How to record an expense

Learn how to record an expense in just a few steps.

Every expense accounted for

Keep your business spending organised. Recording expenses in Officaid helps you track where your money goes and keeps your financial records accurate.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have:

At least one payment account added to your accounts
At least one vendor (or add one while creating the expense)
Your preferred tax rates set up (if applicable)

Need to add a payment account? → Setting Up Payment Accounts

Expenses vs Payables

An expense is something you've already paid for. A payable is a bill you still need to pay. Use expenses for completed transactions and payables for upcoming payments.

Need to track a bill you haven't paid yet? → Understanding Payables

Steps

1 Go to Finance → Expenses.
2 Click Add New Expense in the top right corner.
3 Fill in the expense details.
4 Upload your receipt (optional).
5 Click Add Expense to save.

Understanding the Fields

Here's what each field means:

Vendor/Payee — Who you paid (select from the list or click + Add New to create one)
Payment Account — The account the payment came from
Amount — How much you spent
Currency — The currency of the expense (if multi-currency is enabled)
Date — When the expense occurred
Taxable — Toggle on if tax applies, then select the Tax rate and enter the Tax Amount
Category — The type of expense (e.g., Office Expenses, Meals & Entertainment)
Remarks — Optional notes or description
Receipt — Upload or drag and drop an image or PDF of your receipt

You can create a custom expense category by clicking + Add New in the Category dropdown if the default categories don't fit your needs.

Viewing Your Expenses

The Expenses page shows all your recorded expenses in a list. Each row displays:

Date — When the expense occurred
Vendor/Payee — Who you paid
Category — The type of expense
Account Name — Which payment account was used
Amount — How much you spent
Receipt — A link icon appears if a receipt is attached
Actions — Edit or delete the expense

Use the filters at the top to view expenses by year or set a custom date range.

Editing an Expense

To edit an expense:

1 Find the expense in your list.
2 Click the edit icon in the Actions column.
3 Make your changes.
4 Click Update Expense to save.

Deleting an Expense

To delete an expense:

1 Find the expense in your list.
2 Click the delete icon in the Actions column, or
3 Open the expense and click Remove Expense.

Deleting an expense removes it permanently. This will affect your financial records and reports.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a vendor while creating an expense?

Yes. Click + Add New in the Vendor/Payee dropdown to create a new vendor on the spot.

How do I know if an expense has a receipt attached?

Go to Finance → Expenses. In the expense list, a link icon appears in the Receipt column if an attachment has been uploaded.

Where can I view my uploaded receipt?

Open the expense and the receipt will appear in the Receipt Preview panel on the right side of the screen.

Did you know? Officaid can automatically record expenses when you process your team's monthly payroll. → Payroll Management

What's Next?

Understanding Payables to manage bills you haven't paid yet
Managing Vendors to organise who you pay
Expense Categories to customise how you categorise spending

expenses tracking getting started