# Record an Expense

One document instead of three, for costs that never touch a shelf.

An expense is the short version of the purchase chain: money was spent, here is the receipt, move on.

## Record one

- **Go to Expenses and add one**

  Enter the date and the amount.

  ![The Expenses list with columns for Expense Date, Expense Account, Reference Number, Vendor, Paid Through, Customer, Status and Total Amount, and the action for adding a new expense.](https://www.sorviai.com/help/inventory/expenses/expenses-list.png)
- **Choose the expense account**

  This is the classification, and it is what every report of your spending groups by. Professional Fees, Insurance, Utilities and the rest are your own chart.
- **Set Paid Through**

  The account the money actually left. It is a different question from what the spending was for.
- **Name the vendor, and the customer if it is rechargeable**

  Both are optional. A named vendor makes the spend visible on their record; a named customer marks the cost as billable to them.
- **Attach the receipt, and save**

  At the point of entry, while the record is already open.

> **Warning:**
>
> **An expense never moves stock**
>
> Recording tracked goods this way pays for them and leaves your count untouched. If it is stock, it needs a purchase receive.

## The two accounts are different questions

- **Expense Account** (what it was for): The classification. Utilities, Rent, Professional Fees. This is what your spending reports group by.
- **Paid Through** (where the money came from): The bank or card account it left. Two expenses on the same account can have been paid entirely differently.

> **Tip:**
>
> **Use the reference number for the supplier's own document**
>
> It is what lets you find the expense again from the receipt in your hand rather than from the date you happened to enter it.