Skip to main content
Webinar: A Guide to Client Onboarding: Crafting Winning Proposals and Contracts
Wednesday, April 17th, 2024 | 1PM ET | 10 AM PT | Register Now
Financial Health

QuickBooks for Engineers - Vendors, Billing Rates, and Time Tracking

QuickBooks for Engineers - Vendors, Billing Rates, and Time Tracking - BQE Software


Don't forget that QuickBooks Online integrates seamlessly with BQE Core, the award-winning project accounting platform built for professional services firms. Core offers business intelligence, project management, time and expense tracking, billing, accounting, and reporting together in one intuitive package. You can integrate Core with QuickBooks, or handle your accounting within Core so it's right alongside all of your other essential business processes.

Many professional services like engineering firms will have sub-contractors who perform the work. Their time will need to be tracked so that they can be paid and also so that you can bill your clients for their time. Rates may vary for people at different levels even for the same type of service. I might have a staff level civil engineer and then a supervisory civil engineer. These people will likely be billed out at different rates. This week, we are going to show you how to set up all of the parts needed to make this wheel turn. In the process, we are going to show you the following things in QuickBooks:

  • Item setup (e.g., Civil Engineer) - two-sided item refresher

  • Item rates - Cost and Selling Price

  • Billing rate levels

  • Time entry

  • Paying based on the time (Enter a bill and populate information from the time entry)

  • Customizing your invoice template to include the service dates

By the time you are finished with this week’s video, you will know how to set up your vendors, billing rates, billing rate levels, items, and how to enter their time so that you can pay your sub-contractors while quickly and easily getting the information onto an invoice. Then just as I did in my QuickBooks for Architects series, I pose the question, “Is this the best way?”

In the end, we want to minimize the number of times data has to be entered to minimize the chances for errors as well as increase efficiency with respect to the flow of information. This allows us to increase productivity and profits.

Similar posts

Get notified on the latest for your industry

Be the first to know the latest insights from experts in your industry to help you master project management and deliver projects that yield delighted clients and predictable profits.