Expense Tracking

Expense Tracking

What This Does

Turns a pile of transactions and receipts into a clear picture of where your money goes. Three parts: a consistent category system, a receipt-capture workflow so nothing is lost at tax time, and a budget-vs-actual review so overspending gets caught the month it happens — not a year later. Works from a bank/card CSV export or a typed-out list; no accounting software required.

Part A — Categorize Spending

1. Pull the transactions. Export the month's bank and card activity to CSV, or list them out.

2. Assign each transaction one category. Use a small, fixed set so totals stay comparable month to month. A common small-business starter set (adapt to your business — confirm tax categories with your accountant):

   Category	Examples
   Cost of goods / materials	Inventory, raw materials, direct supplies
   Payroll & contractors	Wages, contractor payments (see payroll-planning)
   Rent & utilities	Space, electricity, water, internet, phone
   Software & subscriptions	SaaS tools, hosting, licenses
   Marketing & advertising	Ads, content, events, sponsorships
   Professional services	Accounting, legal, consulting
   Insurance	Liability, property, workers' comp
   Travel & meals	Mileage, lodging, client meals
   Equipment	Hardware, machinery, furniture
   Fees & interest	Bank fees, card processing, loan interest
   Taxes & licenses	Permits, registrations, tax payments
   Other / uncategorized	Park here only temporarily

3. Drive "Other" to near zero. Anything sitting in Other is a gap in your picture — recategorize before you close the month.

4. Flag the two kinds that need attention:

   • Business vs. personal: flag any personal spend that hit a business account (and vice versa) to fix.
   • Fixed vs. variable: mark which costs are fixed (rent, software) vs. variable (materials, ads) — this matters for cash-flow-forecast and for knowing what you can cut fast.

Part B — Receipt-Capture Workflow

A category without a receipt can't survive an audit. Make capture a habit, not a scramble:

Capture rule (do it at point of purchase):
1. Photograph or save the receipt immediately.
2. Name it: {YYYY-MM-DD}_{vendor}_{amount}.  e.g. 2026-07-03_staples_48.20
3. Drop it in one dated folder per month.
4. Note the category and the business reason (esp. for meals/travel).

Weekly reconcile:
- [ ] Every card/bank charge has a matching receipt
- [ ] Every receipt has a matching charge (catch double-bills)
- [ ] Missing receipts listed and chased while memory is fresh

Keep receipts for the retention period your jurisdiction requires (confirm with your accountant).

Part C — Budget vs. Actual

Compare what you planned to spend against what you actually spent, by category:

# Budget vs. Actual — {Month YYYY}

| Category | Budget | Actual | Variance | % | Note |
|----------|--------|--------|----------|---|------|
| {category} | {$} | {$} | {+/-$} | {+/-%} | {why} |
| … | … | … | … | … | … |
| **Total** | **{$}** | **{$}** | **{+/-$}** | | |

## Over-budget flags (variance > {threshold}%)
1. {category} — over by {$} — {cause / action}

## Trend watch
- Categories creeping up 3 months running: {list}

• Set a variance threshold (e.g. 10%). Anything over it gets a one-line explanation and, if needed, an action.
• Watch trends, not just single months — a category that grows a little every month is the one that surprises you.

Output Format

Deliver one of: a categorized transaction list (with Other driven to zero and business/personal flagged), a receipt reconciliation (matched, missing, double-billed), or a budget-vs-actual table with over-budget flags. Always surface the top over-spend to address.

Tips

• One transaction, one category, every time. Consistency is what makes month-to-month comparison meaningful.
• Capture receipts at the moment of purchase — reconstructing them later is where deductions get lost.
• "Other/uncategorized" is a to-do list, not a category. Empty it before closing the month.
• Separate business and personal accounts if you can — it removes the single biggest source of bookkeeping mess.
• Feed fixed-cost totals into cash-flow-forecast; they're the baseline your forecast leans on.
• Budget-vs-actual is only useful if you act on the variance — a flagged overspend with no action is just a nicer-looking surprise.
• This organizes spending and receipts; it does not determine tax-deductibility or file returns. Confirm categories and retention rules with a licensed accountant.