Viewing Expense History

Overview

The expense history page shows all recorded expenses, allowing you to review spending, identify trends, verify transactions, and analyze patterns. You can filter by date range, search by title, and sort by various fields.

Accessing Expense History

Navigate to Expenses

Click Expenses in the sidebar

View expense list

All expenses displayed with pagination

Use controls

Filter, search, and sort as needed

Expense List Display

Each expense in the list shows:

Field	Description	Source
Title	Expense description/name	Free-form text (use for categorization)
Amount	How much was spent	From journal entry
Date	When the expense occurred	Transaction date
Description	Additional details	Optional field
Bank Account	Which account paid (if shown)	From CASH ledger line
Reserve	Reserve allocation (if funded from reserve)	Reserve-funded expenses only
Bank Charge	Linked bank charge (if any)	Separate linked entry

No “Category” column: Agatabo doesn’t have a built-in category field. Categories are implemented through consistent title naming patterns (e.g., “Operating Expenses - Rent”, “Salaries - Treasurer”).

Pagination

Expenses are displayed in pages to improve performance: Default settings:

Page size: 10 expenses per page
Default sort: Newest first (by date, descending)

Navigation:

Use page numbers or next/previous buttons
Jump to specific page
Change items per page (typically 10, 25, 50, or 100)

Total information:

Total count of expenses
Total pages
Current page number

Filtering Expenses

By Date Range

Filter expenses to a specific time period using start and end dates:

Set start date (optional)

Expenses on or after this date

Set end date (optional)

Expenses on or before this date

Apply filter

List updates to show only expenses in range

Common date ranges (implemented in frontend):

Today
This Week
This Month
Last Month
This Quarter
This Year
Custom Range

Example filters:

Start Date: 2026-06-01
End Date: 2026-06-30
Result: All June 2026 expenses

Start Date: 2026-01-01
End Date: (empty)
Result: All expenses from Jan 1, 2026 onwards

Start Date: (empty)
End Date: 2026-05-31
Result: All expenses up to May 31, 2026

By Title (Search)

Search for expenses by title using text search:

Enter search term

Type keyword or phrase in search box

Search executes

Case-insensitive partial match on title field

Results update

Only matching expenses shown

Search is case-insensitive and matches partial titles: Examples:

Search: "rent"
Matches:
- "Operating Expenses - Office Rent - June 2026"
- "Operating Expenses - Office Rent - May 2026"
- "Rent payment"

Search: "salaries"
Matches:
- "Salaries - Treasurer Stipend"
- "Salaries - Accountant Fee"
- "Staff Salaries - June"

Search: "bank charges"
Matches:
- "Bank Charges - Wire Transfer"
- "Bank Charges - Account Maintenance"

Using search for categories: Since categories are in the title, you can search by category prefix. Search “Operating Expenses” to see all expenses with that category in the title.

Sorting Expenses

Click column headers or use sort controls to reorder the list: Available sort fields:

Title: Alphabetical order (A-Z or Z-A)
Amount: Smallest to largest or largest to smallest
Date: Oldest to newest or newest to oldest
Created At: When expense was recorded in system

Sort order:

Ascending (asc): Low to high, A to Z, oldest to newest
Descending (desc): High to low, Z to A, newest to oldest

Default: Date descending (newest expenses first)

Sorting Examples

Sort by Title (ascending):

Results appear alphabetically:
- "Bank Charges - Account Fee"
- "Bank Charges - Wire Transfer"
- "Meeting Expenses - Refreshments"
- "Operating Expenses - Electricity"
- "Operating Expenses - Rent"
- "Salaries - Treasurer"

Benefit: Groups expenses with same category prefix together

Sort by Amount (descending):

Results appear largest to smallest:
- 500,000 RWF - "Annual Audit Fee"
- 200,000 RWF - "Equipment Purchase"
- 150,000 RWF - "Office Rent"
- 50,000 RWF - "Treasurer Stipend"
- 15,000 RWF - "Office Supplies"

Benefit: Identify largest expenses quickly

Sort by Date (descending):

Results appear newest to oldest:
- 2026-06-15 - Recent expense
- 2026-06-10 - Last week
- 2026-06-01 - Beginning of month
- 2026-05-28 - Previous month

Benefit: See most recent spending first (default)

Combining Filters and Sorting

You can combine multiple filters and sorting for powerful analysis:

Example 1: June Operating Expenses by Amount

Filters:
- Start Date: 2026-06-01
- End Date: 2026-06-30
- Search: "Operating Expenses"

Sort:
- Sort By: Amount
- Order: Descending

Result: All June operating expenses, largest first

Example 2: Recent Salary Payments

Filters:
- Start Date: 2026-01-01
- End Date: (empty)
- Search: "Salaries"

Sort:
- Sort By: Date
- Order: Descending

Result: All salary payments from this year, newest first

Example 3: All Bank Charges Alphabetically

Filters:
- Search: "Bank Charges"

Sort:
- Sort By: Title
- Order: Ascending

Result: All bank charges grouped by title

Viewing Expense Details

Click on an expense to see full details: Detailed view shows:

Complete title and description
Exact amount
Transaction date
Bank account used
Reserve allocation (if reserve-funded)
Linked bank charge (if any)
Documents/receipts attached
Who recorded the expense
When it was recorded
Journal entry information
Edit and delete options (if permitted)

From detail view you can:

Edit expense details
Delete expense
View/download attached documents
See related journal entries
Access bank account details

What Expenses Are Shown

The expense list includes: Included:

✅ Standard expenses (EXPENSE_PAYMENT kind)
✅ Reserve-funded expenses (RESERVE_EXPENSE kind)
✅ Posted (active) expenses only

Excluded:

❌ Bank charges (shown as linked to parent expense, not standalone)
❌ Reversed/deleted expenses
❌ Loan disbursements (not expenses)
❌ Dividend distributions (not expenses)
❌ Savings withdrawals (not expenses)

Bank charges: Separate BANK_CHARGE journal entries are linked to their parent expense and shown within the parent’s details, not as standalone items in the expense list.

Common Use Cases

Monthly Expense Review

Goal: Review current month’s spending

Set date filter

Start Date: First day of month (e.g., 2026-06-01) End Date: Last day of month (e.g., 2026-06-30)

Sort by title

Groups expenses by category prefix

Review each category

Check amounts against budget

Identify unusual expenses

Look for unexpected or large amounts

Find Specific Expense

Goal: Locate a particular expense by description

Use search

Enter keyword from title or description

Add date filter if needed

Narrow down if you remember approximate date

Scan results

Find matching expense

Click to view details

See full information

Example:

Looking for: Audit fee payment from April

Search: "audit"
Start Date: 2026-04-01
End Date: 2026-04-30

Result: "Professional Services - Annual Audit Fee"

Category Analysis

Goal: See all expenses in a specific category

Search by category prefix

Enter category name (e.g., “Salaries”, “Operating Expenses”)

Optional date filter

Limit to specific period

Sort by date or amount

Depending on what you want to analyze

Review results

Calculate totals, identify patterns

Example:

Analyze salary expenses for the year:

Search: "Salaries"
Start Date: 2026-01-01
End Date: 2026-12-31
Sort By: Date
Order: Ascending

Result: All salary payments chronologically
Manual calculation: Sum all amounts for yearly total

Prepare for Audit

Goal: Generate complete expense list for auditor

Set audit period

Use date range for fiscal year or audit period

Remove search filter

Show all expense types

Sort by date

Chronological order (ascending)

Review for completeness

Ensure all expenses have descriptions
Check for missing receipts/documents
Verify amounts are reasonable

Note any follow-up needed

Missing documentation, unclear expenses

Export capability: Check if your implementation supports exporting expense data to Excel/CSV. If not, you may need to manually compile the list or use the Profit & Loss report.

Compare Month-to-Month

Goal: Compare spending across months

Filter to first month

Example: June 2026

Search by category

Example: “Operating Expenses”

Note total amount

Manually sum or use calculator

Change date filter to second month

Example: July 2026

Compare totals

Identify increases or decreases

Limitations and Workarounds

No Amount Range Filter

Backend doesn’t support: Minimum/maximum amount filtering Workaround:

Retrieve all expenses for period
Sort by amount
Manually scan for desired range
Or export and use spreadsheet filters

Backend doesn’t support: Dedicated category dropdown filter Workaround:

Use title search with category prefix (e.g., search “Salaries”)
Sort by title to group categories together
Consistent naming makes this effective

No Export Function

Backend doesn’t support: Direct export to Excel/CSV (at API level) Workarounds:

Check if frontend implements export
Use Profit & Loss report (includes expense breakdown)
Manual data entry from expense list
Copy-paste into spreadsheet

No Bank Account Filter

Backend doesn’t support: Filter by which bank account paid Workaround:

View bank account transaction history instead
Review all expenses and note bank account manually
Use bank reconciliation reports

Maximum 100 Per Page

Backend limitation: Maximum 100 expenses per page request Workaround:

Use date filters to narrow results
Navigate through multiple pages
Use search to reduce results

Best Practices

Expense review tips:Regular reviews:

Review expenses weekly for recent period
Monthly review of entire month
Quarterly and annual reviews for trends

Search effectively:

Use category prefixes in search (benefit of consistent naming)
Combine search with date filters
Try different keywords if first search doesn’t work

Sorting strategies:

Sort by title to group categories
Sort by amount to find largest expenses
Sort by date for chronological review

Verification:

Compare expense list to bank statements
Check for missing expenses (gaps in dates)
Verify large or unusual amounts
Ensure all expenses have adequate descriptions

Documentation:

Click through to verify documents are attached
Note any missing receipts for follow-up
Ensure descriptions are clear enough for audit

Analysis:

Look for spending patterns
Identify categories with consistent overspending
Notice seasonal variations
Track recurring expenses (are amounts consistent?)

Permissions Required

Action	Permission	Scope
View expense list	`expenses:read`	ANY
View expense details	`expenses:read`	ANY
Edit expense	`expenses:write`	ANY
Delete expense	`expenses:write`	ANY

Typical access: Most members have expenses:read to review organizational spending. Only Accountants and Administrators typically have expenses:write for editing.

Recording Expenses

Add new expenses to the system

Expense Categories

Organize spending with title conventions

Expenses Overview

Understand expense types and features

Profit & Loss Report

See expense impact on profitability

​Overview

​Accessing Expense History

​Expense List Display

​Pagination

​Filtering Expenses

​By Date Range

​By Title (Search)

​Sorting Expenses

​Sorting Examples

​Combining Filters and Sorting

​Example 1: June Operating Expenses by Amount

​Example 2: Recent Salary Payments

​Example 3: All Bank Charges Alphabetically

​Viewing Expense Details

​What Expenses Are Shown

​Common Use Cases

​Monthly Expense Review

​Find Specific Expense

​Category Analysis

​Prepare for Audit

​Compare Month-to-Month

​Limitations and Workarounds

​No Amount Range Filter

​No Category Filter

​No Export Function

​No Bank Account Filter

​Maximum 100 Per Page

​Best Practices

​Permissions Required

​Related Topics

Recording Expenses

Expense Categories

Expenses Overview

Profit & Loss Report

Overview

Accessing Expense History

Expense List Display

Pagination

Filtering Expenses

By Date Range

By Title (Search)

Sorting Expenses

Sorting Examples

Combining Filters and Sorting

Example 1: June Operating Expenses by Amount

Example 2: Recent Salary Payments

Example 3: All Bank Charges Alphabetically

Viewing Expense Details

What Expenses Are Shown

Common Use Cases

Monthly Expense Review

Find Specific Expense

Category Analysis

Prepare for Audit

Compare Month-to-Month

Limitations and Workarounds

No Amount Range Filter

No Category Filter

No Export Function

No Bank Account Filter

Maximum 100 Per Page

Best Practices

Permissions Required

Related Topics