How to record an expense in UpeoRetail
Petty cash in UpeoRetail is the record of small amounts spent running the shop, and the float they come out of. Recording expenses is what makes your profit figure honest. A shop that records sales but not costs looks far more profitable than it is.
Before you start
- Have the receipt for what was spent.
- Know which account or float the money came out of.
Steps
1. Open Petty Cash
From the Money menu choose Petty Cash. The screen is described as Float top-ups, expenses and the running ledger.
Current petty cash balance at the top is what should be in the tin.
2. Add the expense
Press Add expense.
3. Fill it in
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Amount | What was spent |
| Category | The kind of expense, chosen from your shop's list |
| From account | Where the money came from |
| Date | When it was spent, not when you are typing it |
| Narration | What it was actually for |
The narration box asks What was it for? Write something a person could understand in six months. Transport is nearly useless. Boda to deliver customer order to Kasarani is a record.
4. Attach the receipt
Add the receipt under Receipt (optional). You can photograph it.
Treat this as required even though it says optional. An expense with no receipt is hard to defend to anyone, including yourself.
5. Save
The expense is recorded and Current petty cash balance drops.
Topping up the float
When the tin runs low, record a top-up rather than an expense. Choose the top-up Type and enter the amount, with a narration like Weekly float top-up.
Finding past expenses
Search the ledger with Narration, category or reference… Move through periods with Previous and Next.
If a period is empty the screen says No transactions in this period.
What good looks like
- Current petty cash balance matches the cash actually in the tin.
- Every expense has a category and a narration that means something.
- Receipts are attached.
- Your expenses appear against your profit, so Gross profit on the Dashboard is real.
If something goes wrong
The balance does not match the tin. Something was spent and not recorded, or recorded twice. Work back through the ledger from the last time it balanced.
There is no right category. Ask whoever set up your system to add one. Do not force it into a category that nearly fits, because the report it lands in will mislead someone.
You have no receipt. Record it anyway, with a full narration saying why there is no receipt. An unrecorded expense is worse than one with a missing receipt.
It was paid from the bank, not the tin. That is not petty cash. Record it under Expenses instead.
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