Expenses & Payroll
Record company overheads that post straight to operating-expense accounts, with salary lines linked to staff, so the P&L shows real net income.
Job costs tell you the margin on shipments. Overheads tell you whether the company made money. The expenses module records the second kind: rent, salaries, utilities, commissions, currency exchange differences and anything else that is not tied to one job. Each entry posts to a proper operating-expense account in the General Ledger the moment it is saved, which is what lets the P&L show net income, not just gross profit.
Recording an expense
| Date | When the cost was incurred. Drives which period it appears in. |
|---|---|
| Category | Rent, Salaries, Utilities, Commissions, Currency exchange, or a custom category. Each maps to an expense account. |
| Amount and currency | MYR or USD. Non-MYR amounts are converted at the rate you enter. |
| Paid from | The bank or cash account, if paid; or leave unpaid to track it as a payable. |
| Payee | Optional link to a vendor record, for example the landlord or the utility company. |
| Staff member | For salary lines: the registered staff member the salary belongs to. |
| Notes and attachment | Reference numbers and the receipt or bill, kept with the entry. |
Open Expenses and choose New expense
Or, in the assistant: "Record September office rent, MYR 6,500."
Pick the category
The account it posts to is shown next to the category so there are no surprises in the ledger.
Enter amount, date and payment details
Mark it paid from a bank or cash account, or leave it unpaid.
Save
The entry posts to the expense account and, if paid, to the bank or cash account.
Categories
Routel ships with the categories most forwarders need. Admin can add custom categories, each mapped to an operating-expense account, so reporting stays consistent no matter who records the cost.
| Category | Posts to |
|---|---|
| Rent | Rent & utilities expense |
| Salaries | Salaries expense |
| Utilities | Rent & utilities expense |
| Commissions | Commissions expense |
| Currency exchange | Currency exchange expense |
| Custom | The account chosen when the category was created |
Payroll (lightweight)
Salary entries can be linked to a registered staff member, so payroll cost is recorded per person and per month. This is a cost record, not a payroll engine: Routel does not compute statutory deductions or produce payslips. Use it to get salaries into the P&L accurately with a few clicks a month.
Currency exchange differences
When a USD invoice or vendor cost is settled at a rate different from the one recorded, the difference is recorded as a currency exchange expense or gain. See Invoicing & Finance.
What posts where
| Action | Debit | Credit |
|---|---|---|
| Record expense, paid | Expense account | Bank / Cash |
| Record expense, unpaid | Expense account | Accounts Payable |
| Pay an unpaid expense later | Accounts Payable | Bank / Cash |
Who can do this
Accounting and Admin record expenses and salaries. Only Admin adds categories or registers staff. Management sees the totals in the P&L.