Article Contents
Introduction
When managing project WIP (work in progress), some costs do not neatly align with a project’s agreed scope. In Hiro, all project-related costs are kept on the project so you have a complete record of what it really took to deliver the work. Even if certain costs are not billed to the client, keeping them recorded shows the true profitability of the project.
The invoicing process is the only way WIP costs are cleared from the unbilled total in Hiro. Once dealt with through reallocation or write off, the costs remain recorded as part of the project’s overall expenses, but they no longer sit in WIP, which represents the amount yet to be billed as time and costs are progressively accrued to a project.
Hiro provides two options directly on invoice lines:
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Reallocate: incorporate the cost into another invoice line that better reflects the project scope.
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Write Off: remove the cost from billing altogether, recording it internally as a non-recoverable amount.
Both actions manage the underlying WIP costs, ensuring they are properly accounted for and do not reappear on future claims. These options appear under Hide on PDF for certain line types:
⚠️ Important: Simply turning a line off will only suppress it from the current invoice PDF. The costs remain in WIP and will reappear on the next invoice claim unless they are reallocated or written off.
Reallocating to Another Invoice Line
Reallocation is useful when you want to incorporate a cost into another billable line without showing it as a standalone entry. Examples include:
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A disbursement, such as a subcontractor invoice, that should be bundled into a project’s main fee line.
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Hours logged under Enquiries & Tenders that should contribute to a subtask in the agreed scope.
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A mileage entry that fits under an existing task allowance.
Once reallocated, the original invoice line is struck out and the cost is moved into the Time & Costs value of the line you’ve chosen, appearing alongside other time and cost entries for that line. The associated timesheet entries are marked as allocated, so they no longer remain in WIP.
Steps
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Open the invoice and locate the relevant line under Enquiries & Tenders, Disbursements, Mileage, or Imported Timesheets.
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In the Type dropdown, choose Reallocate to another invoice line… under Hide on PDF.
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A destination dropdown appears to the right. Select either:
- A subtask from the project’s work schedule, or
- An Out of Scope invoice line.
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Confirm. The original invoice line is struck out and excluded from the PDF.
Optional: Zero Out Reallocated E&T on Time Charge Subtasks
If you reallocate Enquiries & Tenders time to a Time Charge subtask and you want that E&T time to appear as nil on the client invoice while still being recorded internally:
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Click the Uninvoiced Time & Costs link on the destination line.
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In the Allocate Time & Costs popup, unlock the To invoice column using the checkbox in the lower left.
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Zero out the reallocated timesheet hours in the To invoice column. This changes invoicing only and does not affect payroll.
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Click Allocate to Line.
Writing Off an Invoice Line
Writing off is used whenever a cost is genuine but not intended for client billing. Examples include:
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Time logged under Enquiries & Tenders, such as preparing proposals to win work.
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Non-billable disbursements that still need to be expensed to the job.
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Admin or correction entries that don’t belong on a client invoice.
Writing off clears the line from billing while keeping the record for internal reporting. The associated timesheet entries are marked as allocated to the invoice, so the costs are removed from WIP and won’t reappear in future claims.
Steps
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Open the invoice and locate the relevant line under Enquiries & Tenders, Disbursements, Mileage, or Imported Timesheets.
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In the Type dropdown, choose Write off under Hide on PDF.
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Confirm. The line is excluded from the PDF.