Every peso you spend on the business, from rent to a tank of fuel, belongs in your books. Tracked well, expenses tell you where the money goes and make month-end quick. Tracked badly, they turn into a shoebox of fading receipts that your accountant has to sort out.
What counts as a business expense
Anything you pay to run the business: stock and supplies, rent, electricity and water, internet and load, salaries, transport and delivery, platform fees from online marketplaces, repairs and equipment. Keep personal spending out of the business records. If you pay for something personal with the business account, note it separately.
Use a short list of categories
Pick ten to fifteen categories that match how you think about your spending, and add a second level only where it helps. For example: Utilities with Electricity, Water and Internet under it, or Supplies with Packaging and Cleaning. A short list is easier to use the same way every time, and that consistency is what makes your reports useful.
Keep every receipt, the easy way
- Take a photo of the receipt or supplier invoice the day you get it. Thermal paper fades within months.
- Keep the photo or PDF with the expense it belongs to, not in a separate folder.
- Write down the supplier, date, amount and category at the same time.
- Keep the paper originals in one envelope per month, in case they are ever asked for. Your accountant can tell you how long to keep them.
A ten-minute weekly routine
- Collect the week's receipts from your wallet, your phone and your chats.
- Record each expense with its category and attach the photo.
- Check for duplicates: the same supplier, amount and date entered twice is the most common mistake.
- Mark which expenses are already paid and which are bills still to pay.
- Glance at the total for the month so far. Is anything higher than usual?
At month-end
If you have kept up the weekly routine, month-end is short: compare your expenses with your sales for the month, look at the biggest categories, and send your accountant the list and the receipts. Fifteen minutes instead of a lost weekend.
How PrimerLedger helps
In PrimerLedger each expense line has a category and a subcategory, and you can attach a photo or PDF of the receipt to it. If you enter the same supplier, total and date twice, it warns you before saving. You can record bills you have not paid yet and mark them paid later. Reports group your spending by category, and your accountant can export everything to Excel in one click. See expenses for the details.