Disbursements not loaded against jobs in Xero Practice Manager

Not loading disbursements against jobs has a huge impact on the reported performance of the job. Disbursements represent the non-time costs on the job, such as Xero subscription fees, outsourced fees, travel fees etc. If these are not loaded, we overstate our profit and write-ups on our jobs. This makes it very difficult to understand which of our clients need to have their fee lifted, and it also distorts all our Staff Performance reporting.

To resolve this issue, it is first important to implement correct procedures around managing disbursements on jobs. Read all of Chapter 9: Outsourcing and Disbursements to get a full understanding of how to best manage disbursements in your practice. This chapter covers everything from Xero subscriptions through to the various types of engagements you could have with an outsourced service provider.

Once you’ve gained a deep understanding of how to manage disbursements going forward, read Chapter 8: Project Management and look at the job close-out section. This section describes the checks that should be done before closing a job, which includes checking that disbursements are loaded.

The solution should only take half an hour to implement by holding a company-wide meeting and expressing the importance of running the job close-out checks.