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Expense Setup Follow

The expense tracking module uses many of the same concepts as time tracking. In this section, we’ll walk you through the setup process. The setup steps are:

  • General settings
  • Payment method overview
  • Adding payment methods
  • Expense type overview
  • Adding expense types
  • Expense settings – Project
  • Expense settings – Employee
  • Expense settings – Approver

General Settings

In this section, we’ll cover one-time setup items for expenses.

  1. Log in as the administrator
  2. Click on Settings in the Navbar
  3. Click on My Company
  4. Scroll down to the Defaults and Expense section and check the features shown below, as applicable

expense_1.png

expense_2.png

  1. Scroll down and click Save
  2. Open SpringConnect
  3. Sync Accounts to bring your expense accounts from QuickBooks into SpringAhead 

expense_3.png

Payables: Accounting Export

From the Settings > Payables: Accounting Export page, click on More Settings to access advanced settings for the Payables: Accounting Export module. 

Expense Payment Dates refers to the date of the expenses to use upon export. By default, the bill will use today's date. Custom allows the admin to select a specific date prior to export.

Credit Card Charge Dates refers to the date used for credit card transactions upon export. Transaction refers to the date of the transaction. Today will use the today's date for the export. Custom allows for the date to be changed as needed. 

 

Expense Types 

When employees enter their expenses, they will select the type of expense (rental car, airfare, entertainment, etc.) from a drop-down list. In this section, you will specify the expense types that they will choose from. The expense types that you add here will then be mapped to QuickBooks accounts. This process allows you to use user-friendly names such as “Hotel” that can then be mapped to "Travel & Ent: Lodging" in QuickBooks. Also note that you can map multiple Expense Types to a single QuickBooks account. This will give you better reporting visibility when using SpringAhead’s reporting features.

Adding Expense Types

  1. Log in as the Administrator
  2. Go to Settings, and click on Expense Types
  3. Click Add Expense Type expense_4.png
  4. Enter the Name of the expense type
  5. Toggle Yes for Allow Amount if the employee will enter the dollar amount of the expense
  6. Toggle Yes for Allow Rate if the amount is based on a rate. This typically applies to mileage
  7. Choose the QuickBooks Expense Account to map the charge to
  8. Click Save and Exit

Payment Methods (Optional Setup)

Payment Methods describe how company expenses were paid. Common payment methods are cash, personal credit cards and company credit cards. Employees will select their payment method from a list of items that you will define.

In general, expenses paid by employees via cash or personal credit card are reimbursable to the employee. Expenses charged to a corporate card are typically not reimbursable to the employee but are important to record on an expense report so they can be tracked and accounted for in the accounting system. The following represents a common payment method setup:

  • Cash
  • Personal Credit Card
  • Company AMEX – A. Adler
  • Company Amex – S. Salary
  • Other

By specifying the particular credit card account, you will be able to shorten the monthly reconciliation process when accounting for company card charges. Also, placing the corporate card name before the employee name will improve sorting. Take a moment to consider the payment methods you’d like to add to the system and then we’ll walk you through the setup process.

Adding Payment Methods

  1. Log in as the Administrator
  2. Click Settings, then Payment Methods on the left-hand menu
  3. Select Add Payment Method expense_5.png
  4. Enter the Name as you’d like it to appear in the employees’ drop-down menu
  5. For corporate cards, select the QuickBooks account to map the charge to with the Map to Corporate Card Account field. Maintaining separate accounts for each corporate card will simplify the monthly reconciliation process. You can add new accounts in QuickBooks and re-sync the account list as necessary
  6. If the payment method is for a corporate credit card that only applies to one person (e.g. Amex – A. Adler), use the Restrict Access to Single User field to keep it exclusive to that person

Expense Settings - Project

SpringAhead allows employees to submit expenses to projects. This will allow the administrator to invoice the customer and run expense reports by project. To allow expenses to be charged to a project, follow these simple steps:

  1. Log in as the Administrator
  2. Click on Settings, and click on Projects
  3. Click on the Details tab
  4. In the Roles section, toggle Yes for Track Expense on this Project expense_6.png
  5. Click Save and Exit

Remember to use the Mass Update feature if you’d like to change multiple accounts at once.

Expense Settings - Employee

To enable an employee to submit expenses, follow these steps:

  1. Log in as the Administrator
  2. Click on Settings, then click on People. Click into a person’s settings
  3. Click on the Permissions tab
  4. Check off Track Expenses expense_7.png
  5. Click Save and Exit

Expense Settings - Approver 

If you would like to set up an expense approver for each person:

  1. Log in as the Administrator
  2. Click on Settings, then click on People
  3. Click on the Approvers tab
  4. In the Manager section, toggle Yes for Approves Expenses expense_8.png
  5. Select the appropriate manager from the drop-down menu
  6. (Note: If the manager does not appear in the drop-down menu, edit that manager/user and check Approve Time and Expenses in the Permissions tab and save the settings. The manager will then appear in the approval drop-down menus) 
  7. Click Save and Exit

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