Argenta lets you track all of your expenses in one place and assign each one to the right account in your Chart of Accounts. An expense can be a phone bill, office supplies, or any other cost of running your organization.
To get started, choose General Financials > Expenses from the main Argenta menu on the left side of the screen. Your full list of expenses will be displayed, along with the total number of expenses and their combined dollar amount.
To add an expense, click the Add A New Expense button at the top of the list. (If you have a receipt handy, you can also click Add New from Receipt to upload a receipt image or PDF and let Argenta read the details for you automatically.) Adding a new expense opens the Expense Workspace.
The Expense Workspace has five main tabs along the left: Expense Details, Connections, Expense Files, Expense Notes, and Record Permissions. Here is what you will find on each.
1. Expense Details
This is where you enter the main details of the expense.
- Record Level Permissions – Two switches at the top. Turn on Set As View Only to restrict the record to view-only access for most users, or turn on Lock This Record to hide it entirely. In both cases the record stays available to the user who created it, master admins, and anyone you grant access to on the Record Permissions tab. Permissions can also follow department, division, district, and/or precinct assignments.
- Add to General Financials – Turn on the General Ledger toggle to post this expense to your financials. When it is on, you can choose the Fund the expense is drawn from, the Deposit/Checking Account it is paid out of, and the Account from your Chart of Accounts to record it against. Argenta uses nonprofit fund accounting and is a double-entry system.
- Loan or Credit Card Payment – A switch. Turn it on if this expense is a loan or credit card payment.
- Expense Approved – A switch. Turn it on once the expense has been approved.
- Expense Refunded – A switch. Turn it on if this expense has been refunded.
- Expense Category – Choose a category from the list. If the one you need is not there, you can add a new category right from the control using the orange add (+) icon.
- Check/PO/Ref. # – Enter the check number, PO number, or any reference number for the expense.
- Purchase Date – Enter the date the expense happened, either by typing it or using the date picker. This is a required field.
- Total Cost – Enter the total amount of the expense. This is a required field.
- Payment Method – Choose how the expense was paid (for example, check or credit card).
- Payee (Who Did You Pay for This) – The person or organization receiving the payment. This can be any constituent in your system. Start typing the name to search, then select it. You can open the selected record or add a brand-new constituent right from the lookup. This is a required field.
- Payer (Who Paid for This) – The constituent who paid for this expense. Start typing the name to search and select it, or add a new constituent from the lookup.
- Expense Description – Optionally describe the expense.
- Upload The Receipt – On the right side of the page you can attach a receipt. Drag and drop an image or PDF onto the upload area, or click it to browse your computer. Once a file is attached you can download it or remove it.
- Chapter / Division / Department – Optionally tie the expense to a specific chapter, division, or department so it shows up for those records and for users limited to those areas. (Political teams will also see District and Precinct.)
Recurring – Turn on Expense Is Recurring if this is a repeating expense, then set the Recurrence Frequency. If you also turn on Auto-Input Expense, Argenta will automatically create each future occurrence on the schedule you chose. You can view all recurring expenses under General Financials > Recurring Expenses.
Reimbursement – Turn on Reimbursement Needed if someone needs to be reimbursed for this expense. Once it has been paid back, turn on Reimbursed and enter the Date of Reimbursement.
When you are finished, click Save All Changes to save and keep working, or Save All & Exit Record to save and return to your expense list. You can also use Copy & Add New, Delete This Record, or Cancel & Exit.
2. Connections
Use this tab to link the expense to other records. Start typing in any of the lookups to connect a related Auction, Client/Customer, Campaign, Event, Grant, or Program, then click Save. This tab also lets you associate the expense with tasks, projects, properties, leases, renters, maintenance records, and volunteer tasks.
3. Expense Files
Attach any additional files related to this expense. Drag and drop a file or browse to it from your computer, then save to finish the upload. You can remove an attached file at any time.
4. Expense Notes
Add as many notes as you like to the expense. Create a new note, type and format it, and save it. You can edit or remove existing notes whenever you need to.
5. Record Permissions
This tab controls who can see and edit the expense, and it has two side-by-side panels.
- View Only Access – When the record is set to View Only, the users you list here can still edit it (in addition to master admins and the record's creator). In the Add User box, start typing a user's name, select it, and click Add.
- Locked Record Access – When the record is locked, only master admins and the users you list here can view or edit it. In the Add User box, start typing a user's name, select it, and click Add.
Remove a user from either panel using the remove (x) icon next to their name.
When you have finished editing, return to the Expense Details tab and click Save All & Exit Record to save everything and go back to your list of expenses.