Non-billable timecodes within billable projects

Using non-billable timecodes within a billable project allows certain effort to be excluded from invoicing and utilisation calculations.

Projectworks has two different types of projects; billable and non-billable. Generally speaking, all work conducted on a billable project would be considered billable, However this isn’t always the case.

When adding a timecode to a billable project the timecode will be defaulted to billable and billable rates will be used (based on the billable rate rules of the project). A timecode can be changed to be non-billable, and by default will have a burn rate of $0 applied.

All timecodes on non-billable projects are set to non-billable.

The difference between a billable and a non-billable timecode?

For people doing their timesheet there is no difference with how time is recorded. Within a project the main difference between billable and non-billable timecodes is:

• Time recorded on non-billable timecodes will not be available for invoicing

• Time recorded on non-billable timecodes will not prevent a project from being archived

Outside of the project, whether a timecode is set as billable or non-billable can have an impact on how utilisation is calculated. Your company can choose to include or exclude time logged on non-billable timecodes from utilisation calculations so we recommend talking with your managers so you understand the impact of using non billable timecodes.

Creating a non-billable timecode

If a project is billable, timecodes will default to billable but can be changed to non-billable. You may like to do this to track time that you don’t expect the client to pay for like training, team building activities, etc. There may also be a certain activity that is to specifically be excluded from utilisation calculations. An example may be remedial work that is needed to correct issues.

When making a timecode non-billable it will be set to have a default burn rate of $0. All people added to the timecode will automatically be assigned the default burn rate of $0.

Changing a timecode from billable to non-billable

Timecodes can be changed from billable to non-billable as long as no time entries have been included on invoices. The option to change will be disabled if the timecode is unable to be changed.

Using a billable rate on a non-billable timecode

The main reason to use a billable rate on a non-billable timecode is to show the impact on the budget. Even though the time won’t be available for invoicing it will factored into the budget burn.

Isn’t using a $0 billable rate on a billable timecode the same as making a timecode non-billable?

From a customer perspective it probably is as time recorded at $0 will not impact the budget or the amount they will be invoiced. You might want to consider the following points before using a $0 billable rate.

• The customers budget won't be impacted by worked recorded at $0 rates

• It allows time recorded to be included in utilisation calculations (if your company only treated billable timecodes as effective utilisation)

• Using this option is a good way to record work within a project so you can see the full extent of the effort required to deliver the project which helps with margin reporting

• A potential downside is you can't see the project is over budget as not all the hours are recorded at a billable rate.

• All time recorded to billable timecodes need to be associated to invoices for the project to be archived (even if the billable value is $0)