--- title: "Project time and expense planner" type: "skill" url: "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/project-time-and-expense-plan" updated: "2026-10-28" first_published: "2026-10-25" job: "Plan projects and team capacity" tested: true licence: "MIT" source: "https://github.com/erphq/skills/tree/eaa34a70a3bcd8a82aad118d10fbb084cdc1363a/departments/project-operations/01-org-under-100/time-expense" instructions: "https://useaiblocks.com/skills/project-time-and-expense-plan/SKILL.md" --- # Project time and expense planner > 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. 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. Free skill for the job "Plan projects and team capacity" · Level: intermediate · Thinking: medium · Safety checked · Updated 2026-10-28 ## Links - Page: https://useaiblocks.com/skills/project-time-and-expense-plan - Instructions (SKILL.md): https://useaiblocks.com/skills/project-time-and-expense-plan/SKILL.md - All files (zip): https://useaiblocks.com/skills/project-time-and-expense-plan.zip - JSON version: https://useaiblocks.com/skills/project-time-and-expense-plan.json - In your AI: connect https://useaiblocks.com/mcp and ask "Use AI Blocks to get project-time-and-expense-plan" ## What it does If you bill clients for time and costs, the money depends on a plain chain. People log hours. Someone approves them. The hours reach the invoice. When one link is weak, hours go unlogged, receipts go missing and invoices go out late. This skill builds a project time tracking and expense process for a team under 100 people. It starts from what you do now, then sets what to record, how soon, who approves and how approved time reaches billing. It also lists what to do for each common failure. It plans the process. It does not log time, scan receipts or send invoices. Tools it names, such as Harvest, Toggl or Expensify, are examples, and most have paid plans. ## What you give it - 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) ## What 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 ## Example: what goes in and what comes out ### What goes in - 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) ### What comes out - **Entry rules**: What to record, how soon, the smallest time block and what receipts are needed. - **Approval matrix**: Who approves time and expenses, how often, with a backup for each. - **Billing handoff checklist**: Steps from approved time and costs to a draft invoice, each with an owner. - **Exception list**: A fix and an owner for late entries, lost receipts, disputes and budget overruns. - **Report checks**: A few numbers to review each week or month, such as late entries and budget used. ## The layout of every result ```text ENTRY RULES | | APPROVAL MATRIX