Attribute an expense to a project

An expense that isn’t tied to a project is just a number in a pile. Tie it to the project it belongs to and your profit stops being a guess.

When you’d use this

Attribute every cost that exists because of a specific job: subcontractors, materials, stock photos, printing, the rental you needed for a shoot. Leave genuinely shared overhead unattributed. Done consistently, this turns the project report into the most useful screen in the app, because it answers the question most small businesses cannot: which kinds of work make money. Many owners discover that their busiest client is their least profitable one only after a few months of attributing costs.

Attribute the expense

1. Open the expense, or create one in Expenses.
2. Assign it to the project it belongs to.
3. Save. The cost now counts against that project.

How margin gets calculated

Once an expense is attributed, the project’s reports compute margin as the project’s invoice revenue minus its attributed expenses. That turns profit into a real number instead of a hunch — you can see which projects actually pay and which ones quietly bleed.

Tip: Attribute costs as you record them. Catching up at month-end is where margins go fuzzy.

FAQ

Can one expense be split across projects?

Record it as separate expenses, one per project, with the amounts split. Each project then carries its true share.

Can I attribute an expense after the project is completed?

Yes. The project’s margin recalculates whenever its expenses change, so late-arriving bills still land in the right place.

Does attributing an expense bill it to the client?

No. Attribution is for your reporting. To pass a cost through, also mark it billable and add it to an invoice.

What’s next

• Drill down your revenue
• How to record an expense
• Organize expenses with categories and tags