Tracking Expenses (Supplier Invoices)

Every dollar that goes out the door to suppliers, subcontractors, and vendors needs to be tracked — because that's what determines whether your projects are actually profitable. In BuilderMate, "expenses" represent your supplier invoices and accounts payable.

Who Can Access This

• Admin and Team Member — Full access to create, view, and manage expenses.
• Field Users — Cannot see expenses.

Accessing Expenses

You can get to expenses two ways:

• From the sidebar: Click Expenses to see all expenses across every project.
• From a project: Open the project detail page and click the Expenses tab to see expenses for that specific project.

Creating a New Expense

1. Click "New Expense".

2. Fill in the details:

   • Project — Select which project this expense belongs to.
   • Supplier — Search and select a subcontractor or vendor from your contacts.
   • Expense Category — Classify the expense for reporting purposes.
   • Expense Type — Choose from:
     • Labor
     • Materials
     • Equipment
     • Permits
     • Other
   • Invoice Number — The vendor's invoice number (for cross-referencing).
   • Reference Number (optional) — Your internal reference number.
   • Invoice Date — The date on the vendor's invoice.
   • Amount — The total amount owed.
   • Memo — Any notes or context about this expense.
   • Attachment — Upload the vendor's invoice document for your records.

3. Click Save.

Pro Tip: Always upload the vendor's invoice as an attachment. When tax season comes around or a dispute arises, having the original document right there in the system saves enormous headaches.

Viewing Your Expense List

The Expenses page shows all expenses across all projects with these columns:

• Vendor, Project, Invoice Number, Date, Amount, Status, and Type

At the top, you'll see summary stats:

• Total Expenses — Everything you owe or have owed
• Total Paid — What's been paid to vendors
• Total Outstanding — What you still owe

Filtering and Searching

Narrow down your expense list using:

• Status — Unpaid, Partial, Paid, Overdue
• Supplier — Filter by a specific vendor or subcontractor
• Date Range — Find expenses within a time period
• Amount Range — Filter by dollar amount
• Search — Look up by vendor name, project, or invoice number

Recording Supplier Payments

When you pay a vendor, record it on the expense:

1. Open the expense.
2. Click "Record Payment".
3. Fill in:
   • Amount — The payment amount (can be partial)
   • Payment Date — When you made the payment
   • Payment Method — Check, Credit Card, Wire Transfer, Cash, etc.
   • Reference Number — Check number or transaction ID
   • Notes — Any additional context
   • Attachments — Upload up to 2 files (e.g., payment confirmation, cleared check)
4. Click Save.

Partial Payments

Just like with invoices, you can make multiple payments against a single expense:

• Unpaid → First payment → Partial
• Partial → Final payment → Paid

The status updates automatically as you record payments.

Expense Statuses

• Unpaid — No payments recorded
• Partial — Some payment made, balance remaining
• Paid — Fully paid

Impact on Project Financials

Every expense you record directly affects your project's bottom line. On the project's Summary tab, you'll see:

• Total Expenses — What you've spent on the project
• Profit — Automatically calculated as revenue minus expenses

This gives you real-time visibility into whether a project is on budget.

Good to Know: Keeping expenses up to date is critical for accurate project profitability. If expenses are entered late or missed entirely, your profit numbers won't reflect reality — and you might not catch budget overruns until it's too late.

QuickBooks Sync

If you've connected QuickBooks, expenses can be synced with proper expense account categorization. This keeps your accounting software in sync with your project cost tracking.

Related Articles

• Managing Project Financials
• Creating and Managing Purchase Orders
• Managing Subcontractors and Vendors