Should expenses be billable or non-billable when sending to QBO?
Using Buildwise's integration with QuickBooks Online (QBO) allows you to send expenses to QBO as either billable or non-billable. It's important to clarify that "non-billable" is not the same as "unbillable".
Non-billable:
This refers to the software architecture of the QBO platform and doesn't mean that, as a cost-plus builder, you won't be reimbursed. It simply means that they will not populate in QBO's internal "unbilled costs" feature.
Unbillable:
This refers to costs that will not be billed to the client in a cost-plus project. These costs will come directly from the gross profit margin you earn on the cost-plus project they correspond to.
How it Works:
With our newly enhanced feature, you can now control how bills are sent to QBO at the global, project, and expense levels.
Global Setting
Go to Integrations → Details to set your default behavior.
You’ll see three options:
- Set at the project level: Best if you use billable expenses in QuickBooks for cost-plus work. Cost-plus projects will send bills as billable. Fixed-price projects and overhead will be sent as non-billable.
- Billable: All cost-plus project expenses will be sent as billable. Fixed-price projects remain non-billable (this can be overridden at the project level).
- Non-billable: All expenses, cost-plus and fixed-price, will be sent as non-billable.
Project-Level Setting
- On the Project Overview → QuickBooks section, you’ll now see a toggle to mark the project as billable or non-billable.
- New projects inherit this from your global setting, but you can change it at any time.
Expense-Level Setting
On the expense preview screen:
- The Non-billable / Billable toggle now controls QuickBooks billable status only
- A separate Unbillable checkbox controls Buildwise’s unbillable reporting for cost-plus projects
- These are now two independent controls.
If you have any questions or need support:
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