Expenses

Track property expenses with detailed line items, automatic tax handling, and double-entry accounting.

Overview

The expense module lets you record all property-related outgoings — from utility bills and vendor payments to supplies and maintenance costs. Each expense automatically generates the correct accounting entries, keeping your books balanced.

Creating an Expense

Navigate to Expenses → New Expense to create an expense record.

Expense Header

Field	Required	Description
Expense Date	Yes	Date the expense was incurred
Expense Code	Auto	Auto-generated code based on series configuration
Vendor	No	Select from configured vendors
Paid Through	Yes	Account used for payment (Cash, Bank, etc.)
Reference Number	No	External reference (bill number, receipt ID)
Notes	No	Internal notes about the expense

Line Items

Each expense can have one or more line items:

Field	Description
Account	Expense account from your Chart of Accounts (e.g., Utilities, Repairs)
Description	What the expense item is for
Amount	Cost of this item
Tax	Applicable tax rate (optional)

Click Add Line Item to include additional items on the same expense.

Example:

Account	Description	Amount	Tax
Utilities	Electricity bill — January 2026	₹12,000	GST 18%
Maintenance	Plumbing repair — Room 204	₹3,500	GST 18%

Tax Handling

Tax Inclusive vs. Exclusive

When adding a tax to an expense line item, you can choose how the tax is treated:

• Tax Exclusive — The tax is added on top of the entered amount
  • Amount: ₹10,000 + GST 18% = ₹11,800 total
• Tax Inclusive — The tax is already included in the entered amount
  • Amount: ₹11,800 inclusive of GST 18% → Base: ₹10,000, Tax: ₹1,800

Input Tax Credit

For GST-registered businesses, taxes paid on expenses may qualify for Input Tax Credit (ITC). The tax breakdown on each expense helps track:

• CGST paid on intra-state purchases
• SGST paid on intra-state purchases
• IGST paid on inter-state purchases

TIP

Configure your tax rates under Settings → Tax Configuration to ensure consistent tax handling across expenses and invoices.

Paid-Through Account Linking

The Paid Through field determines which asset/liability account the payment comes from. Common options include:

Account	Type	Usage
Petty Cash	Asset	Small day-to-day expenses
Operating Bank Account	Asset	Major payments via bank transfer
Credit Card	Liability	Expenses charged to a credit card
Owner's Equity	Equity	Expenses paid by the owner directly

When you select a paid-through account, the system automatically credits that account in the double-entry journal.

WARNING

Only accounts marked as payable/payment accounts in your Chart of Accounts appear in the Paid Through dropdown. If you don't see the account you need, add it under Settings → Chart of Accounts.

Automatic Double-Entry Accounting

Every expense generates automatic double-entry journal entries. No manual journal posting is required.

How It Works

When you save an expense, the system creates:

Debit entries:

• Each expense line item's account is debited by its base amount
• Tax accounts (CGST Input, SGST Input, etc.) are debited by tax amounts

Credit entry:

• The Paid Through account is credited by the total amount (base + tax)

Example

For an expense of ₹10,000 on Utilities + 18% GST (9% CGST + 9% SGST), paid via Bank Account:

Account	Debit (₹)	Credit (₹)
Utilities Expense	10,000	—
CGST Input Credit	900	—
SGST Input Credit	900	—
Bank Account	—	11,800

This keeps your books automatically balanced and provides accurate expense tracking for financial reporting.

Multi-Line Item Entries

When an expense has multiple line items with different accounts and tax rates, each line generates its own debit entry, while the credit side remains a single entry to the Paid Through account:

Account	Debit (₹)	Credit (₹)
Utilities Expense	10,000	—
Maintenance Expense	3,500	—
CGST Input Credit	1,215	—
SGST Input Credit	1,215	—
Bank Account	—	15,930

Expense Codes and Lookup

Auto-Generated Codes

Each expense receives a unique code based on your series configuration (e.g., EXP-2026-00015). The format is configured under Settings → Series & Auto-Numbering.

Looking Up Expenses

Find expenses quickly using:

• Search by code — enter the full or partial expense code
• Search by vendor — filter by vendor name
• Date range filter — narrow down to a specific period
• Account filter — show expenses for a specific account category
• Amount range — filter by expense amount

Expense List View

The expense list displays:

Column	Description
Expense Code	Unique identifier
Date	Expense date
Vendor	Vendor name (if linked)
Total	Total amount including tax
Paid Through	Payment account used
Status	Active or voided

Editing and Deleting Expenses

• Edit: Open an expense and modify any field. The associated accounting entries are automatically updated to reflect changes.
• Delete/Void: Removing an expense reverses its accounting entries to keep the books balanced.

WARNING

Deleting an expense permanently removes it and its accounting entries. If your reporting period is closed, consider voiding instead of deleting.

Permissions

Expense operations are controlled by the Expenses RBAC module:

Permission	Access
View	Browse and view expenses
Create	Create new expenses
Update	Edit existing expenses
Delete	Delete or void expenses
Manage	Full access including bulk operations