Skip to main content

How to Add Expenses

This guide explains how to record a business expense in Fiskl and helps you choose the right method. There are two ways to add an expense, and both post to your accounting immediately — there is no separate posting step.

Choose Your Method​

Your situationUse this method
You have a receipt or supplier invoice, and the payment has not appeared in your bank yetMethod 1: AI Expenses
You want to record a bill you will pay laterMethod 1: AI Expenses
The payment already shows in your bank account in FisklMethod 2: Categorise the bank transaction

Both methods produce the same accounting result. The expense appears in your reports as soon as you save — Fiskl posts everything automatically.

warning

Do not try to add an expense from inside an expense category, such as Fuel & Mileage, in your Chart of Accounts. Expense categories only display expenses — they are not where you create them. Use one of the two methods below instead.

Method 1: Record the Expense in AI Expenses​

Use this method when you have a receipt or supplier invoice. Fiskl records the expense in Accounts Payable — the account that tracks what your business owes and has paid to vendors. This is also how you record bills you have not paid yet.

Upload a Receipt or Invoice​

  1. Select Purchasing > AI Expenses in the left sidebar.
  2. Select Upload and choose your receipt or invoice file.
  3. Fiskl extracts the vendor, date, amounts, and taxes, and suggests a category.
  4. Review the extracted details and adjust the category if needed.
  5. Select Save.

For file formats, scan limits, and batch uploads, see Uploading Expenses.

Or Create the Expense Manually​

If you have no document to upload, you can enter the expense directly:

  1. Select Purchasing > AI Expenses in the left sidebar.
  2. Select Create New.
  3. Enter the vendor, date, amount, and category.
  4. Select Save.

What Happens Next​

The expense is saved to Accounts Payable and posts to your accounting immediately. It appears in your Expenses report and Profit and Loss right away — as an unpaid bill until the payment is matched.

When the payment appears in your bank account in Fiskl, match it to the expense. Fiskl suggests matches automatically — see AI Expense Reconciliation. Matching marks the expense as paid. It does not change or remove your categories.

Method 2: Categorise the Bank Transaction​

Use this method when the payment already appears in your bank account in Fiskl and you have not recorded the expense in advance. This is the fastest way to record an expense.

  1. Select Banking in the left sidebar and open the account with the transaction.
  2. Select the transaction.
  3. Select the expense category, such as Fuel & Mileage or Office Supplies.
  4. Optionally, upload a receipt image to attach it to the transaction.
  5. Select Save.

You're done. The expense posts to your accounting immediately and appears in your reports. There is no upload step, no matching step, and nothing further to do.

tip

Only use one method per expense. If you uploaded a receipt to AI Expenses, match the bank transaction to it — do not also categorise the bank transaction as an expense, or the expense will be counted twice.

Understanding What You See in Accounts Payable​

Expenses recorded through AI Expenses live in Accounts Payable, and this can look confusing at first. One expense produces two related entries:

  • The expense entry — Shows the vendor, the amount, and all your expense categories. This is the entry that drives your reports.
  • The balance entry — Appears when the expense is matched with a bank payment. It records the payment and reduces what you owe. It does not repeat your categories.

Your categorisation is never lost. The categories always stay on the expense entry, even after matching. The balance entry only shows that the bill was paid.

To see all your expenses with their categories in one clear view, use the Expenses report instead of reading Accounts Payable directly.

Adding an Expense Directly in Accounts Payable​

You can also record an expense from inside the Accounts Payable account in your transactions. An expense increases what you owe, so it is entered as a credit:

  1. Open the Accounts Payable account in your transactions.
  2. Select +Credit.
  3. Enter the vendor, date, amount, and expense category.
  4. Select Save.

Do not use the debit side to record an expense — debits in Accounts Payable record payments, not new bills. For comparison, an expense paid straight from a Cash & Cash Equivalents account appears there as a -Credit, because the money leaves the account.

Common Issues​

I matched my bank transaction and my categories seem to have disappeared

They have not disappeared. After matching, Accounts Payable shows a balance entry that records the payment, and this entry does not list your categories. Your categories remain on the original expense entry.

To confirm, open the Expenses report — every expense shows under its category with a Paid status.

I can't add an expense inside a category like Fuel & Mileage

This is by design. Expense categories in your Chart of Accounts display expenses but are not where you create them. Record the expense in Purchasing > AI Expenses, or categorise the bank transaction in Banking. The expense then appears under the category automatically.

My expense shows twice in my reports

This usually means the expense was recorded with both methods — once in AI Expenses and once by categorising the bank transaction. Instead of categorising the bank transaction, match it to the AI expense. To fix a duplicate, remove the category from the bank transaction and match it to the expense instead.

Do I need to post my expense to accounting?

No. Fiskl has no posting step. Every expense you save — through AI Expenses or by categorising a bank transaction — is in your accounting immediately.