Expense Accounting (Definition) | Examples with Journal Entries

Expense Accounting Definition

Expense accounting refers to the identification of expenses in the current accounting period which involves a lot of judgment and accounting data analysis. Expense accounting includes booking invoices, creating new vendors in the system, VAT accounting, accruals, prepaid, vendor ledger analysis, timely payments, etc.

Recording Expenses in Accounting with Examples

Following are examples of expense accounting with its journal entries.

#1 – Invoice booking

As soon as we receive the invoice from a Vendor, it is booked by accounts payable associate. While booking the invoice the associate must check the date of invoice, period it relates to, any change in payment instructions, VAT if any and other details. Once the associate has booked the invoice it goes for further approval to General Ledger team which checks if the account coding is correct.

After that, it goes to the department head for approval to check if the expense is valid and expected. Once it goes through the approval process, the invoice goes to the treasury for payment.

Accounting entry on Invoice Booking

Let’s say we receive an invoice for $1,000 for marketing expense –

Journal when the invoice is booked –

Journal when an invoice is Paid –

#2 – Accrual of Expenses

One of the most important aspects of expense accounting is to identify and consider the expenses in the current accounting period. In real-life situations, many times due to various reasons we don’t receive invoices from Vendors on time or they are stuck in transit.

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In those cases when we are certain that we will receive the invoice, we post the accrual entries. Accrual is a process of recognizing the current period expenses even though we have not received the invoices from the Vendor.

Accounting Entry for Accruals

Let’s say that Vendor X has supplies Tea & Coffee for $4,000 on June 2019 however, the invoice is not yet received, in this case following entries will be posted –

Journal when accrual is booked –

Journal when an invoice is received –

Journal when an invoice is Paid –

#3 – Prepaids

Sometimes we get the annual or quarterly invoices from Vendors which we have to pay in advance. We also have to spread those expenses over the related period of time while recognizing it in the books.

It shows the expense amount related as Prepaids in the balance sheet and it releases the current period amount to profit & loss account.

Accounting Entry for Prepaids

Let’s say that Vendor X bills a company quarterly in advance for office air conditioners maintenance. In the month of July, a bill of $4,500 is received for July-September 2019 period. While doing accounting in July months, $1500 is released to Profit & Loss A/C and $3,000 is shown as a prepaid asset in the balance sheet.

Subsequently, in August & September 2019, $1500 is released to Profit & Loss account as monthly expenses. Here is the accounting entry –

In the month of July –

Journal when prepaid is booked –

Journal when an invoice is Paid –

In the month of August –

Journal when prepaid is released –

In the month of September –

Journal when prepaid is released –

#4 – Payments

This is a very important step as it involves outgoing funds, which must not go to an incorrect account. The person setting up the payment must ensure that account is set up correctly and verified twice.

Also, while making payments the currency setup is important. If we pay EURO in place of USD, the bank will charge extra for currency conversion and Vendor will also receive an extra payment.

Advantages of Expense Accounting

Here are some advantages of expense accounting.

Financial statements represent a true and fair view of the financial status of an entity
Audit facilitation becomes easy as expenses are recognized in the period to which it relates
Tax filing, transfer pricing calculation, and other statutory compliance becomes easier
Improves public faith and investors trust which is good for business
Data is used for budgeting and various decision-making steps
Improved relationship with banks makes it easy for financing activities

Points to Note about Changes in Expense Accounting

In today’s globalization and increasing compliance requirement, the process keeps changing for expense accounting. With the introduction of IFRS globally there are huge changes in the expense accounting process, so the accountants have to ensure that implementation is smooth, and the organization is IFRS ready.

Conclusion

Expense accounting is a very important part of the overall accounting process as the data is used for planning, budgeting, and decision-making processes. A good expense reporting mechanism in place goes a long way in the growth of any organization so every organization must have a robust system and qualified personnel for expense reporting.