How to Track Expenses and Attach Receipts to Your Projects

A project is rarely just hours. It's hours plus the train ticket to the client, plus the printer ink for the workshop, plus the share of the Adobe subscription this month, plus the lunch you don't want to argue about at invoice time. Time tracking that ignores those is half a system.

Timesheet records expenses against the same projects and tasks where you log hours, with receipt photos attached. One report at the end has both numbers next to each other. Expense tracking is on every plan including the free Basic; on Plus and Pro the receipt images sync to the cloud.

#Why Track Expenses Where You Track Time

One complete picture per project. Hours plus costs in one view, not two systems that need cross-referencing at month-end.

Less paper-handling. Photograph the receipt at the till, attach it to the task, throw the paper away or file it. The image is the source of truth.

Better quotes next time. Historical costs per project type give you a reality check on quoting (it's never just the labor).

An audit trail that holds up. Receipt images plus task context plus dates plus amounts. That's what an accountant or a tax auditor actually wants.

#Adding an Expense to a Task

#The Basic Entry

1. Open an existing task, or create one
2. Find the Expenses section
3. Tap Add Expense
4. Enter:
   • Description: what the expense is for
   • Amount: how much
5. Save

#Descriptions That Survive Six Months

Vague descriptions become unsolvable mysteries by quarter's end.

Too vague:

• "Supplies"
• "Travel"
• "Software"

Better:

• "Printer ink for client A presentation"
• "Train ticket Munich, client meeting Dec 12"
• "Adobe Creative Cloud, December subscription"

#When to Log Each Expense

• The same day, ideally within minutes of paying
• Against the task where the work happened
• Or against a dedicated expense-only task ("December Travel", "Project Setup Costs") if the cost isn't tied to a specific work session

#Attaching Receipt Photos

#Why You Want the Image

• Client billing requirements
• Tax documentation
• Internal expense approval
• The paper receipt fades. The image does not.

#How to Attach

1. Open the expense entry
2. Tap Attach Receipt (or Add Photo)
3. Either:
   • Take a photo with the camera
   • Pick from photo library
   • Upload a file (web)
4. The image is now bound to the expense

#Capture That Actually Saves Time

• Light it well. Shadows kill OCR and human readability both.
• Shoot straight on. Skewed receipts lose ends.
• Get the whole thing. Date, vendor, amount, line items.
• Do it now. Paper fades, gets crumpled, ends up in the laundry.

#Including Expenses in Reports

#Excel and CSV Export

In the export configuration, enable the expense fields:

• Expense description
• Expense amount
• Date
• Linked task and project

Export then includes a row per expense alongside the time entries. Build whatever pivot table or accountant-friendly view from there. Export is on every plan, including free Basic.

#Statistics

The statistics view shows:

• Total expenses per project
• Expenses over time (week, month, quarter)
• Cross-project comparison

#Client-Ready Reports

PDF document generation (Pro plan, 30-day free trial, no credit card) can include:

• Time entries with durations and rates
• Expenses with descriptions and amounts
• A combined total for the invoice

#What Usually Gets Tracked

Project materials. Supplies, consumables, equipment, software licenses scoped to one project.

Travel. Flights, trains, taxis, parking, accommodation, meals away from base.

Client-facing. Business meals, meeting room rentals, presentation materials.

Subscriptions allocated to a project. Pro-rated software, service fees, platform costs.

Miscellaneous. Shipping, printing, copying, project-specific communication costs.

#Three Real Workflows

#Freelance

1. Pay during project work, photograph the receipt at the till
2. Add expense to the right task in Timesheet
3. Include in the client invoice via PDF generation, or via Excel export to your existing invoicing tool
4. Mark billed when invoiced
5. Mark paid when the money lands

#Employee Reimbursement

1. Pay the cost
2. Photograph the receipt
3. Add expense to a task; use a consistent tag for reimbursables
4. Export the expense report at month-end
5. Submit to finance, track the reimbursement status

#Project Manager Review

1. Friday: review the team's expenses against budget
2. Question anything that looks off
3. Roll into the project's cost report
4. Bill to client per the agreement

#Things That Save Headaches

Create a few expense-only tasks for recurring categories ("Monthly Subscriptions", "Q1 Travel"). Lump-summing in those is fine when no specific session caused the cost.

Develop a description convention. "Travel: train Munich, client A". The first word as category, then specifics. Future-you will thank current-you.

Log the same day. Once a week is okay. Once a month is a recipe for missing entries and lost receipts.

Separate business from personal religiously. Mixing makes audits painful and reports useless.

Monthly reconciliation, 30 minutes. Open the expense report, open the bank statement, compare. Catch missing entries while the context is still fresh.

#Common Questions

Can I add an expense without logging time? Yes. Create a task with minimal or zero duration, then add the expense. Or add it to an existing task.

Are receipt images backed up? On Plus and Pro, receipt images sync to the cloud and are backed up. On Basic, images stay on the device.

Can teammates see each other's expenses? Depends on team permissions on Pro plans. Managers can see the team's; individual members usually see only their own.

How do expenses appear on invoices? On the Pro plan, PDF generation can include expenses as line items, with descriptions and amounts.

Can I export expenses without the time entries? Yes. Use export filters to produce an expense-only report.

#Summary

The pattern that works:

• Add expenses to tasks, the same way you add time
• Describe each one clearly, with category and context
• Attach the receipt photo immediately
• Export or invoice with time and expenses in the same report
• Reconcile monthly against bank or card statements

The system stays simple. Receipts stop ending up in jacket pockets. Project totals stop being half-true.

#Where to Go Next

• Document mileage and travel for kilometer-based reimbursement
• Export to Excel or CSV with expense columns included
• Generate PDF invoices that combine hours and expenses on one document