How to convert a file in the ‘Files’ area into an out-of-pocket expense

This article explains how to convert a file in your ‘Files’ area, for example a receipt, into an out-of-pocket expense.

FreeAgent’s ‘Auto Extract’ functionality automatically extracts the date and amount from a file that has been uploaded to your ‘Files’ area via the FreeAgent mobile app using ‘Capture for later’. Attachments added through the ‘Capture for later’ functionality will be saved to the ‘Files’ area and will automatically be assigned to ‘Money Out’ bank transactions that are marked ‘For Approval’ and have a matching date and value. 

Once the bank transaction is approved, or the file is converted to an out-of-pocket expense, the attachment will be removed from the ‘Files’ area and exist only on the bank transaction or out-of-pocket expense. For more information on how FreeAgent automatically matches receipts to bank transactions, and how to disable the functionality, please see this article.

Please note that this functionality is not available for files that are uploaded to the ‘Files’ area via the desktop version of FreeAgent or that are uploaded from your mobile device without using ‘Capture for later’.

You can also attach a file from the ‘Files’ area to a bill or bank transaction. Please see this article for more details on how to attach a file to a bill, and this article for more details on how to attach a file to a bank transaction that has been explained or is currently unexplained.

If you would like to convert a file in the ‘Files’ area into an out-of-pocket expense using the FreeAgent mobile app, please see this article.

Navigate to the relevant file in the ‘Files’ area

Navigate to the drop-down menu at the top-right of the screen and select 'Files’.

This will bring up a list of all your files. A lightning bolt icon will identify which files the ‘Auto Extract’ functionality can extract data from.

Select the chevron arrow to the right of the relevant file.

Convert the file to an out-of-pocket expense

Preview the file along with the extracted receipt date and total value.

If you would like to edit the name of the file before you convert it to an out-of-pocket expense, select the three dots to the right of the file size and select ‘Edit name’.

Once you have edited the name, select ‘Save changes’.

Once you’re ready to proceed, select ‘Convert to a new expense’.

A new out-of-pocket expense will be created with the file as an attachment.

The date and total value will be added into the relevant fields of the ‘Expense details’ section automatically and highlighted in blue. Next, complete any additional relevant fields for the out-of-pocket expense.

Review the details and select ‘Create New Expense’ to complete the process.

How can I view or edit the out-of-pocket expense?

Once you’ve created the out-of-pocket expense, you can view or update it by following the steps in this article.