Reimbursable — unbilled
Costs incurred for clients that are not yet on an invoice, with receipts attached.
Freelance finance · Pass-through costs
Tracking costs you'll rebill to clients
You bought stock photos for a client's deck, paid a courier on their behalf, and covered travel for their on-site day — all of it meant to come back to you on the next invoice. The costs you forget to flag are the ones you quietly eat. Cash Workspace lets you record each reimbursable expense with the client, project, amount, and receipt, plus a simple billed or unbilled status, so every pass-through cost shows up when it is time to invoice.
The problem
Why reimbursable costs slip through
Reimbursable costs are scattered across the month and look just like your own expenses unless you flag them at purchase. The unflagged ones never make it onto an invoice.
- You buy $89 of stock images for a client and forget to add it to their next invoice.
- Courier, print, and travel costs for a client blur together with your own spending.
- You can't tell which billable costs are already invoiced and which are still owed to you.
- Two clients had costs in the same week and you rebill one twice and the other not at all.
- Without the receipt attached, a client questions a line and you have no proof to send.
The workflow
Flag, attach, and recover every pass-through cost
Mark a cost as reimbursable the moment you incur it, then carry it to the right invoice with a clear billed status so nothing is missed or double-billed.
- 1
Tag it to the client and project
When you incur the cost, record it against the client and the specific project it belongs to.
- 2
Mark it reimbursable and unbilled
Flag that the client owes it back and set the status to unbilled so it stays on your radar.
- 3
Attach the receipt
Attach the supplier receipt so you can show the exact cost when you rebill it.
- 4
Pull unbilled into the invoice
When you invoice the client, list every unbilled reimbursable cost for that project.
- 5
Switch to billed
Once it's on a sent invoice, change the status to billed so it can't be charged again.
Record structure
What to record for each reimbursable cost
A reimbursable cost needs to be findable by client and provable by receipt, with a status that says whether you've recovered it yet.
- Client
- Who the cost will be rebilled to, kept as a consistent client record.
- Project
- The specific engagement, so costs go on the right invoice.
- Amount
- What you actually paid the supplier, in the currency you paid.
- Vendor
- Who you paid — the stock site, the courier, the airline.
- Receipt
- The supplier receipt attached so you can substantiate the rebill.
- Billed status
- Unbilled or billed, so you recover it once and only once.
- Invoice reference
- Which invoice the cost was added to, once it's billed.
- Markup note
- Whether you rebill at cost or with an agreed markup, noted for consistency.
Example setup
An example reimbursable setup
One way to organize pass-through costs so each one gets recovered.
Reimbursable — billed
Costs already added to a sent invoice, with the invoice reference noted.
Per-client cost notes
A note per client of how they like reimbursables presented — at cost or with markup.
Common mistakes
Mistakes to avoid
- Not flagging a cost as reimbursable at purchase, so it blends into your own expenses.
- Leaving the status blank, so you can't tell billed from unbilled when invoicing.
- Rebilling the same cost twice because it was never marked billed.
- Skipping the receipt, so a client disputes a line you can't substantiate.
- Tagging the cost to the client but not the project, so it lands on the wrong invoice.
How it helps
How Cash Workspace helps
Costs tagged by client and project
Record each reimbursable cost against the right client and project so it ends up on the correct invoice.
Billed vs unbilled status
Mark each cost unbilled or billed so you recover it once and never double-charge.
Receipt ready to send
Attach the supplier receipt to the record so you can substantiate every rebilled line.
Related
Related freelance billing workflows
Per-project cost folder
Gather every cost for one project in a single place.
Refund records
Record refunds and reimbursements against the original cost.
Invoice status board
See which invoices carrying reimbursables are paid or overdue.
Client contact and rate records
Keep each client's billing preferences on file.
All finance workflows
Browse the full Cash Workspace workflow library.
FAQ
Reimbursable expense FAQ
- How do I track costs I'll rebill to a client?
- Record each cost against the client and project, mark it reimbursable and unbilled, and attach the receipt. When you invoice, pull in every unbilled cost and switch it to billed.
- How do I avoid rebilling the same cost twice?
- Use the billed/unbilled status. Once a cost appears on a sent invoice, mark it billed and note the invoice reference so it can't be picked up again.
- Does Cash Workspace send the rebilled invoice for me?
- No. You create and send invoices yourself; Cash Workspace organizes the reimbursable costs, their receipts, and their billed status so they're ready when you invoice. It does not handle the money or send anything for you.
Organizing help — not tax, accounting, or legal guidance
Cash Workspace is a free workspace for organizing invoices, expenses, receipts, clients, and documents. This page is organizing guidance only — not tax, accounting, legal, or bookkeeping guidance. Cash Workspace does not connect to your bank, does not scan or read your receipts for you, and does not move or collect payments. Whether an expense is deductible depends on your situation, so confirm it with a qualified accountant or tax professional.
Recover every cost you front for clients
Start a free workspace and flag each reimbursable cost with its client, receipt, and billed status, so pass-through spending lands on the next invoice instead of in your own pocket.