Expenses

Record business expenses and post them to the general ledger with a few clicks.

Creating an Expense

1. Go to Expenses → New Expense
2. Enter:
   • Date of the expense
   • Supplier (optional, from Contacts)
   • Description
   • Amount (gross, including VAT)
   • Expense account (e.g. 6000 Rent)
   • VAT rate applicable to this expense
3. Save

The expense is saved as Pending.

Expense Lifecycle

Pending → Posted
        → Cancelled

Status	Description
Pending	Recorded but not yet in the ledger
Posted	Journal entry created, ledger updated
Cancelled	Reversed

Posting to the Ledger

Posting an expense creates a journal entry. For a rent payment of CHF 1,000 + 8.1% VAT:

Debit   6000  Rent                   CHF 1,000.00
Debit   1170  Input VAT (8.1%)       CHF    81.00
Credit  1020  Bank                   CHF 1,081.00

Input VAT (Vorsteuer) is tracked separately so it can be offset against output VAT at settlement time.

Expense Categories

Expenses use the chart of accounts for categorisation. Common expense accounts:

Account	Description
4000	Material and merchandise costs
5000	Salaries and wages
6000	Rent
6100	Maintenance and repairs
6300	Insurance
6500	Energy and utilities
6700	Telecommunication
6800	Office supplies
6900	Travel and entertainment

Linking to a Bank Transaction

After importing a bank statement (see Banking), you can reconcile an expense directly with its bank transaction — marking both as matched.

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Receipt Scanning (OCR)

Gäld can extract data from receipt photos or PDFs using built-in OCR, saving you from typing amounts and dates manually.

Quick scan

1. From any page, click the camera icon in the top bar (or use the Quick Receipt button on the Dashboard).
2. Upload a photo or PDF of the receipt.
3. Gäld runs OCR in the background — you'll receive an in-app notification when it's done.
4. Review the extracted data (date, amount, supplier, VAT) and confirm or correct.
5. The expense is created in Pending status, ready for posting.

From the Expenses page

1. Go to Expenses → New Expense.
2. Click Attach Receipt and upload the file.
3. If OCR is enabled, the extracted fields are pre-filled automatically.

Scan status

Each receipt scan goes through these stages:

Status	Meaning
Processing	OCR is running in the background
Completed	Data extracted successfully — review and confirm
Failed	OCR could not read the receipt — enter data manually

Supported formats

• JPEG, PNG, WebP (photos)
• PDF (single-page scans work best)

Best results

For accurate OCR, use a well-lit, straight-on photo. Crumpled or low-contrast receipts may need manual correction.

Plan limits (SaaS)

On the hosted platform, OCR scans are included in your plan allowance. See Billing & Plans for details.