QuickBooksHelpIntuit

Enter and manage expenses in QuickBooks Online

by Intuit•1259• Updated 4 days ago

Record business expenses in QuickBooks Online to track spending and maintain accurate financial records. Enter an expense when you have already paid for a business cost. If you plan to pay for the cost in the future, enter it as a bill instead. Distinguishing between these transaction types ensures your records are correct.

For a better experience, open this article in QuickBooks Online. Open side-by-side view

Whether you're looking for guidance from experts, want your books organized for tax time, or need a dedicated bookkeeper to do your books for you, Live experts are here to help. Learn more about QuickBooks Live expert services.

Record an expense

Follow these steps to record expenses you have already paid.

Tip: If you have lots of expenses to record, you can also enter them directly to the account register.

Select + Create.
Select Expense.
In the Payee field, select the vendor.
- Tip: If the transaction covers multiple petty cash expenses, leave this field empty.
In the Payment account field, select the account you used to pay for the expense.
In the Payment date field, enter the date for the expense.
In the Payment method field, select how you paid for the expense.
Optional: Enter a Ref no. or Permit no. for detailed tracking.
In the Tags field, enter the preferred label to categorize your money.
In the Category details section, enter the expense info:
- In the Category dropdown, select the expense account you use to track expense transactions.
- Enter a description.
- Tip: You can also enter specific products and services in the Item details section to itemize the expense.
Enter the Amount and Tax.
If you plan to bill a customer for the expense:
- Select the Billable checkbox.
- Enter their name in the Customer field.
Optional: Add notes in the Memo field. These appear in the account register, on printed checks, and on reports.
Select Save and close.

Edit an expense

You can update expense transactions after you record them.

Go to All apps , then Expenses & Bills, then Expense transactions (Take me there).
Find the expense you want to edit.
Select View/Edit in the Action column.
Update the transaction as needed.
Select Save and close.

Note: If you bill your customer for the expense, edits you make will impact the invoice you send them later.

Delete an expense

Remove an expense if it was recorded incorrectly or is no longer needed.

Go to All apps , then Expenses & Bills, then Expense transactions (Take me there).
Find the expense you want to delete.
Select the View/Edit ▼ dropdown in the Action column, then select Delete.
Select Delete.
Select Yes to confirm that you want to delete the transaction.

Note: Once you delete an expense, it disappears from reports, but you can still see a record of it in the Audit log.

Review your expense

Run a report to see income and expenses associated with your customers.

Go to Reports , then Standard reports (Take me there).
Run an Income by Customer Summary report.