Keep Your Expenses Organised
Stop scrolling through long lists of transactions. Categories let you group expenses by type, so you can instantly see where your money is going and spot spending patterns at a glance. Whether you're tracking office supplies, travel costs, or marketing spend, categories make your financial data meaningful.
Why Categories Matter
Expense categories do more than just organise your transactions. They help you:
- Understand spending patterns – See which areas of your business consume the most resources
- Prepare for tax time – Group deductible expenses together for easier reporting
- Create accurate reports – Your Profit & Loss statement breaks down expenses by category
- Set budgets – Track spending against budgets for specific expense types
- Identify cost-saving opportunities – Spot unusually high spending in specific areas
Taking a moment to assign the right category when recording expenses pays off when you need to analyse your spending or prepare financial reports.
System vs Custom Categories
Officaid provides two types of expense categories:
- System categories – Pre-built categories that cover common business expenses like Advertising, Bank Fees, Office Expenses, and Hardware / Software. These cannot be edited or deleted, ensuring consistency in financial reporting. They're marked with a lock icon in the list.
- Custom categories – Categories you create to match your specific business needs. You have full control over these and can edit or delete them at any time using the pencil and trash icons.
Most businesses find the system categories cover their main needs, but custom categories let you get more specific. For example, you might create custom categories for specific projects, departments, or expense types unique to your industry.
Viewing Your Categories
To see all your expense categories and how much you've spent in each:
- 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses from the main menu.
- 2 Click the Categories tab.
- 3 Use the year filter or select Custom to view a specific date range.
The categories list displays:
- Category Name – The name of the category
- Category Type – Whether it's a System or Custom category
- Total Amount – How much you've spent in this category for the selected period
- Actions – Edit or delete icons for custom categories (lock icon for system categories)
Click the Total Amount column header to sort categories by spending, helping you quickly identify your biggest expense areas.
Adding a Custom Category
When the system categories don't fit your needs, create a custom one:
- 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses and open the Categories tab.
- 2 Click + Add New Category in the top right corner.
- 3 Enter a Category Name that clearly describes the expense type.
- 4 Add optional Remarks to describe when this category should be used.
- 5 Click Add Category to save.
Your new category will appear in the list and be available in the category dropdown when recording expenses and payables.
Viewing Category Details
Click on any category name to see detailed spending information. The category detail page has two tabs:
Overview Tab
The Overview tab provides a summary of spending within the category:
- Total – The combined amount of all expenses and paid payables in this category for the selected period
- Overdue – The total amount of unpaid payables that are past their due date
- Purchase Trend – A chart showing your monthly spending in this category over time
The Purchase Trend chart helps you spot patterns like seasonal spikes, gradual increases, or unusual months that might need investigation.
Spending Tab
The Spending tab lists every expense and payable assigned to this category. Each row shows:
- Date – When the expense occurred or payable was created
- Vendor – Who you paid or owe
- Status – Paid, Due, or Overdue
- Amount – The transaction amount
- Currency – The currency of the transaction
Use the filter buttons (Overdue, Due, Paid) to narrow the list by status, or adjust the date range to find specific transactions. Click on any row to open the full details of that expense or payable.
Editing a Custom Category
To update a custom category's name or remarks:
- 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses and open the Categories tab.
- 2 Find the category you want to edit.
- 3 Click the pencil icon in the Actions column.
- 4 Make your changes.
- 5 Click Update Category to save.
Renaming a category automatically updates all expenses and payables linked to it. You don't need to edit individual transactions.
Deleting a Custom Category
To remove a custom category you no longer need:
- 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses and open the Categories tab.
- 2 Find the category you want to delete.
- 3 Click the trash icon in the Actions column.
- 4 Confirm the deletion when prompted.
Best Practices for Categories
Here are some tips for getting the most out of expense categories:
- Be consistent – Always use the same category for the same type of expense. Inconsistency makes reports unreliable.
- Keep it simple – A manageable number of categories (10-20) is easier to work with than dozens of highly specific ones.
- Think about reporting – Choose categories that align with how you want to analyse spending and what your accountant needs.
- Use remarks – Add descriptions to custom categories so everyone on your team knows when to use each one.
- Review periodically – Check your categories every few months. Delete unused ones and add new ones as your business evolves.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. System categories are locked and cannot be modified or removed. They ensure consistency in financial reporting across all Officaid accounts and align with standard accounting practices. If a system category doesn't fit your needs exactly, create a custom category with a more specific name.
The expenses remain in your account but will no longer be grouped under that category. They'll appear without a category assignment in your records. You should reassign them to another category to keep your reports organised and accurate.
There's no automatic merge feature. To combine categories, you'll need to edit each expense individually and change its category to the one you want to keep. Once all expenses are moved, delete the unused category. For categories with many transactions, consider using the Spending tab to identify all affected expenses.
The overdue amount reflects unpaid payables within that category where the due date has passed. These are bills you owe but haven't paid yet. Review the Spending tab filtered by Overdue to see which bills need attention and prioritise payment.
No. Each expense or payable can only have one category. If an expense spans multiple categories (like a bill covering both office supplies and software), you'll need to either choose the primary category or split it into separate expense entries.
Yes. Categories determine how expenses are grouped in your Profit & Loss statement and other financial reports. Properly categorised expenses give you accurate insights into where your money is going. Uncategorised or miscategorised expenses can make your reports misleading.
Anyone with access to the Expenses module can create custom categories. To maintain consistency, consider agreeing on a category structure with your team and documenting when each category should be used in the remarks field.
What's Next?
Now that you understand how to organise expenses by category, explore these related guides:
- How to Record an Expense – Add new expenses and assign them to categories
- Creating a Payable – Track bills and categorise them for reporting
- Downloading and Exporting Expense Data – Export your categorised data for analysis or sharing