Adding Managing Expenses

Adding and Managing Expenses

This guide walks you through adding expenses, managing existing expenses, and using the Expense Manager interface in Alpha Insights.

Accessing the Expense Manager

Go to Alpha Insights in your WordPress dashboard
Click Expense Manager from the menu
You’ll see the Expense Management dashboard with metrics, recent expenses, and recurring expenses

The Expense Manager Interface

Main Dashboard View

The dashboard shows:

Header: Page title, date range selector, Add Expense button
Metrics Cards: Paid Expenses, Unpaid Expenses, Net Revenue, Net Profit
Recent Expenses List: Toggle between paid/unpaid, filterable by date range
Recurring Expenses: Active recurring expenses with occurrence counts
Taxonomy Manager: Quick view of categories and suppliers

Navigation Tabs

Dashboard: Overview and recent activity
Manage All Expenses: Complete expense list with advanced filtering
Import Expenses: CSV import and bulk manual entry
Manage Taxonomies: Categories and suppliers management

Adding a New Expense

Opening the Add Expense Modal

Click the Add Expense button (available on all pages) to open the expense entry modal.

Expense Fields

Basic Information:

Expense Name (Required): Descriptive name (e.g., “Office Rent – Main St Location”)
Amount (Required): Numeric amount (no currency symbols)
Currency (Required): Select from available currencies (defaults to store currency)
Date (Required): Date expense occurred (for one-time) or start date (for recurring)
Reference Number: Optional invoice or reference ID

Organization:

Expense Category: Select or create new category
Supplier: Select or create new supplier

Status:

Paid Status: Toggle between Paid/Unpaid (defaults to Paid)
Note: Unpaid expenses are tracked separately and shown “all time” regardless of date filters

Recurring Options:

Recurring Expense: Toggle to enable recurring
Frequency: Daily, Weekly, Fortnightly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly
Start Date: When recurring begins (required if recurring)
End Date: Optional – when recurring stops (leave blank for ongoing)

Attachments:

Upload Files: Attach receipts, invoices, or documentation
Supported Types: Images (JPG, PNG, GIF, WebP), PDFs, and documents
Size Limit: 10MB per file
Multiple Files: Attach multiple documents to one expense

Saving the Expense

Fill in required fields (marked with *)
Click Save Expense
The expense will be created and the list will refresh
For recurring expenses, occurrences are automatically calculated

Example: Adding Different Types of Expenses

Example 1: One-Time Expense

Expense Name: Website Redesign
Amount: 3500
Currency: USD
Date: 2024-10-15
Category: Marketing
Supplier: WebDesignCo
Paid: Yes
Recurring: No
Reference: Invoice-2024-10-15
Attachment: WebDesign-Invoice.pdf

Example 2: Monthly Recurring Expense

Expense Name: Office Rent
Amount: 2500
Currency: USD
Frequency: Monthly
Start Date: 2024-01-01
End Date: (leave blank)
Category: Operating Expenses
Paid: Yes
Recurring: Yes
Reference: Lease-Agreement-2024

Example 3: Unpaid Expense

Expense Name: Equipment Purchase - Printer
Amount: 450
Currency: USD
Date: 2024-10-20
Category: Operating Expenses
Supplier: Office Supply Co
Paid: No (Toggle to unpaid)
Recurring: No
Reference: PO-2024-1020

Viewing and Managing Expenses

Recent Expenses View (Dashboard)

The dashboard shows recent expenses with:

Paid/Unpaid Toggle: Switch between viewing paid or unpaid expenses
Date Range Selector: Filter by 7, 30, 60, 90, 180, or 365 days
Expense Details: Name, amount, date, category, supplier
Quick Actions: View/Edit or Delete
Add Button: Quick access to add new expense

Recurring Expenses View (Dashboard)

Shows all active recurring expenses with:

Expense Name: Title of the recurring expense
Amount Per Occurrence: Amount charged each time
Frequency: How often it recurs
Start/End Dates: When it began and ends (if applicable)
Total Paid to Date: Cumulative amount paid
Occurrence Count: Number of times it has occurred
Actions: View/Edit the recurring expense

Manage All Expenses View

Advanced expense management with full filtering:

Filter Options:

Date Range: Custom from/to dates
Search: Search by expense name or reference
Category: Filter by expense category
Supplier: Filter by supplier
Paid Status: All, Paid, or Unpaid
Recurring: All, Recurring, or One-Time
Attachments: All, With Attachments, or Without Attachments

Bulk Operations:

Select Multiple: Checkbox to select expenses
Bulk Delete: Delete selected expenses
Bulk Update Paid: Mark selected as paid/unpaid
Bulk Assign Category: Assign category to selected expenses
Bulk Assign Supplier: Assign supplier to selected expenses

Export Options:

Export Found: Export currently filtered expenses to CSV
Export All: Export all expenses to CSV

Pagination:

50 expenses per page
Navigate through pages for large expense lists
Total count displayed

Editing an Expense

From Any Expense List:

Click the Edit button next to the expense
The Add/Edit Expense modal opens with existing data
Modify any fields
Click Update Expense
Changes are saved and lists refresh

Important Notes:

Editing an expense updates all calculations immediately
For recurring expenses, editing updates the template – future occurrences use new values
Past occurrences of recurring expenses remain unchanged
API-created expenses (Facebook/Google) should not be manually edited

Deleting Expenses

Single Expense:

Click the Delete button next to the expense
Confirm deletion when prompted
Expense is permanently deleted
All reports and calculations update immediately

Bulk Delete:

Go to Manage All Expenses
Select multiple expenses using checkboxes
Click Bulk Actions → Delete
Confirm bulk deletion
All selected expenses are permanently deleted

Warning: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Consider marking expenses as unpaid or setting an end date for recurring expenses instead of deleting.

Managing Expense Categories

Accessing Category Management:

Go to Expense Manager → Manage Taxonomies
Click the Expense Categories tab

Creating a New Category:

Click Add New Category
Enter category name
Optionally select a parent category (for hierarchical structure)
Click Save

Editing a Category:

Find the category in the list
Click Edit
Modify name or parent
Click Update
All expenses automatically update

Deleting a Category:

Click Delete next to the category
Choose what to do with expenses in this category:
- Move to another category
- Leave uncategorized
Confirm deletion

Bulk Category Operations:

Select multiple categories
Bulk delete or bulk edit

Managing Suppliers

Accessing Supplier Management:

Go to Expense Manager → Manage Taxonomies
Click the Suppliers tab

Creating a New Supplier:

Click Add New Supplier
Enter supplier name
Optionally add:
- Tax/VAT number
- Country
Click Save

Note: Suppliers are shared between expenses and products, so you can track all costs associated with a specific supplier across your entire business.

Editing and Deleting Suppliers:

Same process as categories – edit to change details, delete to remove (with options for reassignment).

Common Scenarios

Scenario: Converting Unpaid to Paid

When an unpaid expense is paid:

Find the expense in the Unpaid expenses list
Click Edit
Toggle Paid Status to Paid
Update the Date to the payment date
Add any relevant reference number
Click Update Expense

The expense will now appear in paid expenses and be included in date-filtered reports.

Scenario: Ending a Recurring Expense

To stop a recurring expense:

Find the recurring expense (Dashboard or Manage All)
Click Edit
Set an End Date (past or future)
Click Update Expense

The system will stop calculating occurrences after the end date.

Scenario: Changing Recurring Amount

If a recurring expense amount changes (e.g., rent increase):

Edit the recurring expense
Update the Amount
In Reference/Notes, note the effective date
Click Update Expense

Note: This will update future calculations but not past occurrences. For precise historical accuracy, you could set an end date on the old expense and create a new recurring expense with the new amount.

Scenario: Bulk Categorizing Uncategorized Expenses

Go to Manage All Expenses
Filter to show uncategorized expenses (or use search)
Select the expenses to categorize
Click Bulk Actions → Assign Category
Select the category
Click Apply

Tips for Effective Expense Management

Use Descriptive Names

Good naming helps you find expenses later:

Good: “Adobe Creative Cloud – Team Plan”
Bad: “Software”

Leverage Categories and Suppliers

Consistent categorization and supplier assignment enables:

Accurate expense breakdowns
Supplier-specific cost analysis
Better filtering and searching
More meaningful reports

Attach Documentation

Always attach:

Invoices for all significant expenses
Receipts for in-person purchases
Contracts for service agreements
Any supporting documentation

Use Reference Numbers

Add invoice numbers, PO numbers, or internal reference codes to make expense tracking easier and more professional.

Review Regularly

Set a recurring calendar reminder to:

Review and approve unpaid expenses
Verify recurring expenses are still active
Check for duplicate entries
Ensure all expenses are properly categorized
Export data for accounting

Use Filters Effectively

The Manage All Expenses filters are powerful:

Find all expenses without attachments to add documentation
Filter by supplier to review vendor costs
Check recurring expenses to verify they’re still needed
Search by reference number for quick lookups

Leverage Bulk Operations

Bulk operations save time:

Bulk assign categories when importing many expenses
Bulk mark as paid after payment runs
Bulk assign suppliers when adding historical data

Keyboard Shortcuts & Quick Actions

Add Expense Button: Always visible in header for quick access
Edit Icon: Quick edit from any expense list
Date Range Selector: Fast filtering on dashboard
Paid/Unpaid Toggle: Instant view switching
Export Buttons: One-click CSV export

Troubleshooting

Expense Not Showing in Reports

Check if expense is marked as Paid (unpaid expenses shown separately)
Verify the date falls within your selected date range
Confirm the expense was saved successfully
Check category/supplier filters aren’t excluding it

Recurring Expense Not Calculating Correctly

Verify start date is in the past
Check end date isn’t before current date
Confirm frequency is set correctly
Recurring expenses don’t calculate beyond current date

Can’t Delete Expense

Ensure you have proper permissions
API-created expenses may need to be deleted from the source
Try refreshing the page

Currency Conversion Issues

Verify exchange rates are configured in Alpha Insights settings
Check that currency codes are correct
Currency conversions use rates from settings