How to Record Personal Expenses in QuickBooks

Keeping track of the money you spend each month helps you maintain an accurate budget and cut back in areas that drain your finances. QuickBooks by Intuit offers a range of money management tools for personal and business use. Set up a new profile in your QuickBooks software to begin recording your personal expenses.

Instructions

1. Open your QuickBooks software. Click "File" then "New Company." The interface is designed for business use, so there is no option to add information for an individual . A Set Up Interview dialog box will appear.

2. Enter your name in the space provided for Company Name. Enter your physical address, contact information and website URL, if applicable. Click "Next."

3. Select "Sole Proprietorship" when prompted to enter your company type. Click "Next." A Save As dialog box will appear. Enter the name of your QuickBooks file and click "Save."

4. Click "Cash" or "Credit" next to Record Expenses in the Money Out menu located in the left menu pane. To use the Credit register for your expenses, you will need to have a valid credit card.

5. Type in the date, payee name, expense category and the amount of the expense in the "Decrease" or "Increase" category. Leave the Reference ID section blank since you are recording personal expenses. Enter all expenses in the Decrease category unless you are recording a refund or credit on an expense. Click the "Record" button at the bottom of the registry after entering information on each line.

6. Save your data before exiting QuickBooks.

Tips & Warnings

• If you already have a spreadsheet of personal expenses in Excel, you can import it into QuickBooks by clicking "File" then "Import Data from Excel."

References

• Quickbooks Support: Understanding QuickBooks expense accounts