# Manage project expenses

Canonical HTML: [https://collty.com/help/commercial/manage-project-expenses](https://collty.com/help/commercial/manage-project-expenses)
Audience: Clients, partners and project owners
Reading time: 13 min
Updated: 2026-07-16T00:00:00.000Z

Create, calculate, approve and audit partner-managed and client-direct project costs without mixing them with specialist hours or invoice states.

## 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.

## Open the expense workspace

1. **Open an accessible project:** Choose the project in Client Office or Team Studio and open Project details.
2. **Choose Expenses:** The button opens a project-scoped modal. A badge shows pending client approvals where the current client must act.
3. **Read the totals:** Active rows, Team billable, Client direct and Prepayment summarize the current non-void, non-rejected records.
4. **Open 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.
5. **Refresh 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 |

> **Good to know:** Choosing Client direct does not mean the project is non-commercial. It only says who owns this particular cost and whether it belongs in the partner's billing path.

## 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 |

> **Good to know:** The server normalizes percentages and recalculates financial fields. A displayed client amount is not trusted as an unrestricted free-form billing override.

## 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 |

> **Good to know:** Every request is checked against the authenticated project relationship. The browser role alone does not grant access to another project's financial records.

## 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

1. **Create the row:** The partner chooses New expense, keeps Partner-managed expense, and enters the vendor, sprint and financial detail.
2. **Review the preview:** Check Client amount and Prepayment before saving. Correct the source values rather than editing a later invoice to compensate.
3. **Send for confirmation:** Saving creates Pending approval. Smart Console and the Expenses badge can surface the client's required action.
4. **Client decides:** The client opens the row and chooses Approve or Reject. The partner cannot make this decision on the client's behalf.
5. **Use approved evidence:** Only an Approved partner-managed expense can be loaded into the corresponding invoice evidence.

## Client-direct expense workflow

1. **Choose Client direct record:** Use this when the client pays the vendor or owns the purchase outside the partner's invoice.
2. **Enter the actual amount:** Record purpose, vendor, category, sprint, quantity and amount. Partner margin and partner prepayment do not apply.
3. **Save as Client record:** No redundant approval request is created for a client-owned cost.
4. **Keep 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

1. **Confirm ownership:** Choose Partner-managed only when the delivery side owns the commercial request; choose Client direct when the client owns the purchase.
2. **Use the right sprint:** Attach the expense to the period where the cost belongs so invoice and analytics context remain accurate.
3. **Check the source values:** Verify quantity, unit cost, margin and prepayment before requesting approval.
4. **Wait for approval:** Do not treat Pending approval as accepted commercial evidence.
5. **Preserve history:** Use Void for a withdrawn record rather than rewriting an approved row into a different purchase.

## Related guides

- [Time Costs Invoices And Expenses](https://collty.com/help/commercial/time-costs-invoices-and-expenses)
- [Manage Project Team And Hours](https://collty.com/help/projects/manage-project-team-and-hours)
- [Create A Project And Choose Its Operating Model](https://collty.com/help/projects/create-a-project-and-choose-its-operating-model)
- [Read Project Analytics And Team Pulse](https://collty.com/help/projects/read-project-analytics-and-team-pulse)