Record category, timing, payer and destination
| Category | Examples to investigate | Timing | Specialist destination |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct recurring cash | Meals, clothing or subscriptions caused by work | Weekly/monthly | Effective hourly wage inputs |
| Commute/location | Travel cash, parking and commute time | Per trip/annual | Commute Cost |
| Care/dependants | Childcare or other work-caused care | Recurring | Childcare and Work Cost Impact |
| Equipment/professional | Equipment, insurance, licences and training | One-time/recurring | Employee vs Contractor |
| Unpaid/non-billable time | Admin, meetings, leave or gaps | Hours/weeks | Time or gap specialist |
| Transition | Moving, setup or return costs | One-time | Payback specialist |
Route material items instead of forcing one worksheet formula
After classification, use the Effective hourly wage guide, use the Effective hourly wage calculator, and inspect its methodology for selected time and cost inputs.
For travel cash and time, use the Commute cost guide, use the Commute cost calculator, and inspect its methodology.
For care-related work value, use the Childcare and work cost impact guide, use the Childcare and work cost impact calculator, and inspect its methodology.
For engagement-specific costs, use the Employee vs contractor guide, use the Employee vs contractor calculator, and inspect its methodology.
For interruption between engagements, use the Contract gap cost guide, use the Contract gap cost calculator, and inspect its methodology.
Reconcile reimbursements and prevent duplicates
- Choose the decision period and baseline before collecting amounts.
- Record whether the worker, employer, client or household pays.
- Subtract reimbursements only from the matching cost.
- Do not count a specialist-tool output and its component costs again.
- Keep unpaid time in hours until a bounded model assigns a user-entered value.
- Retain qualitative burdens that should not be monetised.
For hybrid work, attach every cost to an attendance pattern
Use the remote, hybrid and office trade-off guide to compare attendance scenarios after the inputs have been classified.
- Record days at home and days on site for the same comparison period.
- Attach commute cash and time only to on-site trips.
- Separate worker-paid equipment, workspace and food costs from reimbursed amounts.
- Include care costs only when the work arrangement changes them.
- Keep recurring meeting time outside paid hours visible without counting it twice.
Frequently asked questions
- Does appearing on this checklist make a cost tax deductible?
- No. The checklist classifies decision inputs and does not determine tax or reimbursement eligibility.
- Should every work-related burden receive a money value?
- No. Record qualitative effects separately when monetisation would create false precision.
Sources checked
- Wages and working time statistics: concepts and definitions — ILOSTAT (accessed 2026-07-28): Conceptual context for keeping earnings, hours and time periods explicit; not a local legal rule.
- Resolution concerning the measurement of working time — International Labour Organization (accessed 2026-07-28): Conceptual working-time boundary only; no jurisdiction-specific entitlement is inferred.