Ultimate Guide to Project Management

Understand how consulting firms and professional services teams discuss their business. This guide breaks down industry terms and jargon into understandable language.

A

Accounts Receivable

(A/R or AR)

Money that is owed to your business but not yet paid. For example, invoices you have sent a client for work and are waiting to receive payment for. This money is legally owed to your company, so it is considered an asset on your balance sheet.

Actuals

(Actual Fees, Actual Costs)

Actuals are the fees and costs that result from time that has been charged or scheduled to projects extended by a billing rate. This is often in relation to “estimated” or “scheduled” fees/costs, which are forecasts.

B

Billable and Non-Billable Time

Billable time is work, usually in the form of hours, incurred against a project that will be billed to a client. Billable time is often synonymous with hours billed to client, in other words. Non-billable time accounts for work that cannot be converted to project fees. This includes time a company wishes to track, such as business development activities, but does not yield direct revenue.