KDesk Costs

This article explains how Costs work in KDesk, including the cost catalog, ticket cost lines, automation rules, permissions, and what contacts can see in the customer portal.

What the Costs Module Does

The Costs module lets a workspace track ticket-linked spend and operational charges. KDesk supports two layers: a reusable cost catalog for defaults, and ticket cost lines that record the actual cost snapshot attached to a specific ticket.

The Two Main Cost Records

Record type	What it does
Cost catalog item	Stores reusable defaults such as item name, description, quantity, unit cost, currency, default cost bearer, and active status.
Ticket cost line	Stores the snapshot actually applied to a ticket, including quantity, unit cost, total, currency, description, bearer, source, and void state.

This distinction matters because catalog items are templates, while ticket cost lines are the audit trail of what was recorded against real work.

Cost Catalog

The Costs page gives staff a catalog tab where they can create and maintain reusable cost items. Each catalog item can define a standard name, description, quantity, unit cost, currency, and a default cost bearer such as a department, client bucket, or internal owner.

Catalog items can also be marked inactive. Inactive items stay in the data model for historical continuity, but teams can choose whether to include them in the main catalog list.

Ticket Cost Lines

Each ticket can hold one or more cost lines. A cost line stores the item name and description snapshot, quantity, unit cost, total cost, currency, and optional cost bearer that applied at the time the line was created.

Teams can add a cost line manually from the ticket cost panel, either as a custom line or by starting from a catalog item and accepting or overriding the defaults.

Manual Cost Entry on Tickets

When a staff member adds a cost manually, they can choose a catalog item or enter a custom line. KDesk then stores the ticket-linked snapshot rather than reading live values from the catalog later. That means older ticket costs do not silently change if a catalog item is edited afterward.

Cost Automation

KDesk also supports cost automation. Ticket templates, form templates, and channel inbox ticket builders can attach catalog-based cost definitions so that cost lines are created or prepared as part of the workflow instead of being entered by hand every time.

These automation definitions can keep the catalog defaults or override values such as quantity, unit cost, currency, cost bearer, description, and whether the line should be treated as an adjustment. The goal is to make repeatable work generate consistent cost tracking.

Voiding Costs Instead of Deleting Them

Ticket cost lines are treated as immutable records. If a line should no longer count toward active spend, KDesk voids it instead of deleting it. Voiding preserves the audit trail, keeps the historical record visible, and removes the line from active tracked totals.

A voided line can also include a reason, which helps explain why the original entry no longer applies.

Permissions for Staff

Permission	What it allows
Modify ticket costs	Create, edit, and void ticket cost lines. This permission also allows managing the workspace cost catalog.
View all costs	Open the main Costs page and review workspace-wide ticket cost reporting without necessarily changing the records.
Account owner	Full access to the cost catalog and ticket cost views.

In the staff app, the Costs navigation entry only appears for members who are account owners, can modify costs, or can view all costs.

Customer Portal Cost Visibility

Costs are primarily a staff feature, but KDesk can expose ticket costs to contacts in the portal when all of the following are true:

• The workspace enables Contacts can view ticket costs when assigned.
• The contact record also allows Can view ticket costs when assigned.
• The contact is attached to the ticket.

When those conditions are met, the contact sees a Costs tab on the ticket and can review the ticket’s cost lines and tracked total. Contacts do not manage catalog items and do not create, edit, or void ticket costs from the portal.

What the Costs Page Shows

The staff Costs page has two primary views:

• Cost catalog: manage reusable default items for repeated operational charges.
• Recent costs: review active ticket cost lines across the workspace.

The page also shows summary counts for catalog items, active items, and active cost lines so teams can quickly gauge how much structured cost data is in use.

Recommended Internal Explanation

If you are documenting this for your team, the clearest explanation is: The cost catalog defines reusable defaults, while ticket cost lines are the real spend records attached to work. Costs can be added manually or injected through templates and automation, and incorrect lines are voided rather than deleted so the audit history stays intact.