Add a cost type
Within the Cash & Card module, we always work with cost types. In this article, we'll explain what a cost type is and how to create one. Are you encountering an error message related to VAT during export? Then the last two paragraphs of this article might be interesting.
What is a Cost Type?
A cost type is equivalent to a general ledger account, often with a more descriptive name. Since Cash & Card transactions are frequently coded by employees who aren't engaged in accounting daily, it's useful to provide general ledger accounts with names that are clear to every employee. While the general ledger account 'Representation Expenses' might not say much to an average employee, a cost type named 'Postcards, Flowers, and Gifts' would be more clear.
Resumé: cost types help employees choose the correct general ledger account.
Adding a Cost Type
Navigate to Application Management / Cash & Card / Cost type to access the cost type overview. By clicking the 'Add' button at the top of the overview, you can create a new cost type.
In the 'Type' field, you can define the type of bookings that will be recorded under this cost type. Choose 'Standard' for regular income/expenditure bookings. Non-'Standard' cost types can only appear once per administration. More information about these so-called 'System Cost Types' can be found later in this article.
We recommend entering a specific name. This makes it clear to users which cost type they need to select when coding a transaction. The name of the cost type can consist of multiple words.
Select 'Purchase' or 'Sale' under 'Invoice Posting' depending on whether you're dealing with a purchase or sale. When making a booking, mandatory fields for debtor, creditor, and invoice number need to be filled in if you choose 'Purchase' or 'Sale'. If not required, select 'Not Applicable'.
In the 'Explanation' field, you can add extra information that users will see when they select this cost type while coding a transaction.
Through the fields 'notification to assessor' and 'notification amount', you can indicate whether an assessor receives a notification when this cost type is booked. You can specify the amount from which the reviewer receives a notification and whether this occurs via a notification on the Spend Cloud dashboard, by email, or both.
Once all mandatory fields, indicated by a star, are filled, you can click 'Save' at the top. On the next page, you can link the books for which the created cost type should be available.
Select the desired books by checking the box next to them. Click 'Save' again at the top. Once the cost type is linked to a book, it can immediately be selected when needed.
Making Attachment Mandatory Through a Cost Type
As part of financial administration, you might require attachments for expenses when necessary. An example could be a receipt from a supermarket. You can determine in the settings of a cost type whether an attachment is mandatory or not when the respective cost type is chosen (this is the only place where this can be set). If you choose 'Mandatory', the person coding the transaction must add an attachment. The period cannot be closed until all mandatory attachments are added. If you choose 'Not Mandatory', adding an attachment is optional when selecting this cost type during transaction coding.
Through the app, users can easily add a photo of a receipt to a transaction. An instruction video (in Dutch) can be found here.
Currently, users can add only one attachment per transaction through the computer. If the user codes expenses in our app, it's possible to add multiple attachments.
Linking books
When creating a new cost type , you can immediately link books on the next page. If you've skipped this step or later wish to link a different books, you can do so from the overview. Click the three dots at the end of the relevant cost type row and select 'Link books'. By clicking in the checkbox next to the books you want to link, you can indicate which books belong to the respective cost type.
System Cost Types
When creating a cost type, you can choose a type other than the standard one. These are called 'system cost types'. They include:
These cost types are automatically applied when selecting such a type of booking. It's especially important to choose the correct general ledger account for these cost types. For example, all cash expenses will be offset against the general ledger account you choose in the cost type 'Cash Withdrawal'.
An Error Message on VAT Usage During Export to the Financial Package
It's important to note that we never include VAT on the transactions coded with a system cost type. Therefore, be mindful not to apply the general ledger accounts you choose for system cost types to standard cost types as well. This could result in an error message in the financial package. Here's an example of how this could be misconfigured:
The cost type marked with '1' is a system cost type (recognized by the empty area under 'Booking Type'). We do not include VAT on this cost type. The cost type marked with '2' is a standard cost type to which we do include VAT (if coded in the transaction). However, the employee coding the transaction doesn't see a difference between them and might use the cost types interchangeably. This could lead to a potential error message during export. The solution is to remove the standard cost type and keep the system cost type. Optionally, you can reopen the period where the error message occurred and apply the system cost type everywhere. Afterward, the period can likely be exported without any issues.
New Design
This menu (Application Management / Cash & Pas / Cost types) will soon look different, see the image below. In the new menu, you can add or remove columns in the overview using the gear icon. Additionally, you can apply various handy filters on the right side, as you might already be familiar with in the Archive of Cash & Pas. Don’t see a filter? First, check via the gear icon at the top right, where it says 'Edit Filters', to see if you can manually add the filter; it’s likely that you can.
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