{ "schema": "aiblocks-page/1", "id": "project-time-and-expense-plan", "type": "skill", "name": "Project time and expense planner", "summary": "Set up how your team logs project hours and expenses. You get entry rules, an approval matrix and a checklist for handing time to billing.", "headline": "Project time and expense planner", "subhead": "Tell it how your team records project hours and expenses today, what tools you use and where it goes wrong. It writes entry rules, approval roles and a billing handoff. You also get fixes for late entries, lost receipts and projects that run over budget.", "job": { "id": "manage-projects", "name": "Plan projects and team capacity" }, "level": "intermediate", "thinking": "medium", "tested": true, "updated": "2026-10-28", "first_published": "2026-10-25", "inputs": [ { "type": "source_text", "required": false, "label": "Source text", "what": "a long source in full: an article, a video or talk transcript, or notes from a book, with its title, author and link" }, { "type": "question", "required": true, "label": "Question", "what": "the problem, decision or piece of work you want help with, and what a good outcome looks like" } ], "outputs": [ { "type": "document", "required": true, "label": "Document", "what": "a finished document, such as a Word file, a PDF or a page of notes" }, { "type": "plan", "required": true, "label": "Plan", "what": "a dated plan: what to do, in what order, with a decision rule for each step" } ], "you_give": [ "The tools you use now for time and expenses, or none", "Your project and client codes, and which work is billable", "Who approves time and expenses today", "How billing works, for example hourly or retainer", "What goes wrong now, such as late entries or lost receipts (optional)" ], "you_get": [ "Entry rules for time and expenses, with receipt rules", "An approval matrix with a backup approver", "A checklist for handing approved time to billing", "A list of exceptions with the fix and owner for each", "A short list of report checks for each week or month" ], "use_when": [ "Hours get logged on Friday for the whole week and nobody trusts them.", "Approvals pile up and invoices go out late.", "Client costs such as travel or software are paid by you and never billed.", "A project goes over budget before anyone notices." ], "skip_when": [ "You do not bill clients by the hour, or the team has only a few people: use a simple shared timesheet.", "You want to check hours before pay day: use the Payroll timesheet checker.", "You want to sort card transactions by category: use the Expense sorter.", "You want to chase a client invoice that is already late: use the Unpaid invoice chaser." ], "output_sample": { "input": [ "The tools you use now for time and expenses", "Your project codes and what counts as billable", "Who approves time and expenses, and how billing works", "What goes wrong today (optional)" ], "output": [ { "name": "Entry rules", "contains": "What to record, how soon, the smallest time block and what receipts are needed." }, { "name": "Approval matrix", "contains": "Who approves time and expenses, how often, with a backup for each." }, { "name": "Billing handoff checklist", "contains": "Steps from approved time and costs to a draft invoice, each with an owner." }, { "name": "Exception list", "contains": "A fix and an owner for late entries, lost receipts, disputes and budget overruns." }, { "name": "Report checks", "contains": "A few numbers to review each week or month, such as late entries and budget used." } ] }, "output_shape": "ENTRY RULES\n | | \n\nAPPROVAL MATRIX\n