How to import expenses in bulk
This article explains how to upload a group of expense claims into FreeAgent.
If you don’t want to create each individual expense manually, you can bulk upload several expenses at once. Depending on your FreeAgent account type you'll either find Expenses in the main menu or in the My Money menu.
Navigate to 'My Money' and select 'Expenses'
Navigate to the 'My Money' tab at the top of the screen and select 'Expenses' from the drop-down menu.
Next, select the 'Import Expenses' button at the top right of the screen.
You'll now be prompted to download our 'Expenses template'.
How to fill in our expenses template
The table below shows you how to fill in the template.
| Column Name | What to enter | Example | Required? |
|---|---|---|---|
| claimant_name | The full name of the FreeAgent user the expense is for. This is case sensitive and must match exactly with the user's name in FreeAgent. | Nathan Barley | Yes |
| category | The spending category for the expense. If you know the accounting code, you can add that here instead. |
Accommodation and Meals - or - 285 |
Yes |
| DD/MM/YYYY |
The date of the expense. This must be in DD/MM/YYYY format, regardless of the date format in your FreeAgent account. |
25/04/2021 | Yes |
| currency | The 3-character ISO code for the currency the expense is in. | GBP | If not provided, we will use your FreeAgent account's native currency. |
| type | This can be one of either "Payment" or "Refund" | Payment | Yes |
| gross_value | The total value of the expense including VAT. | 27.99 | Yes |
| description | A description of the expense. | Dinner with Dan in Shoreditch | Yes |
| receipt_reference | If you have a receipt, enter the reference number here. | 001 | No |
| sales_tax_rate |
Enter the rate (percentage) of VAT applied to the expense. If you want to enter this manually, add the rate without the percentage sign. Alternatively, enter "Auto" and FreeAgent will set the VAT rate for you based on the spending category. Finally, if the Expense is exempt from VAT, enter the value "Exempt". |
20 | Yes |
| sales_tax_value | If you want to set a specific amount of VAT, enter that value here. | 5.60 | If you've entered a sales_tax_rate above, the sales_tax_value will be ignored. |
| ec_status | If you've enabled EC VAT Reporting, enter one of "UK/Non-EC", "EC Goods", "EC Services". | UK/Non-EC | No |
| native_gross_ value |
If the expense is not in the same currency as your FreeAgent account's native currency, enter the gross value of the expense in your native currency. | 24.85 | If blank, FreeAgent will automatically calculate the native value using xe.com exchange rates. |
| native_sales_ tax_value |
If the expense is not in the same currency as your FreeAgent account's native currency, and you can reclaim UK VAT on the expense, enter the amount of reclaimable VAT. | 4.97 | No |
| project_client | The name of the FreeAgent contact this expense is for. This is case sensitive and must match exactly with the contact's name in FreeAgent. | Fez Consulting Ltd |
If blank, no project will be assigned to the expense. If you want to link this expense to a project, you must enter both project_client and project_name. |
| project_name | The name of the project this expense is for. This is case sensitive and must match exactly with the project's name in FreeAgent. | Business Strategy |
If blank, no project will be assigned to the expense. If you want to link this expense to a project, you must enter both project_client and project_name. |
| rebill_by |
If you wish to rebill this expense at cost, enter "cost". If you wish to rebill with a percentage markup, enter "markup". Finally, if you wish to rebill at a specific price, enter "price". |
markup |
To rebill an expense, project_client and project_name must be entered above. If blank, we will not rebill this expense. |
| rebill_factor_ amount |
If you're rebilling at cost, leave this blank. If you're rebilling with a percentage markup, enter the percentage value (without the percentage sign). If you're rebilling at a specific price, enter the price you wish to rebill at. |
20 - or - 30.00 |
If you've entered either "markup" or "price" above, this field must be completed. |
| stock_item_ name |
If this expense is for a purchase of stock, enter the name of the stock item. This is case sensitive and must match exactly with the stock item's name in FreeAgent. | Green Ribbons | This is required if you've entered "Purchase of Stock" in the `category` column above. |
| stock_quantity | If this expense is for a purchase of stock, enter the quantity of stock purchased. | 100 | This is required if you've entered "Purchase of Stock" in the `category` column above. |
| asset_life | If this expense is for a capital asset purchase, enter the asset's lifetime in years. You can only enter values between 2 and 7 years (inclusive) in this column. | 5 | This is required if you've entered any of "Computer Equipment Purchase", "Fixtures and Fittings Purchase", "Other Capital Asset Purchase" or any manually added “Capital Asset Type” in the `category` column above. |
Upload the template
Select the CSV file you want to import and then select ‘Upload’.
Review the imported expenses
Once the upload is complete, you'll be prompted to review your newly added expenses. If you realise that you've made an error, or want to remove the most recent expense, just select the 'Undo Last Import' button.
That's it!
