How To Add Expenses In QuickBooks Online And Desktop?

Managing and tracking expenses is essential for every business. It’s your way to update your account data with the right information. In addition, it helps you save quite a sum on your tax liability. If you’re a QuickBooks user, you’ll find that recording or entering your business expenses is fairly easy.

While QB software helps you track your sales, it also makes recording business expenses easy. By sticking to this practice, you’ll get a better picture of your business’ profit. You can add it as an expense if you have already paid your business expense. But, on the other hand, you can enter it as a bill if you plan to pay the expense later in the future.

So, let’s see how to add expenses in QuickBooks and how you can manage them. However, before that, check out what exactly adding expenses in QuickBooks is.

Understanding Adding Expenses In QuickBooks

While expenses can be anything you pay for, in QuickBooks terms, expenses mean various transactions done by credit card, net banking, debit card, online payment, or bank transfer, which must be recorded.

One of the primary reasons for recording expenses on QuickBooks is to help you track your expenses and check how effective they are and how well you can manage them to save future costs. And, as mentioned, entertaining expenses on QB help you simplify the tax filing process, helping you bring profit and saving a significant amount on taxes.

So, now you know the importance of entering expenses in QuickBooks. Next, let’s see the step-by-step process to add expenses in QB Online.

How To Add Expenses In QuickBooks Online?

If you’ve already paid for a business expense, follow the steps below to record the expenses in QuickBooks.

Record Or Add An Expense

Firstly, tap on “+New”.
Then, select the “Expense” option.
Next, head to the “Payee” field and choose the vendor from there.

Note: You can leave the payee field empty if there are many petty cash expenses.

After that, from the “Payment Account” field, choose the account used to pay for the expense.
Moreover, in the “Payment date” field, type in the date for the expense.
Also, choose how you paid the expense using the “Payment Method” field.
For those looking for detailed tracking, type in a permit no. or Ref no. (Optional)
Next, type your preferred label in the “Tags” field to categorize the money.
Now, type the expense information in the “Category details” tab. After that, use the “Category” dropdown, and choose the expense account you use to track expense transactions. And then, write down a description.

Note: To itemize your expense, specify specific services and products in the “Item details” section.

After that, you can type in the “Amount” and “Tax.”
Also, to bill your customer for the expense, tap the “Billable” checkbox and write your customer name in the “Customer” field.
Finally, hit the “Save and close” button to save the changes.

How To Manage Expenses In QuickBooks Online?

Once you’re done adding your expenses to QB Online, you might want to manage those expenses later on. Well, worry not, as QuickBooks allow you to manage expenses in QB Online. You can either edit, review, or delete your expenses.

Managing Expenses

So, to manage your expenses, here are the steps you need to follow:

Editing An Expense

With already paying the expenses you entered into QuickBooks, you’re free to edit them whenever needed. But, if you choose to bill the customer for your expense, know that these edits will impact your invoice, which you’ll send us later:

Firstly, head to the “Bookkeeping” section.
Then, tap the “Transactions” option.
Next, click on “Expenses.”
After that, select the expense you wish to edit.
Now, tap the “View/Edit” option in the Action column.
Also, make all the required updates in your transaction.
Finally, hit the “Save and Close” button.

Reviewing The Expenses

If you want to watch the expenses and income for all your customers, here is how you can do it:

Firstly, head to the “Business Overview” section.
Then, click on “Reports.”
After that, run the “Income by Customer Summary” report.

Deleting An Expense

Want to delete an expense in QuickBooks? Here are the steps:

Firstly, head to the “Bookkeeping” section.
Then, click on “Transactions.”
Next, choose the “Expenses” option.
After that, search for the expense you wish to delete.
Now, from the action column, tap on the “View/Edit ▼” dropdown.
Then, click on the “Delete” button.
Finally, tap “Yes” to confirm your decision to delete the expense.

How To Manually Add Expenses In QuickBooks Desktop?

If you’re a QuickBooks Desktop user, the process of recording or adding an expense in QuickBooks can be a bit different. However, don’t worry; we will mention all these steps with pictures so you can successfully add your expenses to QB Desktop.

Here are the step-by-step instructions to add expenses in QuickBooks Desktop:

Step 1: Open Expenses

Firstly, head to the “Create +” menu.
Then, select “Expense” under the “Suppliers” section.

Step 2: Select A Payee

Firstly, head to the “Expense” window.
Then, select “Payee.”
Next, click the “Add” option to add the name of the Payee.

After that, if you wish to add additional information about the Payee, tap “+Details or Save.”

Step 3: Select An Account

Firstly, choose the account that you used to make the purchase.
Then, you need to select a “Checking Account” if you’re making debit card transactions.

Step 4: Enter The Date

Now, head to the “Payment date” field.
Then, set the date for when you made the purchase.

Step 5: Type In The Payment Method

Now, head to the “Payment Method” field.
Then, choose any option from credit card, check, or cash.

Step 6: Select A Category

Now, from under the “Account” section, pick a category for the service or item you paid for.

Next, tap the “Add lines” button if you bought services or items from various categories using this check. Make sure to enter each category and spend amounts on separate lines.

Step 7: Enter A Description

Now, head to the “Description” field.
Next, enter the details about the purchase.

Step 8: Add The Amount

Now, go to the “Amount” field and enter the purchase amount.
Also, use the “Sales Tax” field to mention the appropriate sales tax.

Step 9: Saving

Now, tap “Save and New” to save your current expense and start a new one.
Finally, click on “Save and Close” after you’re done.

Conclusion

So, we hope this post helped you learn how to add expenses in QuickBooks. Now, track your expenses smartly in QuickBooks and make all the necessary edits to keep the data up-to-date and save yourself from high taxes.

If your QuickBooks Online or Desktop account does not allow you to add expenses or manage them, you don’t have to worry, as MWJ Consultancy has the right support services for you. Our professionals can solve all types of common QuickBooks errors using the right knowledge at a fast pace. Get a 24/7 consultation by contacting us at +44 800 054 8150 or info@mwjconsultancy.co.uk.

Frequently Asked Questions

How To Upload Paper Receipts To QB Desktop?

Follow these steps to upload paper receipts to QuickBooks Desktop:

Firstly, open your QB Online mobile app.
Then, click the “Menu ≡” icon from the top.
Next, click on “Receipt snap.”
After that, hit the Receipt Camera icon to click the photo of the receipt.
Finally, press “Use the photo” and click “Done.”

How To Import Receipts In QuickBooks?

There is no such option as “import a sales receipt” in QuickBooks. However, you can manually enter expenses in your QB account by following these simple steps:

Firstly, open your QB Desktop Android app. Then, click on “Receipt Snap.”
Next, select the company to upload receipts.
After that, click “Continue.”
Now, press the “Capture receipt” button.
Finally, click the “Camera icon” to snap a picture of your receipt. You can also click the “Photos” icon to upload the receipt.