Expense Tracking

Tracking expenses is important for understanding your true profit. Many Nigerian business owners know how much they sell, but do not track how much they spend. Without tracking expenses, you cannot know your real profit. SabiBooks lets you record business expenses so you can see where your money goes.

Tip

Chidinma says: “I was selling ₦50,000 a day and thought I was doing well. But when I started tracking expenses — generator fuel, food supplies, staff meals, transport — I realised I was spending ₦38,000. My real profit was only ₦12,000. Now I watch my expenses closely.”

Why Track Expenses?

1. Know your real profit. Sales minus expenses equals profit. Without tracking expenses, you do not know if you are actually making money.
2. Find where money is leaking. When you see ₦15,000 going to transport every week, you might find a cheaper delivery option.
3. Prepare for tax season. If FIRS (Federal Inland Revenue Service) asks for your business records, you have everything ready.
4. Get loans easier. Banks want to see that you track your money carefully. A clean expense history helps your loan application.
5. Budget for the future. When you know what you spend each month, you can plan ahead.

Recording an Expense

1. Navigate to Expenses

   Open Expenses from the menu or Settings.

2. Tap Add Expense

   Tap “Add Expense”.

3. Fill in the details

   Field	Required?	Description	Example
   Amount	Yes	How much you spent, in Naira	₦5,000
   Category	Yes	Type of expense	”Rent”, “Transport”, “Supplies”
   Date	Yes	When the expense occurred	Today’s date (pre-filled)
   Description	No	What the expense was for	”Bought plastic bags for packaging”
   Receipt Image	No	Photo of the receipt	(upload from camera or gallery)

4. Save the expense

   Tap “Save Expense”.

Tip

Record expenses the same day they happen. If you wait until the end of the week, you will forget some expenses and your records will be incomplete.

Expense Categories

SabiBooks comes with common expense categories for Nigerian businesses:

Category	Examples	Typical Monthly Range
Rent	Shop rent, warehouse rent	₦30,000 - ₦500,000
Utilities	Electricity (NEPA/PHCN), water bill	₦5,000 - ₦50,000
Generator/Fuel	Diesel, petrol for generator	₦10,000 - ₦100,000
Transport	Delivery costs, bus fare, fuel for vehicle	₦5,000 - ₦50,000
Supplies	Packaging materials, plastic bags, receipt paper	₦2,000 - ₦20,000
Salaries	Staff wages and bonuses	₦30,000 - ₦500,000
Communication	Phone credit (airtime), internet data bundles	₦3,000 - ₦15,000
Maintenance	Repairs, painting, equipment fixes	₦5,000 - ₦100,000
Stock Purchase	Buying inventory from suppliers	Varies widely
Levies/Taxes	Market association levy, local council fees	₦1,000 - ₦20,000
Insurance	Shop insurance, goods insurance	₦5,000 - ₦50,000
Other	Anything that does not fit the above	Varies

You can create custom categories to match your business needs. For example:

• A restaurant owner might add “Food Ingredients” and “Kitchen Equipment”
• An electronics shop might add “Warranty Replacements” and “Display Materials”
• A provision store might add “Spoilage/Expired Goods”

Attaching Receipt Images

For record-keeping and accounting, you can attach photos of receipts to your expenses.

1. Tap the upload area

   When recording an expense, tap the receipt image upload area.

2. Take or choose a photo

   Choose “Take Photo” to photograph the receipt, or “Choose from Gallery” to pick an existing photo.

3. Image saved

   The image is saved with the expense record. You can view the image later when reviewing the expense.

Tip

Alhaji Musa says: “Take a photo of every receipt immediately. Paper receipts fade quickly in Nigeria’s hot weather, and you might need them for tax records or loan applications. I keep every receipt in SabiBooks now — no more searching through piles of paper.”

Viewing Expense History

1. Go to the Expenses page
2. You see a list of all recorded expenses, most recent first
3. Filter by:
   • Date range — Choose from this week, this month, last month, or a custom range
   • Category — Select one or more categories to see only those expenses
4. Each expense shows the amount, category, date, and description
5. Tap on any expense to see its full details and receipt image (if attached)

Expense Summary Report

The expense summary shows:

• Total expenses for the selected period
• Breakdown by category (a pie chart or list showing how much you spent on rent, transport, etc.)
• Top expense categories (which categories take the most money)
• Comparison with previous periods — see if your spending is going up or down
• Daily average — How much you spend per day on average

This information feeds directly into your Profit and Loss report.

Tip

Example: Emeka’s expense summary for January shows:

• Total: ₦185,000
• Rent: ₦80,000 (43%)
• Generator Fuel: ₦35,000 (19%)
• Staff Salaries: ₦40,000 (22%)
• Transport: ₦15,000 (8%)
• Supplies: ₦10,000 (5%)
• Other: ₦5,000 (3%)

He notices generator fuel is his second biggest expense and decides to investigate more energy-efficient options.

Best Practices for Expense Tracking

1. Record every expense, no matter how small. Small expenses like ₦200 for a cold drink or ₦500 for airtime add up. Over a month, “small” expenses can total ₦20,000 or more.

2. Use the right category. This makes your reports more useful. Do not put everything in “Other”.

3. Record expenses daily. Do not let them pile up. Spend 2 minutes at the end of each day recording what you spent.

4. Separate business and personal expenses. Only record business expenses in SabiBooks. If you buy lunch for yourself, that is personal. If you buy lunch for your staff, that is a business expense.

5. Keep receipt photos. Even if you never look at them again, having the photos gives you proof if you are ever audited or need to apply for a loan.

6. Review expenses weekly. Every week, look at your expense summary to spot anything unusual. Did transport cost more this week? Why?