Overhead categories are used to track employee time that is not chargeable or billable to a specific client project, often referred to as non-billable or overhead time. Common categories include paid time off (PTO), holidays, general and administrative work, business development, and professional development.

In Squava, you define these categories for your employees to use in their timesheets to track overhead efforts within your firm, rather than setting up a separate non-billable project, as many other systems do. These categories should reflect how you want your staff to account for overhead or non-chargeable time.

Tracking overhead time across your staff is important for understanding key metrics such as staff utilization, which in turn informs financial metrics like your overhead rate. Setting up and using these categories helps Squava better represent your firm’s performance.

Your staff can also assign reimbursable expenses to overhead categories, either in their timesheet or expense report. This ensures these expenses are properly recorded in your company’s financial ledger or Chart of Accounts.
 

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Access Overhead Categories

   To manage overhead categories, navigate to the Menu → Company → Overhead Categories.
    

2. Create a New Overhead Category

   
   
   Use overhead categories to define how indirect and non-chargeable time is tracked within your firm.

   Some overhead categories may already be predefined in the system. These can be used as-is or edited to better match how your firm tracks overhead time. The following categories have already been created for you: General & Administrative, Holidays, and Paid Time Off.

   Steps:

   1. Click New Category
   2. Enter a Category Name
   3. Assign the appropriate Account
   4. Configure additional fields as needed
   5. Click Save

   Note: Use clear and consistent naming so categories are easy to identify in reports. Ensure the correct account is selected to maintain accurate financial records

    

3. Edit an Existing Overhead Category

   
   
   Existing categories can be updated if changes are needed, such as renaming or adjusting account assignments.

   Steps:

   1. Select the category from the list
   2. Click the Edit icon
   3. Update the necessary fields
   4. Click Save
       

4. Deactivate an existing Overhead Category

   
   
   Categories that are no longer needed can be deactivated. Select the category and click Deactivate Selected

    

SUCCESS!!!

Now that you’ve defined your Overhead Categories, you should define your User Permissions.

See the Help Article: Define User Permissions