Track expenses and receipts

To record a cost, open Expenses and select Add Expense. Choose Scan invoice/receipt to have AI read a file and prefill the form, or Enter manually to type it in yourself. Review the fields, then save.

Plans: expense tracking and receipt capture start on Specialist, and are included on Commander and Enterprise. Cadet and Voyager don't include them.

Before you start

• You need the Expenses permission. View lets you see expenses. Edit lets you create and change them. Full also lets you delete them.
• To add, rename or delete expense types, you need the Expense types permission at the edit level (add and edit) or full level (delete).
• Scanning uses Tokens. See Tokens and AI billing.
• If your workspace is on Cadet or Voyager, Add Expense shows an upgrade message instead of a form. Expenses you already saved can still be opened, edited and deleted.

Set up expense types

An expense type is the category of a cost, such as travel or software. Add your types first so you can sort and filter later.

1. Open Settings, then Accounting, then Expense types.
2. Select Add expense type.
3. Enter a Name. Names must be unique.
4. Pick an icon under Choose an icon and a Color.
5. Select Save.

To change a type, open it and select Save after your edits, or Delete. Deleting asks you to confirm. The warning says expenses that use the type may behave unexpectedly, so check before you delete one that is in use.

You can also add a type while writing an expense. Use the + button next to the type field. It appears only if you have permission to add types.

Add an expense by hand

1. Open Expenses and select Add Expense, then Enter manually.
2. Under Details, enter a Name. It's required.
3. Add a Description if you want one.
4. Enter the Amount and the Date. Both are required.
5. Choose the Expense Type.
6. Optional: open Line items to break the expense into rows. Select Add line item for each row, and add Tax as a flat amount or a percentage. The total becomes the subtotal plus tax. If you type a total that doesn't match the lines, the form shows Doesn't match line items.
7. Optional: open Linked Project and choose a Project.
8. Optional: open Expense Attachments and select Add Attachment to attach receipts.
9. Select Add Expense to save.

On a phone, you can attach a file from your photo library, or choose Take Photo to capture a receipt with the camera. On the web, choose Upload from Computer. You can also pick files already in your workspace storage.

Attachments are staged until you save. If you leave before saving, they aren't uploaded. While saving, the app shows that it's uploading your receipts.

Scan a receipt with AI

1. Open Expenses, select Add Expense, then Scan invoice/receipt. The option is marked Uses AI Tokens.
2. Choose a file. Scanning accepts PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG and HEIC. On a phone you can take a photo.
3. Wait while the app reads the file. It shows "Reading your receipt with AI".
4. The expense form opens with the file attached and the fields filled in, under the note "Prefilled by AI". Review every field.
5. Select Add Expense to save.

The AI fills in the Name (from the vendor), Amount, Date, Description, a suggested type, tax and line items where it can. The amount is saved in your workspace currency with no conversion, so check receipts in another currency. It only picks a type from your own list, or leaves it blank if none fits. If it's unsure, you see "Low confidence" next to the type. Check it.

Limits and what to expect:

• Images over 10 MB: the app offers Optimize & scan or Add manually.
• PDFs over 30 MB, and other files over 10 MB, can't be scanned. You can still add them as an expense by hand.
• You're charged Tokens only when the AI produces a usable result. If it can't read the file as a receipt or invoice, the form opens empty with the file attached and the message "Couldn't read this as an invoice — fill it in." No Tokens are used for that.
• If your Tokens are used up, the app shows the top-up sheet. Add Tokens, or use Enter manually.
• You need at least 30 Tokens in the balance to start a scan. The cost of a scan depends on the file.

Find and review expenses

On Expenses, use the search box (Search Expense) to find an expense by name. Switch between List, Grid and Table views.

• Sort By: date (newest or oldest first) or amount (highest or lowest first).
• Expense Type: show one type only. A Type Total appears next to the filter.
• Clear Filters resets them.

Expenses are grouped by date in list view. Open a row to see its details, and use Edit or Delete if you have permission. In an existing expense, the type can't be changed from the view screen.

Link expenses to a project

Open an expense and use Linked Project. You can link many at once:

1. On Expenses, select Select and tick the expenses.
2. Choose Link to Project, pick a Project, then select Apply.
3. To remove the link instead, tick Unlink from project in the same dialog and select Apply.

If no projects are listed, open Projects once and try again.

Expenses link to a project only. An expense has no client field.

Billing an expense to a client

Expenses can't be added to an invoice from the Expenses screen. You record the cost here and, if you pass it on, add it to the invoice as a normal line item yourself. See Create, send, and track an invoice.

There is no approval step for expenses. Anyone with the Edit level on Expenses can save one. To bill tracked time instead, see Track time, timers, and timesheets.

Expense Assist

If the workspace owner has turned on Money Watch in AutoPilot and switched on Expense Assist in the section shown on an expense, the owner sees a suggested type there. Nobody else sees it. It uses the expense's name and description, not the receipt file, and each suggestion uses Tokens. It doesn't change the expense. If you agree, select Save preference, then use Edit expense to change it.

Where expenses show up

• Expenses itself lists every expense, with the type total when you filter by type.
• Home: the money chart can show expenses next to revenue, if that figure is turned on in the widget's settings.
• Accounting: when Accounting is set up, the form's Accounting section lets you set the account an expense posts to. On Commander and Enterprise, the Profit and Loss report groups expenses by account.
• Job Profitability (Specialist and above): each expense counts toward the costs of the project it's linked to.
• Export: Settings → Data → Import & export → Export data includes expense records and categories.

Troubleshooting

• Add Expense shows an upgrade message: your plan is Cadet or Voyager. Expenses start on Specialist.
• You see an access message on Expenses: ask an admin for the Expenses permission. See Team access and permissions.
• The scan opens an empty form: the file wasn't read as a receipt or invoice. Fill it in by hand. The file is still attached and no Tokens were used.
• The scan asks you to add Tokens: your balance is low. Top up, or use Enter manually.
• "Couldn't scan — try again": check your connection and try again. If it keeps failing, add the expense by hand.
• You can't change the type of an expense: open it with Edit rather than View.
• Accounting isn't in the form: the section appears only after Accounting is turned on and set up.