Create and manage expenses
An expense records a business cost, whether it has already been paid or is still unpaid. Each expense keeps the supplier, description, category, purchase date, amount, GST treatment, payment status, receipts, and any work it relates to.
Open Expenses from the Home menu, or choose Expense from the create (+) menu. The Expenses screen has two pages, Expenses and Suppliers; use the swap icon in the top bar to switch between them. Creating an expense is part of TREVY Core.
Start a new expense
When you start a new expense, TREVY opens the camera so you can scan a receipt first. If you prefer to enter the details yourself, or the scan cannot be completed, you can continue manually or attach a receipt later. See Scan and attach receipts.
- Open Expenses and tap the create button, or open the + menu and choose Expense.
- Select a Supplier (required). If the payee is not listed, create one from the same screen.
- Enter a Description (required).
- Select a Category (required).
- Choose the Purchase Date, or set Repeating to make the expense recurring. See Recurring expenses.
- Set Paid? and, when paid, choose the paid date.
- Enter the Total. Expenses are recorded in AUD.
- Choose the GST Treatment and, for a taxable purchase, whether the total Includes or Excludes GST.
- Add receipt images if you have them. Receipts are optional, so you can attach them later.
- Tap Save Expense.
New expenses default to Paid? switched on. Turn it off if the cost has not been paid yet. If TREVY finds an existing expense with the same supplier, date, and total, it asks you to confirm before saving a possible duplicate. This check is a prompt to review, not a guarantee that every duplicate will be detected.
What each field means
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Supplier | Yes | The payee. Selecting a supplier fills in its Tax ID and applies its default category. See Suppliers. |
| Description | Yes | A short label for the cost, used throughout the app. |
| Category | Yes | One of TREVY's fixed categories. |
| Purchase Date | Yes for one-off expenses | The date of the purchase. |
| Paid? | No | Whether the cost has already been paid. Defaults to on for a new expense. |
| Paid Date | When paid | The date the payment left your account. |
| Total | Yes | The entered amount, interpreted using Amount Entry. It must be zero or greater. |
| Currency | Yes | AUD only. |
| GST Treatment | Yes | How GST applies to the purchase. |
| Amount Entry | For taxable purchases | Whether the total you entered includes or excludes GST. |
| GST Rate | Automatic | Shown read-only at the GST rate for your business. |
Expense categories
Categories are fixed in TREVY. There is no separate screen to add or rename them. Pick the closest match for the cost:
| Category | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Materials and Supplies | Consumables and materials used to do the work. |
| Tools & Equipment | Tools and equipment for the business. |
| Vehicle & Travel | Fuel, servicing, parking, and travel. |
| Software & Subscriptions | Apps, software, and recurring subscriptions. |
| Insurance & Fees | Insurance, licences, and similar fees. |
| Marketing & Advertising | Advertising, promotion, and marketing. |
| Office & Admin | Office supplies and general administration. |
| Professional Services | Accountants, lawyers, and other professionals. |
| Rent and Utilities | Rent, power, water, and similar costs. |
| Training and Education | Courses, tickets, and training. |
| Meals and Entertainment | Client meals and entertainment. |
| Contractor/Subcontractor Costs | Payments to contractors and subcontractors. |
| Bank and Processing Fees | Bank charges and payment processing fees. |
| Taxes and Licenses | Taxes, permits, and licences. |
| Repairs and Maintenance | Repairs and upkeep. |
| Inventory / COGS | Stock and cost of goods sold. |
| Capital Assets / Depreciation | Larger assets and depreciation. |
| Protective Clothing & Workwear | Safety gear and workwear. |
| Telephone & Internet | Phone and internet costs. |
| Superannuation Contributions | Superannuation paid for staff. |
| Other | Anything that does not fit the categories above. |
GST and totals
TREVY records Australian GST on expenses. The GST treatment you choose affects how the amount is split into a pre-GST amount and a GST amount:
| GST Treatment | What the app records |
|---|---|
| Taxable purchase | Calculates a GST amount using the displayed rate and Amount Entry setting. |
| GST-free purchase | Records the GST-free purchase treatment without adding GST. |
| Input-taxed purchase | Records the input-taxed purchase treatment without adding GST. |
| Not applicable | Records the purchase without GST. |
For a Taxable purchase, choose how you entered the total:
- Amount Includes GST splits the total into the pre-GST amount plus GST.
- Amount Excludes GST adds GST on top of the amount you entered.
The GST Rate is set by your business's GST registration and is shown read-only. New expenses use your business tax settings to choose their starting treatment. Review the selected treatment against the purchase record; a category such as Materials and Supplies does not choose the GST treatment for you.
Payment status and dates
Use Paid? to show whether the cost has left your account.
- When an expense is paid, TREVY records a Paid Date. On an expense's details you can tap the paid date to change it or remove it.
- Choosing Remove date marks the expense as unpaid again.
The UNPAID quick filter shows outstanding costs; ALL includes both paid and unpaid expenses. Recording or removing a paid date does not move money between accounts. Payment status also affects how TREVY syncs an expense to Xero; see Accounting status.
Link an expense to your work
You can keep expenses alongside the project or document they relate to. Creating an expense from supported project, invoice, or quote flows carries that work context into the saved record.
A related expense is a cost record; it does not automatically become a charge on a customer's document. See Link expenses and charge customers for adding existing expenses to projects, unlinking them, and selecting expenses as quote or invoice lines.
Find and review expenses
The Expenses page lists your records newest first, with the description, supplier, date, and a PAID or UNPAID badge.
- Search by description, supplier, or category.
- Use the filter chips to narrow the list:
- ALL shows every expense.
- UNPAID shows expenses that have not been paid.
- UPCOMING shows future occurrences from your recurring expenses. See Recurring expenses.
- RECURRING shows your recurring expense schedules rather than individual records.
- Use the sort control to switch between newest and oldest first.
- Pull down to refresh, and scroll to load older records.
Edit an expense
Open an expense from the list to see its details. You can change most fields directly on the details screen, and changes save directly to the record rather than waiting for a final Save button. Wait for the save to finish and resolve any error before leaving:
- Supplier, description, and category
- Purchase date and paid date
- Total and GST treatment
- Purchase account and Paid from, when Xero is connected
Editing an expense does not automatically rewrite a quote or invoice line previously created from it. Review those documents separately if they need correcting.
If the expense belongs to a recurring schedule, its details also show a REPEATING row for managing the schedule.
Correcting an expense
TREVY does not currently provide a way to delete an expense from the app. If a record is wrong, open it and edit the details so it is accurate. Unlinking a project or removing a receipt does not delete the expense. For an accidental duplicate that cannot be corrected appropriately, contact support rather than changing unrelated details just to hide it.