Tracking Expenses
Record your business costs alongside your income. Qazua uses HMRC-aligned categories so your records are ready when tax time comes.
Why track expenses in Qazua?
Keeping expenses in the same place as your invoices gives you a clear picture of your profit and loss without switching between tools. Categories follow HMRC's SA103F self-employment form, so your records are already organised the way HMRC expects them.
Adding an Expense
Go to Expenses in the left sidebar and click New Expense. Fill in the details:
- Description — a brief note of what the expense was (e.g. "Train ticket to client meeting")
- Amount — the total cost in GBP
- Category — choose the HMRC category that best fits the expense (see below)
- Date — the date the expense was incurred, not when you paid it
- Vendor — optional, but useful for record-keeping (e.g. "National Rail", "Amazon")
- VAT Amount — only fill this in if you are VAT registered and want to track input VAT separately
- Disallowable Amount — the portion of the total that is not tax-deductible (e.g. the personal share of a mixed-use expense, or the full amount for client entertainment). Leave blank if the expense is fully allowable. See the Disallowable Amount section below for guidance.
- Notes — any extra context, such as the business purpose of the expense
Click Save Expense and it will appear immediately in your expenses list.
Disallowable Amount
Some expenses are partly or entirely disallowable — meaning HMRC will not let you deduct that portion from your taxable profit, even though it went through your books. The Disallowable Amount field lets you record this split within a single expense entry.
When to use it: enter the portion of the expense that is not tax-deductible. Leave it blank if the expense is fully allowable.
- Mixed personal and business use — if your phone bill is £60/month and you estimate 40% is personal, the disallowable amount is £24
- Client entertainment — the entire amount is disallowable; set the disallowable amount equal to the total
- Depreciation — fully disallowable for tax; record the full amount as disallowable (capital allowances are handled separately)
- Meals with a personal element — only the purely business portion of a meal is deductible; use the disallowable field for the rest
Qazua tracks disallowable amounts separately so your records match what HMRC's SA103F form expects. Your allowable expenses (total minus disallowable) are what reduces your taxable profit.
Expense Categories
Qazua's categories map directly to the 15 boxes on HMRC's SA103F self-employment supplementary pages. Use the one that most closely describes the expense. If you are unsure, use Other and add a note — you can always recategorise later.
Want a plain-English explanation of every category, including what counts as disallowable? Read the complete HMRC expenses guide on our blog.
Cost of Goods Sold
SA103F: Cost of goods bought for resale ↗Examples: Materials, stock, or digital assets purchased directly to fulfil a client project or produce goods for sale
💡 Only the business-use portion counts. Materials also used for personal projects must be apportioned.
CIS — Subcontractor Costs
SA103F: Construction Industry Scheme subcontractor costs ↗Examples: Payments to subcontractors for work on your contracts under the Construction Industry Scheme
💡 Only relevant if you are a contractor registered under CIS. If you are not in construction, skip this category.
Examples: Wages or day rates for employees or contractors you hire, employer National Insurance contributions, pension contributions
💡 Sole traders cannot pay themselves a salary — drawings are not an expense. Only amounts paid to other people count here.
Examples: Train, bus, taxi, fuel, parking, tolls, flights, hotel stays for business trips, meals during travel away from home
💡 Commuting from home to a regular place of work is not allowable. Travel to client sites or temporary workplaces is. Keep a mileage log if you use your own car.
Premises Running Costs
SA103F: Premises costs ↗Examples: Rent for a studio or desk, co-working space memberships, business rates, utility bills for business premises
💡 Home office running costs go here if you use the actual cost method. HMRC also offers a simplified flat rate (£10–£26/month depending on hours worked from home).
Repairs & Maintenance
SA103F: Repairs and renewals of property and equipment ↗Examples: Repairing a laptop, replacing a broken monitor, fixing equipment used for work
💡 Repairs (restoring to working order) are allowable. Improvements or upgrades are capital expenditure and handled differently.
Office & Admin
SA103F: Administrative costs ↗Examples: Stationery, postage, printer ink, software subscriptions, phone and broadband (business proportion)
💡 If you work from home, you can claim the business proportion of your broadband and phone bill — keep a reasonable record of the split.
Examples: Client lunches, drinks with clients, hospitality, gifts to clients over £50 per person
💡 HMRC specifically prohibits entertainment costs as a deduction. Record them here to keep your books complete, but they will not reduce your tax bill.
Advertising & Marketing
SA103F: Advertising and business costs ↗Examples: Website hosting, domain names, paid ads, design work, business cards, portfolio subscriptions, directory listings
Interest on Loans
SA103F: Interest and bank charges ↗Examples: Interest on a business overdraft, interest on a business loan, interest on a credit card used exclusively for business
💡 Only the interest element is allowable — not the capital repayment. Personal loan interest is not deductible.
Finance Charges
SA103F: Other financial charges ↗Examples: Bank account fees, Stripe or PayPal processing fees, foreign currency transaction fees, hire purchase finance charges
Examples: An invoice written off after a client becomes insolvent or disappears despite recovery attempts
💡 Only applies if you use accruals basis accounting. On cash basis (the default for most freelancers), unpaid invoices were never recorded as income, so there is nothing to write off.
Professional Fees
SA103F: Accountancy, legal and other professional fees ↗Examples: Accountant fees, solicitor fees for business contracts, professional indemnity insurance, professional body memberships
Examples: Accounting depreciation on laptops, cameras, vehicles, office equipment
💡 Depreciation is disallowable for tax. HMRC uses capital allowances instead — including the Annual Investment Allowance, which lets most freelancers deduct the full cost of equipment in the year of purchase.
Examples: Training courses relevant to your current trade, industry magazine subscriptions, trade body membership fees, health and safety equipment
💡 Use this for anything that does not fit the categories above. Add a note so you remember what it was at tax time. Training to enter a new profession is not allowable.
Editing and Deleting Expenses
To update an expense, click the Edit icon on the expenses list or open the expense and click Edit Expense. All fields can be changed at any time.
To delete an expense, open it and click Delete. You will be asked to confirm before anything is removed. Deleted expenses cannot be recovered.
Filtering Your Expenses
The expenses list has two filters at the top:
- Date range — narrow down to a specific period (this month, last 30 days, a custom range, etc.)
- Category — show only one type of expense at a time
Both filters update the chart and the list together, so you can quickly see what you spent on, say, travel in the last quarter.
Expenses on the Dashboard
The Dashboard shows two side-by-side charts for the selected date range: one for income (paid invoices) and one for expenses. This gives you an at-a-glance view of cash in vs. cash out over time, without needing a separate spreadsheet.
Use the date filter at the top of the dashboard to view any period — this month, a quarter, the last six months, or a custom range.
Good habits for expense tracking
- Log expenses as they happen rather than in bulk at year end — it's faster and less likely to miss things
- Keep receipts (photos on your phone are fine for HMRC) and add a brief note in the Notes field linking the expense to a project or client
- Check the Entertainment category note — client lunches are not tax-deductible for sole traders, even if they are a genuine business cost
- Expenses paid through a personal account are still valid business expenses — just record them as normal
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA)
HMRC is rolling out Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment, which will require most self-employed people to keep digital records of income and expenses and submit quarterly updates. Recording your expenses in Qazua with the correct categories now means you will already be in good shape when MTD for ITSA applies to you.
Disclaimer
This guide is for general information only. Tax rules change, and individual circumstances vary. Always consult a qualified accountant or check HMRC's website for advice specific to your situation.