How to encode an expense and what to do if it includes negative amounts ?

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Option 1 : Upload your receipt/invoice

If you have a receipt or invoice you need to upload directly, follow these steps:

Step 1: Go to Expenses

• Navigate to the “Expenses” section.

Step 2: Upload the expense

Accountable Web : Tap the “Upload new expense” button at the top right of the screen	Mobile app : You can either click on "Scan document" to take a picture of your receipt/invoice, click on "Upload from gallery" to select to picture of your document or click on "Import document" to select the PDF file to import

Step 3: Verify the expense details

• Ensure that the information on the expense form is correct (e.g., supplier, amount, category).

• Split the expense: If your invoice includes multiple items, you can split the expense into several articles.

  

• Verify the VAT Rate:

  • Be sure to check the VAT rate applied to the expense.

Handling negative amounts on invoices

Invoices may sometimes include negative amounts due to:

• Refunds: Issued for overpaid services or returned products.

• Returned Deposits: For items like bottles or other refundable deposits.

• Invoice Adjustments: Such as credits or discounts applied after the initial invoice.

You can encode articles with negative amounts by simply putting a "-" sign in front of the amount.

Option 2 : create expense manually

If you don’t have your receipt or invoice available immediately, you can create an expense manually and attach the file later.

Step 1: Go to Expenses

• Navigate to the “Expenses” section of the app.

Step 2: Create manual Expense

Accountable Web : Tap the “Create an expense manually” button at the top right of the screen	Mobile app : Click on "Manually input expense"

Step 3: Fill in the form with the expense details

• Enter the details of the expense, including supplier, category, amount, and VAT rate.

  

• Negative Amounts: If your expense includes negative amounts (such as a refund or credit), you can directly encode these negative amounts as articles in the manual entry.

Step 4: Save the Expense

• Save the expense once you’ve entered all the necessary information.

Important Note: Once you have the correct file (invoice/receipt), don’t forget to attach it to the manually created expense later to keep everything in order.

Option 3 : import expense by email

You can also import expenses by forwarding emails that contain PDF invoices or receipts directly to Accountable.

Step 1: Forward the email with PDF attachment

• Simply forward the email with your PDF expense attached (from the same email address you use Accountable with) to the email address expenses@accountable.eu Your expenses will automatically be imported into your expense list.

Step 2: Review and validate the expense

• Once your expense is imported, you can review and validate the details to ensure everything is accurate.

Important Note: If you’re registered with Peppol (with Accountable as access point for receiving invoices), you will automatically receive your invoices directly into Accountable. These will be available for review and validation in your app.

Other useful articles :

• How can I edit a locked expense?

• Add recurring expenses in Accountable

• How to add expenses in other currencies

• How to record purchases within the European Union?

• How to encode my expenses outside the European Union?

Author - Valesca Wilms

As content marketing lead at Accountable Belgium, Valesca writes about freelancing, self-employment, and taxes based on her own experience as a freelancer.

Who is Valesca ?