--- title: Write-off Report keywords: write-off, write-offs, written off hours, non-billable hours, hours written off, billing gaps, unbilled hours, time write-off, lost revenue, report, write-off percentage, time resolution, period selector summary: Explains the Write-off report in Manor, which shows hours logged on billable projects that were never billed. Covers the write-off hours and write-off percentage metrics, the calculation criteria, the period selector and Days/Weeks/Months/Years time resolution, and the breakdowns by period, client, project, and employee. url: /report/write-off --- # Write-off Report The **Write-off** report shows hours that were logged on billable projects but never billed to the client. Written-off hours are working capacity that was spent without being converted into billable value — for example because work exceeded a fixed fee, because an activity is excluded from billing, or because a billable was written down before invoicing. ## Accessing the Write-off Report 1. Click **Reports** in the main navigation. 2. Select **Write-off** from the **Reports** submenu, or click **Write-off** on the [Reporting](reporting.md) overview page. 3. The report opens for the current calendar year. Use the period selector next to the page title to change the period. ![Write-off report showing the summary cards, the chart by period, and the breakdown tables](../screenshots/write-off-report-page.png) The Write-off report has no extra filter dropdowns — the period selector is the only control for narrowing the data. To look at write-offs for one client or project, read the corresponding breakdown table instead. ## Key Metrics Two cards at the top of the report summarise the selected period. Each card title has an info icon with the same explanation: - **Write-off hours** — The difference between the sum of all logged hours and the sum of all billable hours, for work in projects with billing set to **enabled** and activities that are **not excluded from billing**. - **Write-off percentage** — The same difference expressed as a percentage of the logged hours in those projects. ## Calculation & Criteria The headline write-off hours figure is calculated as: > **Write-off hours = total logged hours − total billable hours** The result never drops below zero, and only these entries are counted: - Work in projects where **billing is set to Enabled**. - Activities that are **not excluded from billing**. The breakdown cards are broader than the two headline cards: the chart and the tables include work in projects with **any** billing setting, so a project with billing disabled still appears there if its logged hours were not billed. ## Period and Time Resolution By default, the report covers the current calendar year (for example `01.01.2026 - 31.12.2026`). The selected period is shown as a button with a calendar icon next to the **Reports / Write-off** title. It displays a short label — a year such as `2026`, a month such as `October`, **All time**, or a date range such as `01.01.2024 - 31.12.2026` when a custom range is applied. Click the button to open the period picker: - **Quick presets** — **All time**, **Past**, **Future**, plus relative presets such as **Today**, **Yesterday**, **Tomorrow**, the current and neighbouring months, **Last 3 months**, **Last 12 months**, **Next 3 months**, **Next 12 months**, and the previous, current, and next years (for example 2024–2027). - **Custom range** — Type a start and end date in the two date fields, then click **Apply**. Click **Cancel** to close the picker without changing the period. ![Period picker with the quick presets, the two date fields, and Apply](../screenshots/write-off-report-period-selector.png) Below the **Write-off hours by period** chart, use the **Days**, **Weeks**, **Months**, and **Years** links to change how the chart groups the data. **Months** is selected by default. Each bar covers one increment and its value is printed above the bar, and the total for the whole period is shown as **Total:** under the chart. ## Report Breakdowns The report organises write-offs into four breakdowns. ### 1. Write-off hours by period A chart showing write-off hours over time, with a bar for each day, week, month, or year in the selected period depending on the time resolution. A **Total:** line under the chart shows the write-off hours for the whole period. Use this card to see when write-offs happen — for instance a spike in a month where a project ran over budget. ### 2. Write-offs by client Ranks clients by write-off hours. Use it to spot clients whose work is regularly written off, and to review whether the agreement, retainer, or scope needs revisiting. ### 3. Write-offs by project Breaks write-off hours down by individual project. Use it to find projects with a lot of unbillable time — for example fixed-fee or capped projects that ran past their estimate — and to improve estimates for similar work. ### 4. Write-offs by employee Breaks write-off hours down by team member. Use it to understand who spends time on work that cannot be billed, and to rebalance workload or provide training where needed. When there is nothing to show for the selected period, the breakdown cards display **No data**. ## Interpreting Write-off Data - A **low** write-off percentage means most logged effort was billed, and scope control is working. - A **rising** write-off percentage is worth investigating: compare the same client, project, or employee across periods to see whether the increase comes from a few projects or is spread out. - A **high** write-off percentage usually points to a systematic cause. Common ones are work that exceeds a project budget without a change order, activities that should be excluded from billing being logged as billable activities, rework, or rates and fixed fees that no longer match the effort involved. - Compare the figure with the [Hours](hours.md) and [Billable ratio](billable-ratio.md) reports for the same period to see whether more time was logged, less was billed, or both. ## Best Practices - **Review the report before closing a period.** Check write-offs while the work is still fresh, so you know which hours were written down deliberately and which were not billed by mistake. - **Inspect by project before invoicing.** Compare each project's write-off hours with its budget to decide whether the hours should be billed, written off, or covered by a change order. - **Keep activity settings accurate.** If work is meant to be unbilled internal time, log it on an activity that is excluded from billing so it does not appear as a write-off on a billable project. - **Set the period first.** Use the period selector to pick a year or range before you read the numbers, so you always know what the report covers. ## Related Documentation - [Reporting](reporting.md) — Overview of Manor's reporting suite and how to set periods and filters - [Billable ratio](billable-ratio.md) — What percentage of logged hours is billable - [Hours](hours.md) — All logged hours broken down by project, client, employee, rate, and label - [Revenue](revenue.md) — Revenue generated from billable work - [Average rate](average-rate.md) — The average effective hourly rate