How to create a manual expense

[0:00] While connecting your bank is the easiest way to enter your expenses into QuickBooks, there are times when you might need to enter an expense manually. Maybe you have an account that isn't connected to QuickBooks, or you purchased something with cash, or you purchased inventory outside your normal workflow. Let's go over how to create an expense manually in QuickBooks.

[0:20] To start, go to Create, and Expense. First, choose who you paid. If you don't see the name, you can add them. Next, select the account you used to pay for this expense. The default payment date is today, but you can change that. The payment method is optional. If you want to specify how you paid for the expense, select the category that best describes what you bought.

[0:45] This will often be an expense, but if this is something that you will use over and over again for many years, like a vehicle or a computer, you might categorize it as a fixed asset. If you don't see an account that describes what you bought, then you can add one. Enter a description of what you bought and the amount. This item section is only used if you are purchasing inventory.

[1:10] If that's the case, ignore the category details section and enter in the information about what you bought down here. We cover how to purchase inventory in more detail in a separate video at the end of this one. Finally, if you want to add an attachment, like a receipt, you can do that here. That's it. Now you're ready to create your own expenses in QuickBooks.