Expenses

Track all your business expenses, scan receipts with AI, and categorize costs for accurate bookkeeping and VAT filing.

Overview

The expenses page lists all your recorded expenses. Filter by:

• Category — Office, travel, equipment, etc.
• Project — Expenses linked to specific projects
• Date range — Filter by expense date
• Status — Active or archived

Creating an expense

Manual entry

1. Go to Expenses > New Expense
2. Fill in:
   • Description — What the expense is for
   • Amount — Total cost (including or excluding VAT)
   • Date — When the expense occurred
   • Category — Select from predefined categories
   • VAT rate — Applicable VAT percentage
3. Optionally attach a receipt image or PDF
4. Optionally link to a project or customer
5. Click Save

Quick Add

Use the quick-add drawer for rapid expense entry:

1. Click the quick-add button on the expenses list
2. Enter the amount and description
3. Select a quick category
4. Save

Receipt scanning

Let AI extract expense details from receipts automatically:

1. Go to Expenses > Scan Receipt
2. Upload a receipt image (JPEG, PNG, WebP) or PDF
3. Choose extraction mode:
   • Single — One expense from the receipt
   • Multiple — Multiple line items from one receipt
4. Review the extracted data (date, amount, supplier, description)
5. Confirm to create the expense(s)

INFO

Receipt scanning requires the Pro plan or higher.

Expense categories

MyCompanyDesk provides predefined categories with icons for quick selection:

• Office supplies
• Travel & transport
• Food & drinks
• Software & subscriptions
• Equipment
• Professional services
• Marketing & advertising
• Insurance
• Rent & utilities
• And more...

Categories help organize your expenses and are used in reports for cost breakdowns.

VAT handling

Each expense can have its own VAT rate. Common options:

• 21% — Standard rate
• 9% — Reduced rate
• 0% — Zero-rated or exempt

The VAT amount is calculated automatically and included in your VAT reports.

Linking expenses

Link expenses to:

• Projects — Track project costs accurately
• Customers — Associate costs with specific clients
• Suppliers — Record who you paid

Bulk actions

Select multiple expenses for:

• Categorize — Change category in bulk
• Archive — Move to archive
• Delete — Permanently remove
• Export — Download as CSV

Recurring expenses

For regular costs (rent, subscriptions, etc.), set up recurring expenses to automate creation.

Import

Import expenses from CSV:

1. Go to Profile > Import
2. Select Expenses as the data type
3. Upload your CSV file
4. Map columns to fields
5. Review and confirm

Tips

• Enable AI suggestions for automatic category recommendations
• Always attach receipts — they're essential for tax audits
• Use projects to track expense-to-revenue ratios
• Check the expense report for spending breakdowns