Add Parts and Other Costs to a Meld

Coordinators add parts and other paid items to a Meld, by hand or from a receipt, so every purchase is on record before the Meld is verified and billed. A cost that isn't on the Meld can't be caught at verification or recovered on a bill. Costs are sometimes called expenditures.

Before You Start

Adding Costs to a Meld needs the right access, so check these details first.

• Who this is for: Coordinators. Technicians can add Costs the same way on the web.
• Applies to: All Property Meld customers.
• Access needed: The Agent role. Adding, editing and deleting Costs doesn’t need a specific permission.

How Costs Work

Costs capture the purchases that no Vendor invoice or work log records, which makes them the costs most easily missed. Costs are anything on a Meld that isn't a Vendor invoice or Technician labor: parts bought for the job, parts from your own inventory that you charge for, and other paid items such as a service warranty. Vendor invoices, plus Technician labor, plus Costs make up the full cost of a Meld, which is how TrueCost captures every cost so you can act on it. Technician labor comes from work logs (see Check In and Out of a Meld to Log Your Time), and Vendor invoices come from the invoice flow (see Managing Vendor Invoices).

Each cost has a Description, a Type (Parts, Tax or Other), a QTY and a Cost, and Property Meld calculates the Amount. The Costs tab on the Meld lists every cost with the initials of the person who added it, and Total adds them up. You can add Costs at any stage of a Meld, including before it's assigned, and change them after it's verified.

Record each purchase once. A receipt you upload is never also entered with Add Cost, or the Meld counts the purchase twice.

Decision Point: Upload a Receipt or Add a Cost by Hand

• Upload Receipt: fits any purchase with a receipt. Line items fill in from the receipt, and the receipt stays on the Meld as proof.
• Add Cost: fits a cost without a receipt, such as a part from your own inventory or a warranty.
• Considerations: a receipt keeps proof of the purchase with the cost. Use one method per purchase, never both.

Add a Cost by Hand

Adding a cost by hand records a purchase that has no receipt, so it still counts toward the full cost of a Meld. To add a cost:

1. Open the Meld and select the Costs tab.
2. Select Add Cost. A new row appears.
3. Enter a Description, choose a Type, and enter the QTY and Cost. Description is required. To add another row, select Add Cost again.
4. Select Save All Changes. To discard your changes, select Cancel All Changes.

Add Costs From a Receipt

Uploading a receipt fills in its line items for you and keeps the receipt with the cost, so you type less and verifiers can see the proof. To add Costs from a receipt:

1. On the Costs tab, select Upload Receipt, then choose an image (.png, .jpg or .jpeg) or a PDF. Add Receipt opens, and the line items fill in from the receipt.
2. Check Merchant/Store Name (required), Receipt Number and Date against the receipt, and correct them. Date fills in from the receipt's date. The scan can misread the store name or the date, so correct any field that doesn't match the receipt.
3. Check each line against the receipt. Edit any field, select the remove icon to delete a line, or select + Add Line Item to add one. If Total appears in red, with the receipt's total labeled Actual From the Receipt, the lines don't add up to the receipt. Fix the lines until they match.

Decision Point: Keep Each Line or Collapse Them

• Keep each line: the default. Each item stays on the Meld with its own type.
• Collapse Lines, then the line item total: replaces all lines with one Parts line named Costs, for the same total.
• Collapse Lines, then Enter Custom Amount: replaces all lines with one Parts line, for the amount you enter.
• Considerations: a collapsed line loses the item detail, and any Tax line becomes part of the Parts amount. A custom amount no longer matches the receipt's total.

4. Select Save Costs.

Fix or Remove a Cost

Fixing a wrong cost keeps the Meld's total accurate before anyone verifies or bills it. You can change Costs at any time, including after the Meld is verified.

• To change a cost added by hand: edit its fields on the Costs tab, then select Save All Changes.
• To change a receipt: select its card to open Edit Receipt, make your changes, then select Save Costs.

• To remove a cost added by hand: select its remove icon, then select Yes, Remove in Remove Cost Line Item.
• To remove a receipt: select the delete icon on its card or in Edit Receipt, then confirm. Deleting a receipt also deletes the cost lines created from it.

If Your Situation Is Different

Who adds Costs, and which labels they see, varies by company.

• If Technicians buy parts: Technicians can add Costs on the web with these steps, and usually add them from the Technician mobile app instead. See Add Costs and Receipts in the Technician Mobile App.
• If someone else reviews receipts: at some companies a Property Manager, or a Maintenance Supervisor, reviews receipts and Costs. The steps are the same for anyone with access.

What Happens Next

Saved Costs carry into verification and billing, so each later step sees what the Meld cost.

• What you see: Meld costs updated successfully appears, a dot marks the Costs tab, and Total includes the new cost. A saved receipt shows as a card with the store name, date, number of line items, receipt number and total.
• When the Meld is verified: the Verify Work Completed flyout shows Costs Added, with the number of receipts and their total. See Verify Completed Melds.
• When a bill is created: Costs fill in with your default cost markup, and each receipt is one bill line unless Itemize on Bill is turned on. See Bill a Verified Meld and Set Your Labor Rates and Cost Markup.
• If a receipt shows only its file name and Add Costs: its costs weren't saved, so they don't count toward Total. Select Add Costs to finish it, or the delete icon to remove it.
• If the scan fails: an error appears and Add Receipt opens without line items. Enter the lines by hand.
• If a cost doesn't save: check each row's Description. A row without one shows Required.

Limitations and Things to Know

Costs have these limits, each with what to do instead.

• You can't see Costs on the Meld's Details tab. The Current Costs card there shows estimates, the bill and invoices. Check the Costs tab instead.
• You can't undo removing a cost or a receipt. Check that it's the right one before you confirm.

Related Articles

These articles cover the next step, the full picture and where to get help.

• Verify Completed Melds
• Understanding TrueCost
• Contacting Customer Support