allocation, hourly rate or task effort. Those belong to the project roster and task workflow. Do not use an invoice status to create an expense either; an invoice can only consume eligible approved expense evidence.
Check the project, delivery period, supplier and client identity. Legal and payment details come from the relevant company profiles.
Open the expense workspace
- 1Open an accessible project
Choose the project in Company Workspace and open Project management.
- 2Choose Expenses
The button opens a project-scoped modal. A badge shows pending client approvals where the current client must act.
- 3Read the totals
Active rows, Team billable, Client direct and Prepayment summarize the current non-void, non-rejected records.
- 4Open a row
Select an existing row to inspect its values and status. Controls remain read-only when the current role does not own that change.
- 5Refresh when another role acted
Use Refresh to retrieve the latest server state after a client or partner decision.
Choose the correct billing source
| Type | Use it when | Approval and invoice behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Partner-managed expense | The delivery team or partner arranges the purchase and may pass the approved amount to the client | Saved as Pending approval; the client approves or rejects it; only Approved rows can enter partner invoice evidence |
| Client direct record | The client pays or manages the cost directly | Saved as Client record; no partner approval or partner invoice amount is created |
Complete each field with auditable information
| Field | What to enter | How Collty uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Expense name | A specific purchased item or purpose | Primary label in the expense table, project summary and invoice evidence |
| Vendor | Supplier, platform or contractor | Explains where the cost comes from |
| Category | Media, software, production, travel or another useful group | Keeps expense context readable in project and analytics surfaces |
| Sprint | The zero-based delivery period shown as S1, S2 and later periods | Connects eligible expense evidence to the relevant delivery cycle |
| Quantity | Number of units purchased | Multiplied by Unit cost |
| Unit cost / Amount | Cost per unit, or the direct client amount | Forms the internal total before any allowed partner margin |
| Margin % | Partner-managed commercial margin from 0 to 100 | Applied only to a partner-managed row |
| Prepayment % | Approved amount expected before final settlement | Splits the calculated client amount into prepayment and final amount |
| Notes | Decision context, scope or billing explanation | Keeps the reason readable without changing financial values |
Understand the calculated amounts
| Value | Calculation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Internal total | Unit cost × Quantity | The underlying vendor or production cost |
| Client amount | Internal total × (1 + Margin %) | The amount proposed to the client for a partner-managed expense |
| Prepayment | Client amount × Prepayment % | The prepayment portion of the approved expense |
| Final amount | Client amount − Prepayment | The remaining amount after prepayment |
| Client direct amount | Amount × Quantity, with no partner margin | A client-owned cost recorded for complete project context |
Client and partner actions remain separate
| Role | Can create or edit | Can decide |
|---|---|---|
| Partner / authorized project manager | Partner-managed rows, including cost, quantity, margin and prepayment; client-direct context where authorized | Cannot approve their own partner-managed request as the client |
| Client | Client-direct rows; partner-managed rows remain read-only | Can Approve or Reject a pending partner-managed row |
| Specialist | No unrestricted expense editor | No client or partner financial decision controls |
Read the expense lifecycle
| Status | Meaning | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | A row has not entered its normal approval path | Review before relying on it |
| Pending approval | A partner-managed expense is waiting for the client | Visible in project context but not eligible for partner invoice evidence |
| Approved | The client accepted the partner-managed amount | Eligible for the relevant invoice calculation and commercial analytics |
| Rejected | The client did not accept the request | Excluded from active totals and invoice evidence |
| Client record | The client owns or paid the cost directly | Included as client-direct project context, not partner billing |
| Void | The creator removed the active effect while preserving history | Excluded from active totals and invoice evidence |
Partner-managed expense workflow
- 1Create the row
The partner chooses New expense, keeps Partner-managed expense, and enters the vendor, sprint and financial detail.
- 2Review the preview
Check Client amount and Prepayment before saving. Correct the source values rather than editing a later invoice to compensate.
- 3Send for confirmation
Saving creates Pending approval. Smart Console and the Expenses badge can surface the client's required action.
- 4Client decides
The client opens the row and chooses Approve or Reject. The partner cannot make this decision on the client's behalf.
- 5Use approved evidence
Only an Approved partner-managed expense can be loaded into the corresponding invoice evidence.
Client-direct expense workflow
- 1Choose Client direct record
Use this when the client pays the vendor or owns the purchase outside the partner's invoice.
- 2Enter the actual amount
Record purpose, vendor, category, sprint, quantity and amount. Partner margin and partner prepayment do not apply.
- 3Save as Client record
No redundant approval request is created for a client-owned cost.
- 4Keep it in project context
The amount can appear in project expense totals and analytics while remaining separate from partner billable expenses.
Expenses do not automatically become invoices
- A partner-managed row must be Approved before it is eligible for invoice evidence.
- A pending, rejected or void expense must not be billed as if the client accepted it.
- A client-direct row stays outside the partner invoice amount.
- Invoice creation still follows the project's Billing and Invoices settings, delivery period and invoice mode.
- Deleting a row marks it Void and refreshes connected invoice calculations while preserving its history.
Expense review checklist
- 1Confirm ownership
Choose Partner-managed only when the delivery side owns the commercial request; choose Client direct when the client owns the purchase.
- 2Use the right sprint
Attach the expense to the period where the cost belongs so invoice and analytics context remain accurate.
- 3Check the source values
Verify quantity, unit cost, margin and prepayment before requesting approval.
- 4Wait for approval
Do not treat Pending approval as accepted commercial evidence.
- 5Preserve history
Use Void for a withdrawn record rather than rewriting an approved row into a different purchase.