How do I write off time in Factor?
This article covers two different ways to write off hourly time and explains how to handle time logged to fixed fee phases that you may not bill for.
In Factor, time entries are always logged to a specific project phase—either fixed-fee or hourly. The way you handle write-offs depends on which type of phase the time was logged to.
For fixed-fee phases, there’s no need to manually write off time. From a performance-tracking standpoint, what matters is how the value of the time logged (based on hourly rates) compares to the amount you actually invoiced. If you log more time than was budgeted or invoiced, the overage is effectively written off automatically. You don’t need to specify which hours were written off, since they don’t directly affect billing.
For hourly phases, you may want to explicitly write off time that you do not plan to bill to the client. Factor gives you two ways to do this:
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Option 1: Write Off Time from the Project
This is helpful when you’re closing out a project or cleaning up leftover unbilled time.
- Navigate to the Project Overview tab.
- Click on the Time Written Off tile at the top of the page.
- Review the list of unbilled time entries.
- Select the entries you want to write off and confirm with the Save button.
- If any time is written-off by mistake, re-open the Write Off Time modal and flip the "Show Time Written Off?" switch to see entries you wrote off that you may want to adjust.
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Option 2: Write Off Time While Invoicing
This allows you to make decisions on a case-by-case basis during billing.
- Go to Billing > Prepare Invoices.
- Start a new draft invoice.
- On the Hourly tab, review the available time entries.
- Select the option in the "Write Off" column to fully write-off a time entry
- Use the "Show Time Written Off?" switch to show any time entries you've written off that you may want to change back to Bill Now or Bill Later.
- To partially bill a time entry, select "Bill Now" and adjust the number of hours shown; any remaining hours will be automatically written off once the invoice is finalized.
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Invoicing Impact
Your choice to show or hide write-offs on invoices depends on how you prefer to communicate with your clients.
- Most firms choose to show only the value that is billed, keeping the invoice clean and simple.
- If a client requires or prefers more transparency, you can configure your invoice template to:
- Show the total hours logged
- Show the actual amount billed
- Clearly display the amount written off
This flexibility allows you to meet different client expectations without changing your internal billing workflows.
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Reporting Impact
Factor provides both detailed and summarized reporting on written-off time. You can view:
- Individual time entries that were explicitly written off from hourly phases.
- Summarized reports by project, phase, or team member showing the total number of hours and dollar value of written-off time.
This helps you track project profitability, identify inefficiencies, and understand where time is being spent but not billed.