Expenses
Track every cost your business incurs, manage approvals, and keep your operating expenses accurate for reporting.
Expenses
What is an Expense?
An expense is any cost your business pays that is not the purchase of goods for resale. Rent, staff salaries, transport, utility bills, marketing spend — these are all expenses.
Recording expenses in MyShop keeps your profit calculations accurate, because profit = revenue minus cost of goods sold minus operating expenses.
Expenses List
The Expenses page shows all recorded expenses. Four summary cards at the top give a quick picture of your spending:
Total Expenses
All expenses recorded in the selected period.
Paid
Expenses that have been fully settled.
Unpaid / Outstanding
Expenses recorded but not yet paid.
Pending Approval
Expenses submitted by staff waiting for manager sign-off.
Filter by category, payment status, or date range. Click any expense to open its detail page.
Recording an Expense
Click + Add Expense from the Expenses page. Fill in the details:
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1
Expense name
A short, clear description of what the expense is for (e.g. "April Office Rent", "Staff Salary – John").
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2
Category
Assign it to a category (e.g. Rent, Salaries, Transport). Categories help you understand where your money is going in reports.
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3
Amount
The total cost of this expense.
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4
Date
When the expense was incurred or is due.
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5
Note (optional)
Any extra detail — a receipt number, vendor name, or clarification for whoever reviews this expense.
Expense Types & Categories
MyShop comes with common expense categories built in (Rent, Salaries, Utilities, Transport, Marketing). You can also create custom categories that fit your specific business.
To add a new category, go to Expenses → Categories and click + Add Category. You can also create a new category on the fly from within the expense form — just type the new name and select "Create".
Good categories make your Expenses Report meaningful. Instead of one broad "Other" category, create specific ones like "Packaging" or "Generator Fuel" so you can track them separately over time.
Recording Payment
An expense can be recorded before it's paid (as an outstanding cost) and then marked paid later. On the expense detail page, click Record Payment:
- check_circle Select the payment method.
- check_circle Enter the amount paid (supports partial payments).
- check_circle Save — the payment is logged and the balance updates.
Expense Detail Page
The expense detail page shows the full history of a single expense: the original amount, every payment made against it, the balance remaining, and any notes. You can also edit the expense or delete it from this page if it was recorded in error.
You can attach a receipt image to any expense for your records — useful when you need to verify the cost later.
Approving Expenses
If your shop has approval workflows enabled, staff-submitted expenses go into a Pending Approval state before they are counted. A manager or owner must approve them first.
To approve an expense, open it and click Approve. To reject it, click Reject and optionally add a reason. Rejected expenses remain visible but are not included in totals or reports.
Approval permissions are set per user role in Settings → Users. Only users with the "Approve Expenses" permission can approve or reject.