A write-off is real money leaving the business. When the approval is vague ("sure, go ahead"), the person doing the work and the person approving it often walk away with different numbers in their heads. The first time anyone notices is when the write-off shows up in a report, and by then it is too late to have a say.
The decision to write off time may well be correct. The problem is the communication: nobody else had the chance to confirm the amount, challenge the reason or plan around it.
Before any time is written off, agree on and record:
A general reply like "yes, that's fine" is not an approval of 5 hours. If the request is vague, ask a clarifying question instead of assuming. See Do you get work approved before you do it?
Approval for an activity is not approval for an amount. Agreeing that someone can help with a task does not mean agreeing to write off every hour it takes.
Figure: Approving an activity is not approving an amount
Write-offs affect more than the two people in the conversation. Include the people who own the client relationship, the project budget and the reporting, so nobody finds out later by surprise. See Do you CC relevant people and reply to all as a standard procedure?
If a request comes in without the right people on it, add them and ask for the specifics.
Yep, that's fine.
❌ Figure: Bad example - A vague approval that can be read as any number of hours, with nobody else in the loop
Thanks for the heads up. Can you be specific on how many hours you plan to write off and why? I have added the Account Manager to this thread so we are all on the same page.
✅ Figure: Good example - Ask for specifics and include the relevant people
Still record all the work you do for a client, even if it is to be written off, and note the agreed amount and reason in the entry. That way the write-off is visible and traceable in reports.
Small goodwill write-offs follow their own guidance: Do you sometimes write off small amounts of time to keep clients happy?