> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.dmly.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Record expenses

> Track what your business spends, filed by vendor, category and account, alongside the money coming in.

Expenses are the money-out side of [Finance](/finance/overview). Invoices, orders and
payments record what your clients owe and pay you; expenses record what you spend — stock,
rent, ads, a contractor's fee — so both sides sit in one place instead of in a separate
spreadsheet.

Expenses live on the **Expenses** tab in **Finance**.

## What an expense records

Each expense gets its own number, issued automatically per workspace and never reused —
`E-0001`, `E-0002`, and so on, in the same way invoices are numbered `INV-0001`.

You file each one against three things, all of which you create and maintain yourself in
Finance settings:

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Vendor" icon="truck-field">
    Who you paid — your supplier, landlord or contractor.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Category" icon="tags">
    What kind of spend it was — the grouping you'd use in your own books.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Account" icon="building-columns">
    Which account the money left from.
  </Card>
</Columns>

Set these up before you start recording expenses. An expense you can't file properly is an
expense you can't find later.

<Card title="Finance settings" icon="sliders" href="/finance/settings">
  Where vendors, categories and accounts are managed, along with invoice defaults and
  numbering.
</Card>

## What expenses don't do

Expenses are deliberately narrow, and it's worth knowing the edges before you rely on them.

* **An expense is not linked to a contact.** There's no client on an expense, and no way to
  pass one on. If you need to bill a cost to a client, put it on an
  [invoice](/finance/invoices) as a line item instead.
* **You can't attach a receipt.** There's no upload on the expense form — keep the paper or
  the PDF wherever you keep your accounting records.
* **Deleting is permanent.** The app asks `Delete expense <number>? This can't be undone.`
  and it means it. Unlike an invoice, which you void so the trail survives, a deleted
  expense is gone. Correct an expense by editing it rather than deleting and re-entering.

{/* TODO(verify): whether expenses feed any profit/report view, or an export. Verified only
  that they are recorded, numbered, classified and listed. Do not claim reporting. */}