Getting paid is why we do this, right? So, how do we get paid? By doing the work. In this article, we’ll break down the differences between items and expenses—both of which you can bill for. You’ll learn how to create and manage master items and expenses to make your workflow smoother. Using these tools means consistent pricing, efficient job planning, and accurate client billing. Ready to dive in? Let’s go!
Looking for a more in-depth look at managing your expenses in Streamtime? Check out Managing Third Party Costs and People
What’s the Difference Between an Item and an Expense?
An Item is a task your agency completes for a client as part of a job. Think of these as the core activities, like “Graphic Design” or “Social Media Setup”. Items represent the main services you offer, making it easier to track the time and cost associated with each service.
An Expense is a third-party cost your agency incurs while completing a job. This includes things like Printing, Travel, or Hosting. Tracking expenses separately helps in managing budgets more effectively and ensures you’re billing clients accurately for any additional costs incurred.
Master Items
While not every job will be the same, some tasks will frequently pop up in your agency’s workflow. For instance, if you run a digital agency, SEO is a task that you’ll often need to handle. To streamline your process, create a Master Item that can be quickly added to any job. This way, you save time when planning.
Why should I create Master Items?
Why should I create Master Items?
Master Items can significantly streamline your workflow and improve efficiency in various ways. Here’s why they’re a game-changer for your agency:
Speed Up Your Planning: No more starting from scratch every time. With a pre-set list of items, you can whip up a job plan in no time.
Consistent Pricing: Master Items come with set prices, making quoting a breeze and keeping your financials in check.
Enhanced Reporting: Master Items help you generate detailed reports, giving you a clear picture of your business’s productivity and profitability. Check out our extended reporting feature for more info.
How are Master Items priced?
How are Master Items priced?
Master Items can have different pricing styles to suit your needs. Here’s how they work and why each is beneficial:
Price by Item Rate: Set a fixed hourly rate for the item, no matter who’s doing the work. This simplifies billing by applying a consistent rate, making it easy to estimate costs and communicate pricing to clients.
Price by Person: Charge based on each team member’s hourly rate. This reflects the true cost of work, ensuring that more experienced or specialised team members are billed appropriately, which can maximise revenue.
Fixed Price: Keep the price the same, no matter who works on it or how long it takes. This provides clarity and predictability for both you and your clients. It’s great for projects where the scope is well-defined and helps avoid surprises in billing.
How do I create a Master Item?
How do I create a Master Item?
Setting up items in Streamtime is quick and easy. Here’s how to do it:
In the ⚙️ Menu, select Items.
Click Item in the ➕ Create menu.
Name your item. Ensure the item name is unique, especially if you have similar items in your agency. This avoids any mix-ups.
Decide how the item should be priced.
Indicate whether the item is billable or not. For more details, check out the article on Billable vs Non-Billable items.
Enter the Standard Sell Rate for the item. If you’ve selected the Price by Person option, this field won’t be available.
Add your description. This is a lifesaver if you’re not great at naming items. It also adds transparency for your clients, as this will show on their invoice.
Hit Save to finish. All set!
How Do I Add a Master Item to a Job?
How Do I Add a Master Item to a Job?
Want to take advantage of that new master item you just set up? First, create or open the job you want to add the item to, if you need a refresher on creating jobs click here.
Click New item in the Job Plan Section
Click in the Item name field to bring up the drop down menu with all your master items
Select your master item
Your master item has been added to your job and its pricing has been automatically applied. You can now assign time and the team to the item as normal.
Master Expenses
Just like with items, your agency will often have third-party expenses for jobs—things like printing, hosting, and other essentials. To keep your workflow smooth and simple, we’ve introduced Master Expenses.
Why should I use Master Expenses?
Why should I use Master Expenses?
Master expenses in Streamtime make managing third-party costs like printing, travel, and hosting a breeze. Here’s why they’re great for your agency:
Quick and Consistent: Add costs to jobs fast with standard pricing, keeping everything accurate and saving loads of time.
Clear Budgeting: Easily track and control expenses to stay on budget, ensuring every project is profitable and transparent.
Easy Updates: Adjust prices effortlessly to reflect changes, keeping everything current without the hassle.
Enhanced Reporting: Gain deeper insights into your expenses with detailed reporting. Check out our extended reporting feature for more info.
These features help streamline your workflow, improve financial oversight, and keep your team happy and productive.
How are Master Expenses priced?
How are Master Expenses priced?
Let’s break down the two ways you can price master expenses, and how each can benefit your business:
Unit Rate: This is a straightforward flat rate charged per unit. Think of it as a set price for items that don’t change in cost, like stock images or domain registrations. This method keeps things simple and predictable, ensuring you always know exactly how much you’re spending on these fixed expenses.
Markup: Here’s where it gets a bit more flexible. With markup, you add a percentage on top of the original cost. This is super handy for expenses that can fluctuate based on the project, like printing or hiring freelancers. By using markup, you can cover any unexpected increases in cost, making sure your agency remains profitable while delivering top-notch work.
How do I create a Master Expense?
How do I create a Master Expense?
Creating a master expense is a breeze! Just follow these steps:
Go to the ⚙️ Menu and select Items.
Click Expense in the ➕ Create Menu.
Name your item and expense in the Name field, ensuring the name is unique to avoid mix-ups.
Enter your cost rate in the Cost Rate field.
If it’s a markup expense, enter your markup percentage in the Markup field.
If it’s a unit rate expense, enter the price you want to charge in the Standard Sell Rate field.
Add a description in the Description field; this will appear on your client’s invoice, providing transparency.
Add a supplier from your contacts to simplify future purchase orders.
Hit Save to finish.
And that’s it! Your master expense is ready to go, making your workflow smoother and more organised.
How do I add a Master Expense to a Job?
How do I add a Master Expense to a Job?
There are two ways to add a master expense to a job: as an expense or as a purchase order.
Adding an expense is a quick and easy way to handle costs when a purchase order isn’t needed. For more details, check out Tracking Third-Party Expenses against Jobs.
Sometimes, clients or suppliers will want a purchase order. Streamtime makes it easy to manage this process too. To find out how, take a look at Creating and Sending a Purchase Order to your Supplier.
Sync with Xero
Items & Expenses form the basis of your Jobs, Quotes and Invoices and can be linked with your account codes / nominal codes if using Xero or QuickBooks Online.
If you have Xero linked to Streamtime and would like to assign these items to your chart of accounts general ledger account codes / nominal codes, then you can do this by selecting the account code from the drop-down menu (this code must first exist in the Xero Chart of Accounts).
Whenever you create an invoice from a job containing one of these linked items, the correct nominal/account code will be sent to Xero. This allows you to produce accurate reporting on cost centres inside Xero.