Every Expense Accounted For

Know exactly where your money goes. Recording expenses in Officaid helps you track business spending, maintain accurate financial records, and prepare for tax time with everything in one place. Whether it's office supplies, software subscriptions, or client meals, every transaction is captured and categorised.

Expenses vs Payables

Before recording a transaction, it's important to understand the difference:

• Expense – A payment you've already made. The money has left your account.
• Payable – A bill you still need to pay. The money is owed but hasn't been paid yet.

Use expenses for completed transactions where funds have already been deducted from your bank account, credit card, or cash. Use payables when you receive a bill that you'll pay later.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have the following set up in your Officaid account:

• At least one payment account added (bank account, credit card, or cash account)
• At least one vendor to associate with the expense (or you can add one during the process)
• Your preferred tax rates configured if you need to track tax on expenses

How to Record an Expense

1. 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses.
2. 2 Click Add New Expense in the top right corner.
3. 3 Select the Vendor/Payee from the dropdown, or click + Add New to create a new vendor.
4. 4 Choose the Payment Account that the expense was paid from.
5. 5 Enter the Amount and select the Currency if applicable.
6. 6 Set the Date when the expense occurred.
7. 7 Select a Category to classify the expense.
8. 8 Upload a Receipt if you have one (optional but recommended).
9. 9 Add any Remarks for additional context (optional).
10. 10 Click Add Expense to save.

Once saved, the expense appears in your expense list and is reflected in your financial reports.

Understanding the Expense Fields

Here's what each field on the expense form means:

• Vendor/Payee – The business or person you paid. Select from existing vendors or create a new one on the spot.
• Payment Account – The account the payment came from, such as your business bank account, credit card, or petty cash.
• Amount – The total amount you spent, including any tax if applicable.
• Currency – The currency of the expense. This field appears if you have multi-currency enabled.
• Date – When the expense occurred. This is used for reporting and should match your receipt or bank statement.
• Taxable – Toggle this on if tax applies to the expense. You'll then select the tax rate and Officaid calculates the tax amount.
• Category – How the expense is classified, such as Office Expenses, Meals & Entertainment, or Travel. Categories help with reporting and tax preparation.
• Remarks – Optional notes or descriptions, such as what the expense was for or who it relates to.
• Receipt – Upload an image or PDF of your receipt for record-keeping. You can drag and drop or click to browse.

Adding Tax to Expenses

If your expense includes tax that you need to track (such as for claiming input tax credits), you can record it:

1. 1 Toggle on the Taxable switch.
2. 2 Select the appropriate Tax rate from the dropdown.
3. 3 Officaid calculates the tax amount automatically based on the expense amount.

The tax amount will be displayed separately and included in your tax reports.

Uploading Receipts

Keeping receipts attached to expenses makes record-keeping easier and helps during audits or tax time. You can upload receipts in several formats:

• Images – JPG, PNG, or other common image formats
• PDFs – Scanned receipts or digital invoices from vendors

To upload a receipt, either drag and drop the file into the receipt area or click to browse your files. The receipt will be stored with the expense and can be viewed anytime.

Viewing Your Expenses

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

• Date – When the expense occurred
• Vendor/Payee – Who you paid
• Category – How the expense is classified
• Account Name – Which payment account was used
• Amount – The total amount spent
• Receipt – A link icon appears if a receipt is attached
• Actions – Icons to edit or delete the expense

Use the filters at the top of the page to narrow down your view:

• Year – View expenses from a specific year
• Custom Range – Set a specific date range to see expenses within that period

Editing an Expense

If you need to correct or update an expense after saving it:

1. 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses.
2. 2 Find the expense in your list.
3. 3 Click the edit icon in the Actions column.
4. 4 Make your changes to any field.
5. 5 Click Update Expense to save.

Your changes will be reflected immediately in your expense list and financial reports.

Deleting an Expense

If an expense was recorded in error and needs to be removed:

1. 1 Navigate to Finance → Expenses.
2. 2 Find the expense in your list.
3. 3 Click the delete icon in the Actions column.
4. 4 Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Alternatively, you can open the expense and click Remove Expense at the bottom of the form.

Expenses and Payroll

When you process payroll in Officaid, salary payments are automatically recorded as expenses. This means you don't need to manually create expense entries for staff salaries, CPF contributions, or other payroll-related payments.

These automated expenses appear in your expense list with the appropriate category and are linked to the payroll run they came from.

Frequently Asked Questions

What's Next?

Now that you know how to record expenses, explore these related guides:

• Creating a Payable – Track bills you need to pay in the future
• Managing Vendors – Organise the businesses and people you pay
• Managing Expense Categories – Customise how you categorise your spending