How can you set up custom expense categories in QuickBooks?

1 Why use custom expense categories?

Custom expense categories allow you to group your expenses into different types, such as travel, supplies, or utilities. This way, you can easily see where your money is going, identify trends and patterns, and optimize your budget. Custom expense categories also help you prepare accurate and detailed reports for your clients, investors, or tax authorities. You can create custom expense categories based on your industry, project, or preference.

4 How to use custom expense categories?

Once you have created your custom expense categories, you can use them to record and track your expenses in QuickBooks. You can assign your custom expense categories to your transactions in various ways, such as selecting it from the Category details section when entering a bill, check, or expense, categorizing it with the Categorize button on the Banking page when connecting your bank or credit card accounts, or adding it as a line item or a product/service when creating an invoice or a sales receipt.

5 How to view custom expense categories in reports?

Using custom expense categories can generate more detailed and relevant reports for your business. QuickBooks offers various reports to view these categories, such as the Profit and Loss report which shows income and expenses by category for a given period, the Expense by Vendor report which shows expenses by category and vendor for a period, and the Transaction List by Date report which displays transactions by date, type, and category for a period. These reports are located in the Reports menu on the left side of the page. Additionally, you can customize your reports by adding or removing columns, filters, or groups, as well as changing the date range, format, or layout.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?