Record an Expense
Expenses in BayWise Payments represent money flowing out of your workshop — parts purchases, sublet work, consumables, rent, utilities, and any other cost of doing business. Every expense is recorded as an outflow transaction tied to a vendor contact, a payment method, and a category.
There are two places to record expenses depending on whether the cost relates to a specific vehicle job or to the business as a whole.
Who can do this: Cashiers, Service Advisors, and Finance Managers. Credit-term expenses additionally require a Finance Manager or Account Owner role.
Vehicle-level expenses
Vehicle expenses are costs directly attributable to a repair order — parts sourced from a supplier, sublet bodywork sent to another shop, or specialty fluids purchased for a specific job. These expenses appear on the vehicle’s financial card and factor into the job’s net profit calculation.
Open the entity card
From the Collection Queue or any entity list, tap the vehicle card to open the Financial Recording Modal. The modal opens on the Collections tab by default.
Switch to the Expenses tab
Select the Expenses tab at the top of the modal. You will see an event table showing all outflow event categories relevant to this entity, grouped by category. Each row that already has recorded transactions displays them beneath the category header.
Add a new expense
Click the + Record button on the event row for the category you want to record against (for example, “Parts” or “Sublet”). A recording form expands inline below the category header.
Select a payment method
Choose the payment method from the method picker. Available options depend on your location configuration:
| Method | When to use |
|---|---|
| Cash | Paid from the cash drawer on the spot |
| Card | Workshop card used at a supplier |
| Bank Transfer | Wire or EFT to a vendor account |
| Cheque | Physical cheque issued to vendor |
| Credit | Vendor invoice with net terms (payment deferred) |
Enter the amount
Type the expense amount in the amount field. The field supports locale-aware formatting — you can type commas for thousands separators and they will be parsed correctly.
If tax is configured for your location, a tax strip appears below the amount showing the computed tax breakdown. The amount you enter is treated as the gross (tax-inclusive) figure unless your location is configured for tax-exclusive entry.
Select or create a vendor contact
Use the contact search field to find an existing vendor. Start typing the vendor name and matching contacts appear in a dropdown. If the vendor does not exist yet, click Create new contact to open the inline contact creation form. Enter the vendor name, phone, and email, then save. The new contact is automatically selected.
Contacts are shared across your organisation. A vendor you create while recording an expense on one vehicle is available for all future transactions at any location in your org.
Add a reference
Enter an optional reference number — this is typically the supplier invoice number, purchase order number, or receipt reference. The reference appears on transaction history and receipts for easy reconciliation.
Confirm the recording
Click the confirmation button to save the expense. The transaction is saved immediately. The event table updates to show the new transaction row beneath the category header, and the ExpensesTotalsCard at the top of the tab recalculates.
Business-level expenses
Business expenses are costs that do not tie to a specific vehicle — rent, salaries, marketing spend, software subscriptions, franchise fees, and similar operating costs. These are recorded through the Business tab of the Financial Recording Modal.
Open the Financial Recording Modal in Business context
Open the Financial Recording Modal and switch to the Business context using the context toggle at the top of the modal. If the modal was opened from the Business section of the Queue, it opens in Business context automatically.
Navigate to the Expenses tab
Within the Business context, select the Expenses direction tab. You will see category-grouped event tables for outflow categories. The 13 business category groups are:
| Group | Examples |
|---|---|
| Compensation | Salaries, wages, bonuses |
| Operating Expenses | Rent, utilities, maintenance |
| Recurring OpEx | Insurance premiums, lease payments |
| Statutory | Tax payments, licence fees |
| Marketing | Advertising, promotions |
| Financing | Loan repayments, interest |
| Software | SaaS subscriptions, IT costs |
| Franchise | Franchise fees, brand levies |
| Inter-branch | Transfers between locations |
| Marketplace | Platform fees, listing costs |
| OEM / Dealer | Dealer programme costs |
| Franchisor | Franchisor-mandated costs |
| Sales Revenue | (inflow group — appears on Sales tab) |
Add a category to the table
Not all 13 category groups display rows by default. Only categories that already have recorded transactions appear automatically. To add a new category, click the + Add picker at the bottom of the event table. Select the category you want, and a new row appears in the table.
Categories you add are persisted to your browser’s local storage, keyed by your organisation and location. This means the categories you care about reappear every time you open the Business tab on the same browser, even if you have not yet recorded a transaction against them. Once a transaction exists, the category appears regardless of local storage.
Record the expense
Click + Record on the category row. The inline recording form expands. Fill in the method, amount, vendor contact, and reference, then confirm. The process is identical to vehicle-level expense recording.
Record an expense on credit terms
When a vendor sends an invoice with net terms (pay within 15, 30, 45, or 60 days), record the expense as a credit transaction. This creates an Accounts Payable (AP) entry that tracks the outstanding obligation and its due date.
Select Credit as the payment method
In the recording form (vehicle or business context), choose Credit from the method picker.
Enter credit terms
A credit terms section appears below the method picker. Select the net-term period:
- Net-15 — payment due 15 days from today
- Net-30 — payment due 30 days from today
- Net-45 — payment due 45 days from today
- Net-60 — payment due 60 days from today
The due date is auto-computed from today’s date plus the selected term. For example, selecting Net-30 on 15 June sets the due date to 15 July.
Confirm the credit expense
Click confirm to save. The expense is recorded with a Credit chip visible on the transaction row. The amount is added to your AP Pending total in the ExpensesTotalsCard.
Credit-term expenses create AP obligations that appear in the Pay tab of the Collection Queue. If the due date passes without settlement, the expense is flagged as overdue and the overdue count increments in the ExpensesTotalsCard. Settle vendor invoices promptly to keep your AP aging healthy.
The Expenses Totals Card
At the top of the Expenses tab (both vehicle and business context), the ExpensesTotalsCard provides a real-time summary of your outflow position:
| Metric | What it shows |
|---|---|
| AP Pending | Total unpaid vendor invoices (credit-term expenses not yet settled) |
| Vendor count | Number of distinct vendors with outstanding AP |
| Paid to vendors | Total amount already settled to vendors |
| Overdue count | Number of vendor invoices past their due date |
On the right side of the card, a Settle next AP shortcut button appears when there is at least one outstanding vendor invoice. Clicking it scrolls to the next payable AP row and opens the settlement form, saving you from hunting through the list manually. A hint line below the button shows the vendor name, amount, and status of the next AP item.
Common questions
Can I record an expense against a vehicle that has already been delivered? Yes. Vehicle-level expenses can be recorded at any lifecycle stage, including after delivery. The job’s net position recalculates to reflect the additional cost. The only restriction is after Day Close — no transactions can be recorded for a closed date.
What happens if I record an expense with the wrong amount? You can void the transaction and re-record it with the correct amount. See Void a Transaction for the voiding process. Voided transactions are excluded from all totals but remain visible in the ledger for audit purposes.
How do I settle a credit-term expense when the vendor invoice comes due? Navigate to the Pay tab in the Collection Queue. Outstanding AP items appear as payable rows. Click the settle action on the row to record the payment against the original credit expense. After settlement, the AP Pending total decreases and the Paid to vendors total increases.
Can I add custom expense categories? The 13 business category groups are derived from the event map configured for your organisation. Categories are managed at the platform level and cannot be added from the expense recording screen. Contact your account administrator if you need additional categories.
Do vehicle expenses affect the collection queue priority? No. Vehicle expenses (outflows) do not change the collection priority of a vehicle. Priority is determined by the outstanding customer balance (inflow side). However, expenses do affect the vehicle’s net position shown in the Ledger tab, which helps you understand profitability per job.
Related pages
- Record a Business Sale — recording non-vehicle inflows
- Manage Recurring Payments — scheduled recurring expenses
- Void a Transaction — reversing an incorrectly recorded expense
- Understand the Ledger Tab — seeing expenses in double-entry format
- View Transaction History — browsing all recorded expenses