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Bills & expenses

Finances5 min read

Bills & expenses captures supplier invoices, site receipts and employee reimbursements without forcing a purchase-order process on small teams.

Choose the record type

TypeUse it forPurchase order required?
Supplier billA supplier or subcontractor invoiceNo; link one when you use procurement
Everyday expense / receiptCard purchases, fuel, small tools and site receiptsNo
Employee reimbursementSomething a team member paid personallyNo; a claimant is required

Supplier bills need the supplier name, supplier invoice number and attached invoice before submission. Existing records are classified automatically when the feature is introduced.

Receipt inbox vs ledger

On Finances → Bills & expenses you will see two areas:

TabPurpose
Receipt inboxDrop photos or PDFs; files queue for review (and optional AI extraction)
Bills & expensesDraft, submitted, approved and paid records with type, supplier, amount and job link

Use the inbox for “stuff from site or email”; use the ledger for reporting and accounting handoff.

Record an expense

Upload to the inbox

Drag a receipt onto the inbox or use upload. The file is stored against the job and enters the processing queue.

Review suggestions

When AI features are enabled for the workspace, SiteHut may suggest supplier, date, and amount. Open the file from the queue, correct any fields, and confirm.

Save to the ledger

Complete the expense with the right cost type and description so job margin and workspace reports stay accurate.

Accounting handoff (optional)

Approved records can sync to Xero or QuickBooks. SiteHut sends the supplier invoice number as the accounting reference; statutory accounting remains in your accounting platform.

Quick capture from the field

From My Work, use Expense in quick actions when your role allows—it opens the flow in context of your current job.

Good practice

  • Upload receipts the same day where possible—queues are easier to clear than month-end piles.
  • Always link expenses to the correct job before approving.
  • For subcontractor invoices, use consistent supplier names so Xero contact matching stays clean.

Purchase-order matching

Linking a supplier bill to a PO enables three-way matching against ordered and received quantities. A PO remains optional.

  • Price tolerance defaults to the greater of 1% or one workspace-currency unit per line.
  • Quantity tolerance defaults to 0% above received quantity.
  • Tax-rate differences always need review.
  • Workspace admins can change price and quantity tolerances under Settings → Workflows.
  • Overrides require an eligible approver, a reason, actor and time. If the bill changes, the previous override no longer applies.

Creators can self-approve only when no other eligible approver exists on the job. Automatic approval never clears match exceptions or missing supplier-bill evidence.

UK controls

For UK workspaces, supplier bills support a CIS labour/material split, calculated CIS deduction, domestic reverse charge and retention. CIS materials cannot exceed the bill net amount. Confirm the final statutory treatment in Xero or with your accountant.

US controls

For US workspaces, bills support retainage, use-tax/tax-exempt treatment and lien-waiver payment gates.

  • Supplier bills on jobs that require lien waivers create a waiver requirement automatically.
  • Waivers can be conditional/unconditional and partial/final.
  • Use Request waiver to email the subcontractor a secure upload link.
  • Marking a waiver received—or waiving the requirement—records actor and time; waiving requires a reason.
  • Payment recording is blocked until a required waiver is received or formally waived.

The Directory's 1099 export totals recorded payments by tax year for eligible vendors and flags W-9/TIN-readiness items for review.

Cost-control figures

Job-cost and finance summaries distinguish committed PO value, pending supplier bills, approved actuals, remaining commitment and forecast variance. Approval moves a linked bill from commitment into actual cost; rejection or PO cancellation removes it from the appropriate pending or commitment figure.