Expense Entries
Recording Business Expenses
Expenses in Bench represent costs incurred by your organization in the course of its operations. The Expense Entry form allows you to categorize these costs, associate them with suppliers or projects, and track payment status ΓÇö all while generating accurate general ledger (GL) entries in both company and foreign currencies. Expense entries exist to simplify the process of recording expenses that is normally handled by purchase invoices. When greater control is required, consider using those instead.
📌 What Is an Expense?
An expense is any operational cost ΓÇö such as rent, utilities, travel, or professional services ΓÇö that your company incurs. In Bench, each expense entry:
- Captures the transaction date, description, and amount
- Is categorized under an Expense Account
- Can be allocated to a supplier, project, or left general
- Automatically generates accounting entries upon submission
- Can be partially or fully paid, with tracking of outstanding balances
🧾 Key Fields Explained
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | When the expense was incurred |
| Amount | Value of the expense in the transaction currency |
| Currency | The currency used for the transaction |
| Exchange Rate | Automatically fetched to convert into company currency |
| Category | The relevant expense account (e.g. Rent, Fuel) |
| Credit Account | The source account used to pay (e.g. Bank or Payables) |
| Supplier (optional) | The vendor or service provider |
| Reference | Optional internal or external reference number |
| Description | A note describing the nature of the expense |
| Project (optional) | Assign the cost to a specific project |
🔁 Multi-Currency Support
- Expenses can be recorded in any enabled currency.
- Bench will automatically retrieve the latest exchange rate to calculate the base (company) currency value.
- The base amount and total due are stored alongside the foreign currency values for reporting and reconciliation.
🧮 Automatic GL Entries
When an expense is submitted:
- The expense category account is debited
- The credit account (usually a bank or payable) is credited
- If a supplier is selected, the payable account is used
Example:
| Account | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Fuel Expense (Category) | \$500 | |
| Bank Account (Credit) | \$500 |
💰 Tracking Payments
Bench supports linking payments to expense entries:
- If linked to a supplier, payments made later via Payment Vouchers will reduce the balance due.
- The system computes the total amount due based on how much has been paid.
- Expenses with an outstanding balance are visible in reports and supplier statements.
🛑 Voiding an Expense
If you void an expense:
- All related GL entries are deleted
- Linked payments are released and can be re-allocated
- The expense remains in the system for audit but is marked as void
✅ Submitting an Expense
You can submit an expense directly from the form:
- The system will validate that all fields are complete
- It will retrieve the latest exchange rate
- Once submitted, the expense becomes part of your financial records
📥 Importing Expenses
You can import bulk expenses using a CSV or Excel file.
Required import fields:
datedescriptioncategoryamountcurrencycredit_accountreference
GL entries will be created automatically upon import.
🧠 Tips & Best Practices
- Use supplier-linked expenses when you expect to pay later and want to track balances.
- Keep your exchange rates up-to-date to ensure accurate conversions.
- Use the project field to monitor spending across jobs or cost centers.
- Run the Outstanding Expenses Report to view unpaid bills.
📎 Summary
BenchΓÇÖs Expense module offers:
- Full support for multi-currency expense tracking
- Real-time creation of GL entries
- Integration with supplier payments
- Accurate reporting of outstanding balances
Whether you're logging simple purchases or managing vendor bills, this module gives you the control and clarity to manage your organization's spending effectively.