Expense Tracking - User Guide
Overview
The Expense Tracking feature in autoGMS gives you a clear picture of where your garage's money is going. Whether it is rent, parts, staff wages, or a new piece of equipment, every outgoing payment can be recorded, categorized, and analyzed -- all in one place.
With Expense Tracking you can:
- Log one-time and recurring expenses with full details.
- Organize spending into over 20 purpose-built categories designed for garage businesses.
- Calculate VAT automatically and track which VAT amounts are recoverable.
- Set up recurring expenses so regular bills (rent, software subscriptions, insurance) are created for you on schedule.
- View summary cards, trend charts, and breakdowns by category, vendor, or payment method.
- Export your expense data to CSV for your accountant or for your own records.
- Link parts purchases directly to your inventory so stock levels update automatically.
How to Access Expense Tracking
- Log in to your autoGMS dashboard.
- Open your garage from the sidebar.
- In the garage navigation, click Expenses.
You will land on the main Expenses page, which has three tabs across the top:
| Tab | What it shows |
|---|---|
| All Expenses | A searchable, filterable list of every expense you have recorded, along with summary stat cards at the top. |
| Recurring | A dedicated view for managing recurring expense templates — pause, resume, or cancel them here. |
| Activity | A chronological log of everything the recurring-expense system has done (auto-created entries, failures, pauses, and so on). |
Key Features at a Glance
- 20+ expense categories tailored for garage operations
- One-time and recurring expense types
- Built-in VAT calculator with tax-inclusive / tax-exclusive toggle
- Partial payment tracking for expenses not yet fully paid
- Vendor autocomplete that learns from your previous entries
- Inventory linking for parts purchases (COGS category)
- Expense analytics with trend charts and breakdowns
- CSV export for accounting and tax preparation
- Quick inline status updates -- change payment status directly from the table
Step-by-Step Guide
Adding a New Expense
- From the Expenses page, click the Add Expense button in the top-right corner.
- A dialog will open with a form. Fill in the required fields:
Required fields:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Category | Choose the type of expense from the dropdown (see the full category list below). |
| Description | A short summary of what the expense is for. Must be at least 3 characters. |
| Amount | The total amount. Your garage's currency is shown automatically. |
Other helpful fields:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Date | Defaults to today. Click the date button to open a calendar picker and choose a different date. |
| Vendor | The supplier or company you paid. As you type, autoGMS will suggest vendors you have used before. |
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The VAT Calculator panel appears on the right side of the form. It will automatically compute a VAT breakdown based on your garage's default VAT rate. You can adjust the rate, toggle between tax-inclusive and tax-exclusive, and mark whether the VAT is recoverable. More details in the VAT Calculator section below.
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To access additional options, click the Advanced Options bar to expand it. Here you can set:
- Payment Method -- Cash, Card, Bank Transfer, Check, or Online Payment.
- Payment Status -- Paid, Unpaid, or Partially Paid. If you choose Partially Paid, a field appears where you enter the amount paid so far; autoGMS will show the remaining balance.
- Recurring Expense -- Toggle this on to make the expense repeat automatically (see Recurring Expenses below).
- Notes -- Any additional details you want to record.
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Click Save Expense (or press Ctrl+Enter as a keyboard shortcut).
Good to know: The description field shows a smart placeholder that changes based on the category you select, giving you a hint of what to type. For example, selecting "Utilities" might show "Monthly electricity bill" as a suggestion.
Expense Categories
autoGMS provides a comprehensive set of categories designed for garage and automotive businesses. When you add or edit an expense, you will pick one of the following:
| Category | When to use it |
|---|---|
| Administrative | Office supplies, postage, stationery, general admin costs. |
| COGS (Parts & Materials) | Cost of goods sold — parts, materials, and components used in jobs. This category also allows you to link the expense to your inventory (see below). |
| Equipment | Lifts, diagnostic tools, compressors, and other workshop equipment. |
| Fixed Assets | Major purchases such as property, large machinery, or vehicles owned by the business. |
| Fuel | Petrol, diesel, or other fuel for company vehicles or equipment. |
| Insurance | Business insurance, vehicle insurance, liability coverage. |
| Labor | Staff wages and salaries. Labor expenses can be linked to specific technicians for payroll tracking. |
| Maintenance | Upkeep and repairs for your premises or equipment. |
| Marketing | Advertising, social media campaigns, signage, promotions. |
| Operational | Day-to-day running costs that do not fit neatly into another category. |
| Rent | Monthly or periodic rent for your garage premises. |
| Tax Payment | VAT payments, corporate tax, or other government levies. |
| Training | Courses, certifications, and professional development for staff. |
| Utilities | Electricity, water, internet, phone bills. |
| Tools | Hand tools, power tools, and small workshop equipment. |
| Licenses & Permits | Business licenses, trade permits, environmental permits. |
| Software Subscriptions | Monthly or annual payments for software you use (e.g., accounting software, CRM tools). |
| Waste Disposal | Disposal of oil, tyres, scrap metal, hazardous materials. |
| Supplies | Consumables like cleaning products, rags, gloves, and safety gear. |
| Professional Services | Accountants, lawyers, consultants, and other external professionals. |
| Other | Anything that does not fit into the categories above. |
Each category has its own color indicator, making it easy to spot expense types at a glance in the table and in analytics charts.
One-Time vs. Recurring Expenses
One-time expenses are the default. You record them once, and they appear in your expense list for that date.
Recurring expenses are for bills that repeat on a schedule. When you toggle the "Recurring Expense" switch on while adding an expense, autoGMS will:
- Create the initial expense entry for the date you specified.
- Set up a recurring template that automatically generates new expense entries on schedule.
- Show you the next due date so you know when the next entry will be created.
Available recurring periods:
| Period | How often a new entry is created |
|---|---|
| Weekly | Every 7 days from the original date. |
| Monthly | Same day each month. |
| Quarterly | Every 3 months. |
| Annually | Once a year. |
Good to know: You can also convert an existing one-time expense into a recurring one by editing it and toggling the recurring switch on.
Managing Recurring Expenses
Click the Recurring tab at the top of the Expenses page to see all your recurring expense templates.
What you will see:
- Summary cards at the top showing:
- Total number of recurring templates.
- How many are currently active.
- How many are paused.
- A monthly projection estimating your total recurring costs per month.
- A table listing every recurring template with its description, category, amount, frequency, next due date, status (Active or Paused), and how many expense instances have been created so far.
Actions you can take on each recurring template:
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pause | Temporarily stops the automatic creation of new expenses. The template stays in your list and can be resumed at any time. You will be asked to confirm before pausing. |
| Resume | Restarts a paused recurring expense. New entries will begin being created again from the next due date. |
| Cancel | Permanently stops the recurring expense. Previously created expense entries are not affected — they remain in your records. You will be asked to confirm before cancelling. |
Good to know: Pausing is ideal for seasonal expenses or when you switch vendors temporarily. Cancelling is best when you no longer need the expense at all.
Recurring Activity Log
Click the Activity tab to see a detailed log of everything the recurring expense system has done.
What you will see:
A table with the following columns:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Date & Time | When the action happened. |
| Action | What happened — Created, Failed, Paused, Resumed, Cancelled, Updated, or Skipped. |
| Template | Which recurring expense template the action relates to. |
| Type | Whether it was an automated action (the system ran it on schedule) or a manual action (you or a team member did it). |
| Status | Whether the action succeeded, failed, or is pending. |
| User | Who performed the action. Automated actions show "System." |
| Details | Additional information such as error messages (if something failed) or the reason for a pause. |
You can filter the activity log by action type and status to quickly find what you are looking for.
Using the VAT Calculator
Every time you add or edit an expense, the VAT Calculator panel appears on the right side of the form. It gives you a real-time breakdown of your expense amounts.
What you will see:
- The amount you entered, displayed prominently.
- A breakdown showing Net Amount, VAT Amount (with the percentage shown as a badge), and the Total (Gross) Amount.
- Three controls:
- Price includes VAT toggle -- Turn this on if the amount you entered already includes VAT. Turn it off if the amount is the net (before-tax) price.
- VAT Rate field -- Your garage's default VAT rate is filled in automatically. You can change it for individual expenses if needed (for example, zero-rated or reduced-rate items).
- VAT Recoverable toggle -- Turn this on if you can claim this VAT back from the tax authority. When on, a green panel shows the recoverable amount.
How the calculation works:
- If "Price includes VAT" is on: autoGMS extracts the VAT from the total you entered. For example, if you enter 105 with a 5% VAT rate, the net amount is 100 and the VAT is 5.
- If "Price includes VAT" is off: autoGMS adds the VAT on top. For example, if you enter 100 with a 5% VAT rate, the VAT is 5 and the total is 105.
Good to know: The VAT rate automatically fills in based on your garage's settings. If your garage is set up in the UAE, it will default to 5%. You can always override it per expense.
Viewing an Expense
Click the View button on any expense row to open its full details.
What you will see:
- The expense category and payment status as colored badges.
- The gross amount displayed prominently, with net and VAT amounts shown below it.
- A full description of the expense.
- Basic information: date, vendor, payment method, and invoice number (if applicable).
- If the expense is recurring: the frequency and next due date.
- Related information: if the expense is linked to a technician (for labor expenses), a booking, or an inventory item, those links are shown.
- Any notes attached to the expense.
- Tags, if any have been added.
- Metadata: who created the expense, when it was created, payment status, amount paid, and when it was paid.
Editing an Expense
Click the Edit button on any expense row to modify it. The edit form is identical to the add form, with all current values pre-filled.
You can change any field: category, description, amount, date, vendor, payment details, VAT settings, recurring settings, and notes.
A few things to be aware of:
- Auto-generated expenses cannot be edited. If an expense was automatically created by the system (for example, from a COGS or labor bulk import), a lock icon will appear and the system will explain that the expense is read-only.
- Labor expenses linked to technicians will show an information banner at the top of the edit form indicating which technician is linked and their salary.
- Click Save Changes (or press Ctrl+Enter) when you are done.
Deleting an Expense
Click the Delete button on any expense row. A confirmation dialog will appear showing the expense description and amount. Click Delete to confirm, or Cancel to go back.
Good to know: Auto-generated expenses cannot be deleted from the expense list. They are managed by the system processes that created them.
Linking Expenses to Inventory
When you select the COGS (Parts & Materials) category, a special "Link to Inventory" section appears in the add-expense form.
How to use it:
- Check the Update Inventory checkbox.
- Select an inventory item from the dropdown. The dropdown shows each item's name and current stock level.
- Enter the quantity you purchased.
- autoGMS will show you a preview of the stock update:
- Current stock level and what it will change to.
- The current average unit cost and what the new weighted average will be.
- The purchase unit cost for this transaction.
- If your amount is VAT-inclusive, a note explaining that VAT has been excluded from the unit cost calculation.
Need to add a new inventory item? Click the "Create New Item" option at the bottom of the dropdown. A mini-form appears where you can enter the item name and category (parts, fluids, filters, tires, batteries, accessories, tools, or other). The item is created instantly and selected for you.
Good to know: The inventory linking feature ensures that your stock levels and cost-of-goods calculations stay accurate without requiring manual inventory adjustments.
Filtering and Searching Expenses
The main Expenses table provides several ways to find what you need:
Search bar -- Type any keyword to search across expense descriptions, categories, vendors, and other fields.
Category filter -- Click the category dropdown in the toolbar to filter expenses by one or more categories. You can select multiple categories at once.
Month filter -- Use the month selector to view expenses for a specific month. The dropdown shows the last 12 months. Selecting a month automatically sets the date range for you.
Quick date ranges (available in the analytics view) -- Pre-set options for:
- Last 7 days
- Last 30 days
- Last 90 days
- Year to date
Payment status -- You can change an expense's payment status (Unpaid, Partially Paid, or Paid) directly from the table without opening the edit form. Just click the status dropdown on any row.
Reset filters -- Click the reset button to clear all active filters and return to the default view.
Good to know: Your filter selections are saved in the URL. This means you can bookmark a filtered view or share the link with a colleague, and they will see the same filtered results.
Expense Analytics and Trends
autoGMS provides several ways to analyze your spending:
Summary stat cards (shown at the top of the All Expenses tab):
| Card | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Total Expenses | The total net amount of all expenses in the current view, along with the number of expense entries. |
| Average per Expense | The average net amount across all expenses in the current view. |
| This Month | The total for the current month. |
| VAT | The total VAT amount across all expenses. |
Analytics Dashboard (accessed via the "Analytics" button at the top of the Expenses page -- available if your organization's analytics feature is enabled):
The analytics dashboard offers deeper views including:
- Expense Trend Chart -- A visual chart showing how your spending changes over time.
- Category Breakdown -- A table showing total spending and number of transactions per category. Sortable and searchable.
- Vendor Breakdown -- A table showing total spending and number of transactions per vendor. Sortable and searchable.
- VAT by Category -- A table showing total VAT, claimable VAT, and non-recoverable VAT for each expense category.
- Payment Methods -- A table showing total spending and transaction count by payment method (cash, card, bank transfer, check, online).
- Itemized Expenses -- A paginated table listing every individual expense with full details (date, category, description, net amount, VAT, gross amount, vendor, payment method, and status).
All analytics tables support searching and can be exported to CSV.
Exporting Expense Data
You can export your expenses as a CSV file in two ways:
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From the main Expenses page -- Click the export button in the page header. This exports the currently filtered expense list with columns for date, category, description, amount, vendor, payment method, and payment status.
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From the Analytics dashboard -- Click the "Export" button in the Itemized Expenses section. This export includes all expenses in the selected date range with columns for date, category, description, net amount, VAT, gross amount, vendor, payment method, and payment status. It also includes a totals row at the bottom.
The CSV file is named automatically with the garage name and date, making it easy to organize your records.
How Expenses Feed into Financial Reports
Expenses recorded in autoGMS automatically flow into your garage's financial reporting:
- Financial Overview -- Your total expenses (net of VAT) appear in the overall financial summary alongside revenue, giving you a clear picture of profitability.
- Cash Flow -- Expenses are broken down by payment method in the cash flow analysis, showing you where your money is going.
- VAT Reporting -- Claimable and non-recoverable VAT amounts are calculated and displayed, helping you prepare for tax filings.
- Profit and Loss -- Net expense totals are used to calculate your garage's net profit when compared against revenue from completed bookings.
Good to know: Only the net amount of each expense (excluding VAT) counts toward your total expenses in financial reports. The VAT portion is tracked separately for tax recovery purposes.
Tips and Best Practices
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Record expenses as they happen. The sooner you log an expense, the less likely you are to forget it. The form is quick -- category, description, and amount are all you need to get started.
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Use recurring expenses for predictable bills. Rent, insurance premiums, software subscriptions, and utility bills are great candidates. Set them up once and let autoGMS handle the rest.
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Keep vendor names consistent. The autocomplete feature works best when you use the same vendor name each time. Instead of "ADNOC Station" one time and "ADNOC" the next, pick one and stick with it.
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Take advantage of the VAT calculator. If you receive invoices that include VAT, leave the "Price includes VAT" toggle on and enter the total from the invoice. autoGMS will extract the net and VAT amounts for you.
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Mark VAT as non-recoverable when appropriate. Not all business expenses qualify for VAT recovery. Toggle the "VAT Recoverable" switch off for expenses like entertainment or personal-use items.
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Use partial payment tracking for large expenses. If you are paying for equipment in installments, set the status to "Partially Paid" and record each payment. The remaining balance is always visible.
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Link COGS expenses to inventory. When you buy parts, always use the COGS category and link to the inventory item. This keeps your stock levels and cost calculations accurate automatically.
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Review the Recurring tab regularly. Check in monthly to make sure all your recurring templates are still relevant. Pause or cancel any that are no longer needed.
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Export monthly for your records. At the end of each month, export your expenses to CSV. This gives your accountant clean data and serves as a backup.
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Use the Activity log to troubleshoot. If a recurring expense did not appear when expected, check the Activity tab. It will show you if the auto-creation failed and why.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I add expenses for past dates?
Yes. When adding an expense, click the date field and select any date from the calendar. This is useful for recording expenses that happened before you started using autoGMS, or for entering receipts you received late.
What happens when I delete a recurring expense template?
Cancelling (deleting) a recurring template permanently stops new expenses from being generated. However, all expenses that were already created by that template remain in your records and are not affected.
Can I edit an auto-generated expense?
No. Expenses that were automatically generated by the system (such as those created from bulk COGS or labor imports) are read-only. This protects the integrity of automated records. You can still view their full details.
How does the vendor autocomplete work?
As you type in the Vendor field, autoGMS looks at vendors you have used before for the current garage and category. It suggests matching names so you can pick one with a click instead of typing the full name again.
What is the difference between "Price includes VAT" on and off?
- On (tax-inclusive): The amount you enter is the total, and autoGMS calculates how much of that total is VAT. Use this when your supplier invoices show a VAT-inclusive total.
- Off (tax-exclusive): The amount you enter is the net price before tax, and autoGMS adds the VAT on top. Use this when your supplier invoices show a net amount plus VAT separately.
Can I track expenses across multiple garages?
Yes. Each expense is tied to a specific garage. If you manage multiple garages, navigate to each garage's Expenses page to add and view expenses for that location. The analytics dashboard provides per-garage breakdowns.
How do I change the payment status of an expense without opening the edit form?
On the All Expenses table, each row has a payment status dropdown. Simply click the dropdown and select the new status (Unpaid, Partially Paid, or Paid). The change is saved immediately.
What currencies are supported?
autoGMS automatically uses the currency configured for your garage. Common currencies include AED (UAE), SAR (Saudi Arabia), QAR (Qatar), GBP (United Kingdom), and EUR (Europe). The currency symbol appears next to all amounts throughout the expense features.
Can I search or filter by vendor?
Yes. Use the search bar on the main Expenses table to type a vendor name. In the Analytics dashboard, there is a dedicated Vendor Breakdown table with its own search field.
How do I know if a recurring expense was created successfully?
Check the Activity tab. Every time the system creates a recurring expense entry, it logs the action with a "Created" label and a "Success" status. If something went wrong, you will see a "Failed" status with an error message explaining the issue.
Can I export expenses for a specific date range?
Yes. Use the month filter or the quick date range options to narrow your view to the desired period, then click the export button. Only expenses within the selected range will be included in the CSV file.