Unbilled revenue for consulting co?

[nigelflack]

I am still working on getting Peachtree setup right for my small consulting company. One thing that I just cannot figure out the right solution for is unbilled revenue.

I have Peachtree Complete 2003, which includes the Time and Expenses option. When I fill out a time ticket, it doesn't seem to be tracked *anywhere* until I actually create an invoice with it. I can report on it using the "Aged Time Tickets" report, but that's it.

I want to be able to include this on the balance sheet. Seems to me that revenue for hours worked but not yet billed should be an asset, similar to accounts receivable, but under a different heading. Plus I want to be able to track unbilled revenue ideally to the day, although I don't create a customer invoice until the next month, so just creating an invoice isn't a valid option anyway. I've played around with a few different solutions, but nothing really seems to work correctly.

Has anyone come up with a good solution to this? It seems ridiculous to have a time and expense system that lets you have outstanding time tickets that do not appear in any account.

[jhudson]

Setup an account selecting 'inventory' as account type. Probably want to do two accounts, one for labor (WIP) and one for expenses. Setup labor categories in inventory (e.g., Architect1, Architect2, etc.) and set 'item class' to 'non-stock item'. Then setup the jobs to which time and materials will be charged. Use ticketing for time and expenses (through PR or AP). Then just tag the items you want to bill.

PS. The unbilled revenue should not show up as an asset. The cost will show up as an asset until billed. Under GAAP revenue usually isn't recognized until billing. If you're using percent of completed contract method of accounting you could still do the above, but another step is necessary to develop an earned but not billed accounting structure.

[dringstrom]

Under GAAP revenue usually isn't recognized until billing.

For the benefit of non-accountants frequenting this forum, GAAP means generally accepted accounting principles.