Creating / Recording Expenses
Easily track your organization's spending by recording expenses in the register.
From the left menu, go to
Accounting > New Expense
Selecting a Register
At the top of the page, choose which register this expense belongs to. Every expense must be recorded in a register. Whether it is a debit card purchase, check or transfer from a bank account (register) or a charge on a credit card (register), every expense needs a home.
Below the Account Register dropdown, you will also see the current balance for the selected register.
Transaction Details
Fill in the transaction details for this expense. Some fields are required, some are optional.
- Date: (required) The date the transaction occurred
- Fund: (required) Choose which fund (ledger) this transaction belongs to
- Payee: (optional) Choose an individual or vendor that this expense was paid to
- Check #: (optional) If paid by check, you may enter the check number
- Payment Method: (optional) You may optionally track how this expense was paid
- Entry Memo: (recommended) Type a description of this transaction
- Total Expense (target): (optional) The actual amount recorded will be calculated based on the line items. However, if you know the total expense already (such as a single receipt being split into multiple accounts), you may enter the total here. This will not allow you to save the transaction unless all line items equal this total.
Attach a File
You may optionally attach a file (such as receipt or statement) to this expense for your records.
Line Items
Each expense may have an unlimited number of line items. This will be recorded as separate amounts for the accounts, funds or tags that they are linked to, but grouped as a single expense on your register and other reports.
For each line item you may enter:
- Memo: (optional) You may enter a separate description for each line item
- Account: (required) Select an account for this expense. In most cases, you will select an Expense Account. However, if you recording a refund, you may wish to select the income account that the original transaction was linked to. Or, if you are recording a payment to a credit card account or transfer to another asset account (such as the purchase of a long-term asset), you may select a Liability account or an Asset account.
- Tags: (optional) You may choose an unlimited number of tags, such as Departments, Divisions, Projects, Purposes, Fund Raisers or Events for internal tracking of expenses. You may also select a custom tax classification from the tags input.
- Amount: (required) Enter the amount of this line item.