Running the Expenses by Category report

The Expenses by Category report provides a more detailed view than the simple Expense Summary. It breaks down your expenses by category and, in many cases, by subcategory, allowing you to see exactly where money is being spent at a granular level.

Before you start

• You need permission to view financial reports (granted by default to accounting and admin users).
• Decide on your date range (for example, the current month, quarter, or year).
• Think about which categories or subcategories interest you most.

Steps

1. Go to Reports → Expense & Ledger Reports. Open in Usystems

2. Find the Expenses by Category report and click it.

3. The report form will open. Set your filters:

   • Start Date and End Date: Choose the period you want to analyze.
   • Leave dates blank to include all records.

4. (Optional) Apply additional filters:

   • Main Category: Select one or more main expense categories to narrow your focus.
   • Subcategory: If available, drill down further into specific expense types.
   • Department, Cost Center, or Location: Filter by organizational unit if your setup uses these.
   • Posted/Draft: Show only posted (finalized) expenses, or include draft expenses.

5. Click Run Report or Generate.

6. The report will display in a table format, showing expenses by category and subcategory. Review the columns for amounts and counts.

Accounting impact

This report reflects posted expense transactions only (unless you explicitly include drafts). Expenses are reported in the currency they were originally recorded in, unless you have a multi-currency setup that normalizes them.

Tips & common mistakes

• Too much detail? Use the category or subcategory filters to focus on the areas that matter most to you.
• Empty subcategories: If a subcategory has no expenses during your date range, it may not appear in the report.
• Missing data? Ensure that expenses are posted, not stuck in draft. Draft expenses do not count toward posted totals.
• Slow report generation: If you are including a very large date range and many categories, the report may take longer to generate. Consider narrowing your filters.