Expense tracking
Expense tracking is the place where every non-Amazon cost lives — software subscriptions, freelancer invoices, packaging supplies, photography, accountant fees. Categorize them once, and Hilal includes them in the profit number on your dashboard and the P&L report.
In this guide:
- Log an expense
- Categorize for P&L
- Attach a receipt
- Bulk-import historical expenses
Prerequisites
finances.managepermission (Owner / Admin / Member with the toggle on).
Step 1: Log an expense
Go to Finances → Expenses and click New expense (or use the Add expense Quick Action on the dashboard).
Fill in:
- Date — when the expense was incurred.
- Amount + currency.
- Category — pick from the list (or create a new one).
- Description — a free-text note.
- Vendor / Payee — optional; lets you slice expenses by who you paid.
- Marketplace — optional; for expenses tied to a specific region (e.g., a German VAT-registration fee).
- SKU — optional; for expenses you want allocated to a specific product (e.g., its photoshoot).
Save.
Step 2: Categorize for P&L
Each category is configured as operating (deductible from revenue in P&L) or non-operating (informational only). Defaults make sense out of the box:
| Category | Default classification |
|---|---|
| Software / SaaS | Operating |
| Freelancers | Operating |
| Photography / Listing | Operating |
| Packaging | Operating (allocated to SKUs if specified) |
| Travel | Operating |
| Owner draw | Non-operating |
| Tax | Non-operating |
Tweak per-category at Finances → Settings → Expense categories if your accountant prefers a different layout.
Step 3: Attach a receipt
Drag a PDF, PNG, or JPG into the receipt drop zone on any expense. Hilal stores it on Cloudinary and links it to the expense; click any expense in the list to see and download the receipt.
Receipts ride along on Excel exports.
Step 4: Bulk-import historical expenses
If you’re moving from a spreadsheet, click Import in the top-right. Upload a CSV with columns matching Hilal’s template (Date, Amount, Currency, Category, Description, Vendor, Marketplace, SKU). Hilal validates row by row and shows you any errors before committing.
Troubleshooting
- Expense not appearing in P&L. Check the category’s operating/non-operating classification.
- Currency-conversion off. Hilal converts at the day’s rate from openexchangerates. If a particular date converted oddly, override the rate manually on the expense.
- CSV import errors. Common causes: unexpected category names (create them first), date format mismatch, currency code typo. Fix the rows and re-upload.