Projects, Milestone Billing & Field Expense Capture

Small-to-medium businesses in contracting, consulting, engineering, and field services require project accounting that bridges site operations with the financial ledger. BIZA connects project execution directly to accounting: track project phases, bill against contractual milestones, log field labor hours, and capture site expenses on the go.

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1. Project Setup & Cost Center Allocation

Every project in BIZA acts as an analytical cost center. When a project is initialized:

• Contract Value & Currency: Set the total contract sum in SAR, AED, USD, or other supported currencies.
• Cost Center Linkage: The project is assigned a dedicated analytical cost center. Every invoice, purchase entry, expense, or timesheet tagged with the project updates its actual cost and margin in real time.
• Customer Linkage: Directly tied to the client's master record for consolidated receivables and Statements of Account (SOA).

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2. Milestone Billing Schedules

Unlike simple recurring monthly retainers, contracting and engineering projects are billed when contractual deliverables or percentage-of-completion thresholds are verified.

How Milestone Billing Works

1. Define Milestones: Set up contractual stages with target dates, completion percentages, or fixed currency amounts (e.g., Phase 1: Mobilization & Design (20%), Phase 2: Structural Framing (40%), Phase 3: Final Handover (40%)).
2. Progress Verification: Mark a milestone as achieved. Attach site inspection certificates, sign-off memos, or client approval documents.
3. One-Click Invoice Generation: Click Bill Milestone. BIZA automatically generates a draft Tax Invoice pre-populated with:
   • Client details and VAT registration numbers (ZATCA/FTA compliant).
   • Exact contractual milestone description and line item amount.
   • Applicable VAT rates (15% Saudi Arabia, 5% UAE).
   • Retention money deductions (if applicable, held in a dedicated balance sheet retention account).
4. Approval & Posting: Once reviewed, approving the invoice posts to Accounts Receivable and generates the compliant e-invoice XML and QR code.

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3. Field Expenses & Site Receipt Capture

Site supervisors, project managers, and field technicians frequently incur local expenses: emergency hardware, fuel, materials, transport, and equipment rentals.

Multi-Channel Ingestion

BIZA eliminates lost paper receipts and manual spreadsheet logs through dual-channel capture:

• Mobile / Web Photo Upload: Take a photo of the cash receipt or supplier voucher directly from a mobile device or desktop.
• Email Ingestion: Forward receipts, invoices, or delivery slips directly to your workspace email (e.g., [email protected]).

AI Extraction & Cost Tagging

1. Automated Parsing: AI-powered OCR extracts supplier name, date, currency, line items, VAT breakdown, and total.
2. Project Tagging: Select the project cost center and expense category (e.g., Site Materials, Equipment Rental, Subcontractor Labor).
3. Draft Review: BIZA creates an Expense Draft. The draft displays the original scanned receipt alongside extracted fields and confidence indicators.
4. Approval Gate: The finance team or project director reviews and approves the expense. Upon approval:
   • Debits the Project Cost account in the General Ledger.
   • Credits Cash, Petty Cash, or Accounts Payable.
   • Updates the project's actual vs. budgeted cost analysis.

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4. Labor Hours & Timesheet Tracking

Accurate project margin calculation requires factoring in employee and contractor time.

• Weekly / Daily Timesheets: Employees or supervisors record hours worked by project and task.
• Internal Cost Rates: Each employee profile can carry a private internal labor cost rate (standard hourly rate + overhead).
• Cost vs. Billable Hours: Track non-billable project overhead alongside billable hours for time-and-materials contracts.
• Direct Payroll Linkage: Approved project hours feed into the monthly WPS payroll run.

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5. Real-Time Project P&L & Margins

Because all project transactions (milestone invoices, material purchases, field expenses, and labor costs) share the same underlying General Ledger:

• Earned Value & Profitability: Instantly view revenue recognized vs. total actual costs incurred.
• Budget vs. Actual Variance: Track material cost overruns or labor slippage before project completion.
• Work in Progress (WIP): Accurately account for unbilled deliverables at period close.