Creating an Expense
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Note: Make sure the Finance app is enabled in your account.
Contents
Steps to create an expense
- From the main menu, click Finance.
- Click Expenses.
- Click the + New Expense button.
- Enter the expense details as described in the next section, then save.
Expense details
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Amount (required) | The expense amount (greater than zero), with the currency chosen next to it. When the expense is split across several accounts, it’s calculated automatically from the total of the lines. |
| Category | Choose a category, or type a new one and it’s added automatically. |
| Expense Number (required) | An automatic serial number. You can control its format from the serial numbering settings. |
| Treasury | The treasury or bank the amount was paid from (it appears when you have more than one treasury; the main treasury by default). |
| Date (required) | The expense date. It can’t be in a closed period. |
| Recurring | To repeat the expense periodically, with the Frequency (weekly, every two weeks, monthly…) and an end date. |
| Description | The expense details. They also appear in the journal entry description. |
| Attachments | A photo or file of the receipt, by drag and drop or by choosing it from your device (pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, csv, jpg, png, gif, zip, jpeg). |
| Supplier | The supplier linked to the expense, from the list (by name, email or phone), or add a New Supplier. The supplier’s name and tax number appear next to the expense in the tax report. |
| Journal Account | The account the expense is charged to. If you leave it on Auto, the category’s account or Other Expenses is used. Choosing it may be required, depending on the finance settings. |
| Unit | The rental unit linked to the expense (with the rental app). |
| Assign Cost Centers | Links all or part of the expense to cost centers (it appears when you have cost centers). |
| More Options | Tax1 and Tax2 (tax type and amount), Vendor (the recipient’s name), and Client (unless hidden in the settings). |
| Custom fields | Any custom fields you defined for expenses. |
Where do I write the recipient’s name?
Write the name of the person or party who received the amount in the Vendor field inside More Options (it appears empty with the word Vendor):
- In the expense form, click More Options.
- In Vendor, type the recipient’s name, or choose it from names you’ve used before.
- Save the expense.
Advantages of using the Vendor field for the recipient’s name:
- The name appears in the expenses list next to the category.
- You can search by it with the Vendor filter, and get the expenses report grouped by vendor.
- It’s printed on the expense with the {%vendor%} variable.
| Recipient | Best field |
|---|---|
| A person or party that isn’t registered (a worker, shop, driver…) | Vendor |
| A supplier registered in the system | Supplier (you can also write their name in Vendor) |
| An employee whose expenses are charged to their custody | Journal Account (the employee’s custody account) |
| Any extra details | Description |
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Note: You can also write the recipient’s name in the Description, but the Vendor field is better because it allows searching and reports.
Splitting the expense across several accounts
- Click Multiple Accounts next to Journal Account.
- The Accounts table appears with these columns: journal account, description, amount, taxes and cost center.
- Enter the details of each line (the journal account and amount are required), choose the tax if any, and click Add for a new line.
- The subtotal, taxes and total appear below the table, and the Amount updates automatically.
- To delete a line, click the trash icon. To go back to a single account, click Single Account.
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Note: In multiple accounts mode, the single Journal Account field and Tax1 in More Options aren’t available, because they’re set for each line.
Saving the expense
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Save as Draft | Saves the expense without issuing it. No journal entry is created, it gets a temporary number, and you can issue it later with Issue Expense. |
| Cancel | Discards your changes and returns to the expenses list. |
| Save | Issues the expense directly. From the arrow next to it: Save & Print, or Save & Add New. |
Printing the expense and the recipient’s signature
- On the expense page, click Voucher and choose the print template, or use Save & Print.
- The recipient can sign the printed expense by hand.
What appears in the “Pay to” line?
In the expense print template, the Pay to line doesn’t show the recipient’s name written in Vendor. It shows, in order:
- The name of the Journal Account chosen in the expense (such as “Other Expenses” or “Rent”).
- The supplier’s name (if any).
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Important: So the “Pay to” line may show the expense account’s name, not the name of the person who received the amount. To show the recipient’s name in this line, edit the print template as in the following steps, and replace the variable {%client_bussiness_name_or_journal_name%} with the variable {%vendor%} (the vendor/recipient name).
To add the recipient’s name and a signature line to the print template:
- Open Templates › Printable Templates › Expenses.
- Edit the template you use, or clone it.
- In the Pay to line, replace the existing variable with {%vendor%}, or add a line such as: “Recipient’s name: {%vendor%}”, and below it: “Recipient’s signature: ………”, and “Amount in words: {%spelled_amount%}”.
- Save, and set it as the default template if you want.
The journal entry
When you save the expense (not as a draft), an automatic journal entry is created with the description “Expense #(expense number)” and the expense description:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| The journal account (or the category’s account / Other Expenses) | 1,000.00 | |
| The treasury | 1,000.00 | |
| Total | 1,000.00 | 1,000.00 |
If the expense has tax, the tax amount is recorded as a debit in the purchases tax account.