Recording Expenses and Vendor Bills

Expenses versus bills

StretchBooks separates two kinds of spending:

• An expense is money already spent — a single amount coded to an expense account, optionally tied to a vendor, with an optional receipt. Use it for card charges, subscriptions, and out-of-pocket costs.
• A bill is money you owe a vendor — it has line items and a due date, and it shows up in your payables and A/P aging until it's settled.

Rule of thumb: if the money is gone, record an expense; if you owe it and it's due later, record a bill.

Step-by-step: record an expense

1. Open the Expenses tab and choose New.
2. Choose the expense account it belongs to (an active expense-type account, for example 5100 Software Subscriptions).
3. Optionally choose a vendor.
4. Enter the amount (the pre-tax subtotal), a tax code, the date, and a description.
5. Optionally attach a receipt.
6. Choose a status: posted (counts in your books), reimbursable (owed back to someone), or draft.
7. Save. StretchBooks calculates tax and total from your subtotal and code.

Step-by-step: enter a vendor bill

1. Open the Bills tab and choose New.
2. Select the vendor (required).
3. Set the bill date and a due date (blank uses the vendor/Settings default terms).
4. Add line items — description, quantity, unit price, and optional tax code — just like an invoice.
5. Optionally add a bill number (the vendor's own reference) and notes.
6. Save. The bill defaults to open and appears in your payables.

Worked example

Northlight Coaching has two costs this week:

• Expense: the monthly design-tool subscription, $52.00 + GST, coded to 5100 Software Subscriptions, status posted, receipt attached.
• Bill: the print supplier's invoice for workbooks — vendor Maple Ridge Print Co., line Printed workbooks qty 50 @ $4.00 + GST, due in 30 days. It now sits in payables until paid.

Tips

• Code every expense to the right account so your Profit & Loss breaks down by category.
• Record the tax on expenses and bills — that's what lets the Tax Summary credit the tax you paid against tax you collected.
• Use reimbursable status for costs a team member or client should pay back.
• Attach the receipt at entry time so it's there at tax time; if AI capture is enabled, it can read the receipt for you (see Capturing Receipts and Invoices with AI).
• Enter supplier invoices as bills (not expenses) when you owe them later — that's what keeps A/P aging accurate.

Troubleshooting

"Expenses must be assigned to an active expense account." The account you chose isn't an active expense-type account. Pick an active expense account, or activate the one you want in the Chart of Accounts.

"This record requires an active vendor." A bill requires a vendor. Select an active vendor, or create/reactivate one in the Vendors tab.

"The selected account/vendor was not found." The reference is missing or inactive — choose an active account or vendor.

My expense didn't affect Profit & Loss. Only posted (and reimbursable/reimbursed) expenses count. A draft expense won't appear until you post it.