# Record a business-paid expense

Record a purchase already paid from business cash, a bank account or a credit card.

Canonical: https://demo.qixcount.com/help/bills-and-vendors/record-an-expense

Who can do this: Owners, or staff with expense viewing and the permission for this action

Where: Expenses & bills, then Expenses

You'll need: Accounting enabled and expense access; recording also needs posting permission or an approval workflow

## Record the purchase

1. Open **Expenses & bills**, then **Expenses**.
2. Select **New expense**.
3. Enter **Merchant**, or choose a saved vendor.
4. Select **Paid from**, then enter **Payment date** and **Payment method**.
5. Choose **Category** and enter **Amount before tax**. Add more category lines to split the purchase.
6. Review **Purchase total** and supporting receipts.
7. Select **Record expense**, or **Submit for approval** when review is required.

![Expense entry with payment details, category lines, receipts and the purchase total](https://demo.qixcount.com/images/help/expenses-create.webp)

Use this workflow for purchases the business has already paid. If a bill already records the purchase, record a bill payment instead; entering another expense would count it twice. Recording an expense updates your books. It does not send money.

The funding account describes how you paid. Category lines describe what you bought. Eligible purchases can include an asset category; that amount increases the asset rather than operating expenses. Purchase tax is included in each category's cost. Recoverable purchase tax is not supported here.

Choose **Save draft** to finish later. A draft does not change account balances. A future payment date can be saved as a draft but cannot be recorded as an already-paid purchase.

Tax previews use the same currently effective rates as recording. If a saved draft shows **Unavailable tax group**, its saved tax stays visible. Choose an active group or **Enter tax amount** and verify the receipt before recording; the unavailable group cannot be recorded.

Your business base currency must use two decimal places. With project tracking required, select an active project. Nonprofit purchases also use the business's fund and function coding rules.