This system map is part of the time write-off review guide, which covers what to inventory before a platform change. This page does a narrower job for an accountant advising a professional services firm: it names each system, the record it holds, the key that should carry across, and who owns it, then joins one Illustrative case end to end.
Five systems that each hold part of the decision
A write-off decision is rarely made in one tool. In a typical consultancy, engineering practice or agency, the pieces sit in five places:
- Time tracker. The timekeeper's entry: hours, date, task and the free-text narrative. The narrative is often the only clue that the work served a second project. The time entry narratives page explains why that text carries so much.
- Project accounting in the ERP. The project, phase and budget the hours were charged to, plus the fee arrangement that decides whether extra hours can be billed at all.
- Adjustment or correction journal. The record of change. In Microsoft's project accounting, an adjustment marks the original transaction Adjusted, posts a reversal and posts a new transaction with the change; only statuses the firm has enabled can be adjusted. A correction journal for approved time does the same for actuals.
- Review notes. The reviewer's reason and sign-off. Sometimes a reason code on the adjustment; often a comment on the pre-bill worksheet, or a thread in email.
- Billing. The invoice that carried the replacement lines, and any credit note. Microsoft documents that an entry already invoiced, or sitting on a draft invoice, cannot be recalled unless a corrective invoice issues a full credit on the original, so late write-offs leave a credit as well as a journal line.
System, record, linking key and owner
The table is the map itself. Fill it from the firm's answers; write "unknown" where nobody can confirm.
| System | Record | Linking key it should carry | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time tracker | Time entry and narrative | Entry ID, timekeeper, original project and task code | Practice operations head |
| ERP project accounting | Project, phase, budget, fee type | Project code | Controller |
| Adjustment journal | Reversal line | Original entry ID, adjustment ID | Billing manager |
| Adjustment journal | Replacement lines | Adjustment ID, new project code | Billing manager |
| Review notes | Reason and reviewer sign-off | Adjustment ID or entry ID, reviewer, date | Engagement or project manager |
| Billing module | Invoice lines | Invoice number, replacement line IDs | Billing manager |
| Billing module | Credit note | Credit number, original invoice number | Controller |
| Client query or acceptance | Invoice number in the subject or body | Engagement partner |
Two rows decide whether the case can be rebuilt. The reversal line must keep the original entry ID, and the reason must be stored against the adjustment, not just in someone's inbox. A firm that kept both has a decision trail; a firm that kept neither has net hours.
One fully joined case (Illustrative)
Fictional data for a fictional 260-person engineering consultancy. Not a real firm, client or engagement.
A senior engineer logs 16 hours across a week to project P-2210, a hospital fit-out. The narrative reads "load calcs for level 3 risers, shared with clinic annex scope." At pre-bill review the project manager notices the clinic annex is a separate project, P-2231, under a different fee arrangement.
| Step | System | Record | Key that joins it to the next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Time tracker | Entry TE-48812, 16 hours on P-2210 | Entry ID TE-48812 |
| 2 | Time tracker | Narrative mentions the clinic annex | Entry ID TE-48812 |
| 3 | Adjustment journal | Reversal of 16 hours on P-2210, original marked Adjusted | Adjustment ID ADJ-0917 references TE-48812 |
| 4 | Adjustment journal | Replacement: 8 hours on P-2210, 6 hours on P-2231, 2 hours written off | Adjustment ID ADJ-0917 |
| 5 | Review notes | Reason code "served two projects", approved by the project manager | ADJ-0917, reviewer, date |
| 6 | Billing | Invoice INV-7731 carries 8 hours for P-2210; INV-7745 carries 6 hours for P-2231 | Invoice numbers to replacement lines |
| 7 | Annex client accepts INV-7745 without query | Invoice number INV-7745 |
The arithmetic holds: 8 plus 6 plus 2 is the original 16 hours. Every key is present, so the case reads from narrative to accepted invoice. Remove step 3's reference to TE-48812 and the case looks like three unrelated entries. Remove step 5 and nobody can say why 2 hours were absorbed.
Where the chain usually breaks
Entry to project. Some trackers let users or administrators change the project code on an entry in place. The move then leaves no reversal, and the original code is gone. Ask the billing manager whether a moved entry keeps a history.
Adjustment to reason. Reason codes are often optional. Ask what share of adjustments carry one, and where reviewers wrote reasons before a code list existed.
Billing to client outcome. Acceptance is usually implied by payment, while queries sit in email. If the engagement partner's mailbox was not kept, the outcome is only partly recorded.
Tool changes. A previous time tracker kept for audit may hold the early years under different entry IDs. Ask whether a mapping between old and new IDs was kept. A firm already reviewing utilization and realization often knows the answer, because realization reports depend on the same history. The workflow map template is a general format for recording these answers.
Qualification and what stays unknown
The map describes records and owners. It does not decide who may license them. Narratives and invoices name clients and describe their projects, so engagement letters matter, and why data rights matter explains why SourceX reviews rights first. The who can say yes decision tree covers whom to introduce, and the worked exception case follows a similar split decision by decision, with who acted at each step.
The introduced firm needs 50+ full-time employees at peak (contractors excluded), a documented operating history, rights to license and an authorized contact. Companies in the U.S., Canada and the EU qualify, as do companies in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, South Africa, Latin America, the UAE and Saudi Arabia when at least 90% of the data is in English. Partners sign the Channel Partner Agreement before submitting introductions; the first valid introduction within the 90-day window is credited when the company submits a verified application, and one partner is credited per company. Keep discovery at metadata level: never request entries, narratives or invoices. Buyer interest, the rights outcome, the de-identification required and any offer stay unknown until SourceX reviews the opportunity.
Next step
Refer a company. Earn up to $100,000. Default reward: 25% of Actual Supplier Payout, capped at $100,000 cumulatively per referred company. Eligibility and payment conditions apply, and a signed Schedule A or addendum can differ. A lead, meeting or signature alone does not trigger payment.
If the map shows a firm whose adjustments still point to their original entries and carry a reviewer's reason, register as a partner, check the firm against who qualifies, and read the program terms before introducing its leadership.