Where it comes from
- Scope creep. A small extra agreed in a message, with no change to the fee or the plan.
- Unlogged hours. Time never recorded, so it never reaches the invoice or the cost.
- Hours on the wrong task. Time logged to “internal” that was really for a client.
How to put a number on it
The value of unbilled work is the unbilled hours × the billing rate you would have charged. The cost of unbilled work is the same hours × loaded cost. An example: 12 unbilled hours a month at an $80 rate is $960 of revenue not invoiced, and at a $35 loaded cost $420 of cost carried by the project.
How PLYNTUM handles it
Every logged hour belongs to a task, and every task to a project and a client, so work that grew past the agreement shows up in the client’s hours before the invoice goes out. Add an agreed extra as its own task with an estimate, so its hours stay visible and can go on the next invoice. See billing for scope creep and unlogged hours.
See also time tracking in PLYNTUM, the hourly rate calculator, billable hours and all terms in the glossary.