Expenses is where you record money the school spends: electricity bills, repairs, chalk and exercise books, fuel for the bus. Each expense is taken off the account it was paid from and added to the right spending heading in the books, without any extra work from you.
- Where Finance & Billing → Expenses
- Who can use it Anyone whose role includes Expenses. The Paid From list also needs Bank Accounts in the role, and the expense account lists need Finance.
- Set up first Bank Accounts (including the cash box)
Set up categories
Categories are your own everyday names for spending, such as Electricity, Stationery or Bus fuel. Each one points to an expense heading in the books, so you don’t have to think about accounts every time.
- Open the Categories tab.
- Under Add a category, type a Name, for example Electricity.
- Under Default Expense Account, choose the heading it belongs to, for example 5010 Utilities Expense.
- Click Add Category.
Ready-made headings include Teaching Materials, Utilities, Repairs and Maintenance, Transport, Feeding, Examination, Administrative and Other Expense. You can add your own in Journal & Ledger.
A category that has expenses recorded under it can’t be deleted.
Record an expense
- On the Expenses tab, click Record Expense.
- Choose a Category, for example Electricity.
- Leave Expense Account (override, optional) on Use category default, unless this one payment belongs under a different heading.
- Enter the Amount, for example GHS 850.00, and the Date it was paid.
- Under Paid From, choose where the money came from, for example the cash box or the school’s bank account.
- Add a Description (ECG prepaid units, March) and a Reference such as the receipt or cheque number.
- Click Record Expense. You go back to the list with the new expense on it.
Behind the scenes the amount is added to the spending heading and taken off the Paid From account, so its balance in Bank Accounts goes down straight away.
You must choose either a category that has a default account, or an account in the override box. Otherwise you’ll see Select an expense account, or choose a category that has a default account mapped.
Delete a wrong expense
Expenses can’t be edited. If one is wrong, click the bin icon on its row and confirm, then record it again correctly. Deleting reverses its effect on the books, so the account balance goes back up.
Locked periods: you can’t record or delete an expense dated inside a locked accounting period. See Finance.
Good to know
- The list shows the 200 most recent expenses.
- Salaries are not entered here; they go through Payroll. Purchases from suppliers can be handled in Procurement.
- Totals spent per term or month appear in Finance, and in the Income Statement in Journal & Ledger.