Expense Tracking for Small Businesses
How to keep business expenses in Billed: record each expense with its vendor, date, amount and category, keep the receipt with it, and use the expense and income vs expense reports at tax time.
Key Takeaways
- In the US, IRS Publication 583 (revised December 2024; page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026) says "Everyone in business must keep records."
- Billed's expenses page says "An expense in Billed records who you paid, when, how much and which category it belongs to, with the receipt attached to the same entry."
- Billed's expenses page says "The expense report shows what you spent over a date range, and the income vs expense report compares income with expenses so you can see how profitable the business is."
- It adds: "Reports can be filtered by date range and exported for your accountant, bookkeeper or tax software."
Why keep expense records
In the US, IRS Publication 583 (revised December 2024; page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026) says "Everyone in business must keep records." It also says "Supporting documents include sales slips, paid bills, invoices, receipts, deposit slips, and canceled checks."
Which expenses you can deduct, and how long to keep the records, depend on your business and where you file, so ask your accountant.
Recording an expense in Billed
Billed's expenses page says "An expense in Billed records who you paid, when, how much and which category it belongs to, with the receipt attached to the same entry." It also says: "Save the vendors you buy from so repeat purchases take less typing, record expenses in more than one currency when you pay suppliers abroad, and edit an expense if you entered something wrong."
For the receipt, the same page says "Attach the receipt when you record the expense, and it stays with that entry in your Billed account instead of in a drawer or an inbox." For categories, it says "Give every expense a category so your spending is already sorted when you file taxes or hand the year to your accountant."
Worked example: one month of expenses
These are sample figures. In March, a freelance designer records three expenses, each with its receipt and a category: a design app, $49.00 (Software); printer ink, $86.50 (Office supplies); and a train ticket to a client meeting, $132.00 (Travel). $49.00 + $86.50 + $132.00 = $267.50.
The designer's invoiced income for March is $4,800.00. Comparing income with expenses for the month: $4,800.00 − $267.50 = $4,532.50. The figures are an example, not a tax calculation.
Reports and tax time
Billed's expenses page says "The expense report shows what you spent over a date range, and the income vs expense report compares income with expenses so you can see how profitable the business is." It adds: "Reports can be filtered by date range and exported for your accountant, bookkeeper or tax software." and "Billed's expense report can group your expenses by category."
More than one business
Billed's expenses page says "If you run more than one business from one Billed account, each business has its own expenses, invoices, clients and financial reports, and you can switch between businesses as you work."
Expense Tracking in Billed
An Expense in a Few Fields
Billed's expenses page says "An expense in Billed records who you paid, when, how much and which category it belongs to, with the receipt attached to the same entry."
Related Features
Explore the Billed features that power expense tracking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start Tracking Expenses
Set up your account and send your first invoice with Billed.
At a glance
| You have | In Billed |
|---|---|
| A purchase to record | An expense with the vendor, date, amount and category |
| The receipt | Attached to the same expense |
| Tax time | Expense report by category, exported |
| A second business | Its own expenses |
Sources for this page (checked October 30, 2026). Billed capabilities come only from Billed's expense and receipt tracking page. The recordkeeping quotes are from IRS Publication 583 (revised December 2024; page last reviewed or updated April 30, 2026).
When this isn't for you
If you already track expenses in a system that works for you, there's no need to switch.