How to Record an Expense in Nastrum Books - Complete Guide (2026)

Every business has outgoings. The question is whether those outgoings are properly tracked, categorised, approved, and reflected in your accounts. Skipping any one of those steps leads to inaccurate books, missed tax deductions, or unauthorised spending.

This guide walks through the complete expense lifecycle in Nastrum Books — from creating a new expense to uploading a receipt, submitting it through an approval workflow with a digital signature, and recording the final payment. Every step is covered.

New to Nastrum Books? Start with setting up your company, then create your first invoice.

Every step from the video is written out below with additional detail.

Before you start

You need a company set up in Nastrum Books with at least one bank account added under Banking > Accounts. This is where the payment will be recorded as coming from.

If you plan to use the approval workflow (recommended for businesses with more than one person), make sure a team member has been assigned the Manager role in Settings > Team.

Step 1: Explore the Expenses Dashboard

Navigate to Expenses in the left sidebar under Purchases.

The dashboard gives you an immediate financial overview with four KPI cards:

• Total Expenses - total spending for the selected period
• Pending Approval - expenses submitted but awaiting a decision
• Approved - expenses that have been approved
• Reimbursed - expenses that have been paid out

Below the cards you will find two visual panels:

• Expenses by Category - donut chart showing spending distribution across categories (advertising, insurance, office supplies, etc.)
• Expenses Over Time - line chart for the last 6 months showing your spending trend

The filter bar below lets you search, filter by status, category, payment method, date range, and sort by newest or oldest.

Step 2: Review Expense Categories

Before creating your first expense, click Manage Categories in the top-right corner.

Nastrum Books comes pre-loaded with 15 built-in expense categories, each mapped to a General Ledger (GL) account code:

Every category is linked to a GL code so expenses flow directly into your Chart of Accounts, Trial Balance, and financial reports without any manual journal entries.

You can add your own custom categories at any time using the + Add Category button. Assign a name, colour, and GL account code.

Step 3: Create a New Expense

Click the blue + New Expense button. The new expense form opens at /expenses/new.

The form auto-generates:

• Expense number (EXP-0001, EXP-0002, etc.) - sequential, cannot be edited
• Date - defaults to today, can be changed

Vendor (optional)

The vendor field lets you link the expense to a supplier in your Vendors list. This is optional but recommended for recurring expenses from the same supplier — it builds your vendor payment history over time.

If you have no vendors yet, the dropdown shows “No vendors yet.” You can add one immediately without leaving the form.

Step 4: Add a New Vendor On the Spot

Click the vendor dropdown and select + Add new vendor. A quick-add modal appears with three fields:

• Name (required) - the supplier or company name
• Email (optional) - the vendor’s email address
• Phone (optional) - contact number

Click Save vendor. The vendor is immediately added to your Vendors list and selected in the expense form. From this point forward, all expenses linked to this vendor will appear in their payment history, and you can view a full statement at any time from the Vendors section.

Step 5: Select Category and Fill in Details

Category

Click the Category dropdown and select the appropriate category. For a staff insurance payment, select Insurance. The app shows the linked GL account code directly below the selection (e.g., GL: 6701 - Business Insurance) so you can verify the accounting treatment at a glance.

Description

Enter a description for the expense. This is a required field (minimum 3 characters). Be specific — a description like “Staff Medical Insurance Year 2026” is far more useful than “Insurance” when reviewing expenses months later.

Amount and Tax

Enter the expense amount in the Amount field. Select the currency from the dropdown — the base currency is pre-selected but you can change it to any supported currency.

If the expense includes tax (VAT, GST, or other), enter the tax rate percentage. Nastrum Books calculates the tax amount automatically and shows the total including tax.

Example: Amount of 250 with a 5% tax rate = 12.50 tax = 262.50 total.

Smart Receipt Prompt

When the amount exceeds a threshold (NZ$75 in this example), Nastrum Books displays a smart reminder banner: “Amount over NZ$75.00 - consider attaching a receipt.”

This prompt helps you maintain good documentation habits and is particularly useful for businesses with receipt policies tied to expense amounts.

Step 6: Payment Method and Account

Scroll down to the Payment section.

Method

Select how the expense was paid:

• Bank Transfer - wire transfer, ACH, or direct bank payment
• Cash - physical cash
• Card - credit or debit card
• Cheque - paper cheque
• Other - any other method

Paid From

Select which bank account or cash account the payment came from. This ensures your bank account balances stay accurate in Nastrum Books.

Reference / Transaction ID

Optional field for a bank reference number, cheque number, or any internal transaction ID. Useful for reconciliation later.

Step 7: Billable and Recurring Options

Below the payment section are two checkbox options:

Billable - charge to customer

Tick this if the expense was incurred on behalf of a customer and you want to charge it back to them. When enabled, you can link the expense to a specific customer. Billable expenses can then be added as a line item when creating the next invoice for that customer — very useful for consultants and agencies.

Recurring expense

Tick this to set up the expense as a recurring charge. You can define the frequency (monthly, quarterly, annually) and the end date. Nastrum Books will automatically create the expense on schedule so you never miss a regular payment.

Step 8: Upload Receipt and Attachments

The Receipt & Attachments section supports uploading up to 5 files per expense.

Supported file types:

• PDF - scanned receipts, invoices, bills
• JPG / PNG - photos of receipts, bank screenshots
• Word / Excel - expense reports, documentation

Maximum file size: 10MB per file.

Drag and drop files directly into the upload zone or click Click to upload to browse. Once uploaded, the file name and size are shown. You can preview or remove attachments at any time.

Keeping receipts attached to expenses is essential for:

• Tax compliance and audit readiness
• Expense approval processes
• Reimbursement claims

Notes and Tags

Two final optional fields:

• Notes - free-text notes visible to approvers and on reports
• Tags - keywords for filtering and reporting (e.g., “travel”, “q1”, “project-alpha”)

Step 9: Save as Draft or Submit for Approval

At the bottom of the form, you have three options:

Save as Draft

Saves the expense without submitting it. Use this when the expense is incomplete (missing receipt, unclear amount) or when you want to review it before sending for approval. Draft expenses appear in the Expenses list with a “draft” status and can be edited at any time.

Submit for Approval

Immediately sends the expense into the approval workflow. The expense will be locked for editing once submitted. Use this when the expense is complete and ready for a manager to review.

Cancel

Discards all changes and returns to the Expenses list without saving.

For this tutorial, click Submit for Approval.

Step 10: Approval Workflow

When you click Submit for Approval, a dialog appears showing the active approval workflow.

Nastrum Books supports multi-stage approval workflows. The example workflow here is:

• Name: Std Expense Approval
• Stages: 1 stage
• Approver: Manager (48h SLA)

The 48h SLA means the approver is expected to act within 48 hours. If they do not, the system can escalate (depending on workflow configuration).

You can add a Submission Note to give the approver context — for example: “Attached the renewal invoice from MX Insurance. Please approve by end of week.”

Click Submit for Approval to confirm.

Step 11: Awaiting Approval

After submission, the expense detail page shows the approval progress.

The expense is now:

• Status: Pending
• Badge: Locked for Approval
• Tab: Approval (Stage 1/1)

The Approval Progress panel shows:

• The approval stages as a visual flow
• Who the current approver is (Manager - Nastrum)
• When it was submitted

The expense is locked and cannot be edited while awaiting approval. This ensures the document seen by the approver is exactly what gets approved.

The approver has three options:

• Approve - accept the expense
• Reject - decline with a reason
• Delegate - pass to another team member

The Activity feed shows: “Submitted for approval by hello@nastrumbooks.com. Stage 1: Manager” — a permanent, timestamped record.

Step 12: Approve with Digital Signature

When the approver clicks Approve, the Approve Document dialog appears with:

• Comment (optional) - notes for the record
• Digital Signature (optional) - draw or upload a signature
• Attachments - any supporting documents the approver wants to attach

The digital signature can be drawn directly in the browser using a mouse or touchscreen, or uploaded as an image file. Once signed, click Confirm Approval.

The system records:

• Who approved it
• When they approved it
• Their digital signature (if provided)
• Any comments they added

This creates a legally traceable approval record — important for audit compliance and internal controls.

Step 13: Expense Approved and Locked

After approval, the expense detail page shows:

• Status: Pending
• Badge: Approved - Locked (green)
• Tab: Approval (approved)

The Approval Progress panel shows a green checkmark and “approved” status. The Activity log shows the full chain: submitted → approved, with timestamps and user details.

The expense is now locked and cannot be modified. The Record Payment button appears in the action bar, ready for the next step.

Step 14: Record Payment

Once an expense is approved, click the green Record Payment button.

The Record Payment dialog shows:

• Expense number and description - confirmation of which expense you are paying
• Total amount - the full amount including tax

Fill in:

• Payment Date - the date the payment was made
• Paid From Account - select the account the money came from

Nastrum Books shows all your configured bank accounts and cash accounts:

• Cash on Hand (Cash)
• PayPal Account (Other)
• Petty Cash (Cash)
• Primary Bank Account (Bank)
• Razorpay Account (Other)
• Stripe Account (Other)
• Undeposited Funds (Other)

Select the appropriate account and click Record Payment.

Step 15: Payment Confirmed

A green toast notification confirms: “Payment recorded — bank account balance updated.”

The expense is now fully closed:

• The selected bank account balance decreases by the expense amount
• A corresponding bank transaction is created automatically under Banking > Transactions
• The expense appears in your Expense Report and Profit & Loss report under the appropriate category
• The GL account linked to the expense category is updated

The full lifecycle is complete: created, categorised, receipted, approved, signed, and paid. Every step documented and auditable.

Working with multiple expenses

You can create as many expenses as needed. Each goes through the same process. Once you are familiar with the workflow, creating and submitting an expense takes under 2 minutes.

For recurring expenses (rent, insurance, software subscriptions), use the Recurring expense checkbox to automate creation. You set it up once and Nastrum Books handles the rest.

How expenses flow through to reports

When an expense is approved and paid, it flows automatically into multiple reports:

No manual journal entries. No double-entry. Every expense you record flows automatically to the right place across all your reports.

Expense management best practices

Attach receipts immediately. The best time to attach a receipt is when you create the expense — before the physical receipt is lost or the email is buried.

Use descriptions, not just categories. “Office Supplies” as a description is vague. “HP ink cartridges for front desk printer - March 2026” is useful in 12 months.

Use tags for projects. If you run multiple projects, tag expenses with the project name. This lets you filter and report on project-level costs easily.

Set up recurring expenses. Rent, insurance, software subscriptions — anything that repeats should be set up as recurring so you never miss it.

Match payment methods to accounts. Always select the correct “Paid From” account. Consistent account selection is what makes bank reconciliation accurate.

Submit promptly. Expenses that sit as drafts for weeks create backlogs in your approval queue and make month-end reporting harder.

Frequently asked questions

Can I record an expense without approval?

Yes. If your company does not require an approval workflow, click Save as Draft and mark it as paid directly. Approval workflows are optional and configured in Settings > Approvals.

Can I reject an expense and send it back for correction?

Yes. The approver can click Reject and add a reason. The expense submitter is notified, they can edit the expense, and resubmit for approval.

Can I track expenses in multiple currencies?

Yes. Select the currency when filling in the amount. Nastrum Books converts the amount to your base currency using the current exchange rate and records both the original and converted amounts.

What is the difference between an Expense and a Bill?

An Expense is typically a smaller, immediate out-of-pocket payment (fuel, a business lunch, a software subscription). A Bill is a formal invoice from a vendor that you owe but have not yet paid. Both are tracked separately in Nastrum Books.

Can I set up different approval workflows for different expense types?

Yes. You can configure multiple approval workflows and select the appropriate one when submitting an expense. For example, a small petty cash workflow with no approval, and a larger spend workflow requiring two-stage sign-off.

Can I add custom expense categories?

Yes. Go to Expenses > Manage Categories > + Add Category. Enter a name, select a colour, and assign a GL account code.

What happens if an approver is out of office?

The approver can use the Delegate option to pass the approval to another team member. Alternatively, an admin can reassign the workflow or approve directly.

Is there a mobile-friendly view for expenses?

Yes. Nastrum Books is fully responsive. You can create, submit, and approve expenses from a phone browser — no app download required.

Ready to track your business spending properly? Create your free account and record your first expense today, or sign in if you already have an account.