Zoho Books supports several expense sub-types. Cost of Goods Sold tracks direct costs tied to products sold, including raw materials and direct labour. Operating Expenses cover ongoing business costs such as rent, utilities, and salaries. Other Expenses captures non-operating items such as bank charges and foreign exchange losses.
Separating COGS from operating expenses is important because it allows the P&L to show Gross Profit before deducting operating expenses to arrive at Net Profit. This distinction matters for manufacturers, traders, and any business where product cost is significant.
When you record a vendor bill in Zoho Books, each line item is mapped to an expense account. The system debits that account (increasing the expense balance) and credits Accounts Payable. When you record a direct expense paid immediately, it debits the expense account and credits your bank or cash account.
Zoho Books also lets you allocate expenses to specific customers or projects, so you can run a Project Profitability report to see whether a job was financially worthwhile after all direct costs are included.
Certain expense categories attract TDS in India. For example, professional fees above INR 30,000 require the payer to deduct TDS at 10%. When you record such a bill in Zoho Books with a TDS section selected, the system posts the TDS amount to a TDS Payable liability account rather than paying the full amount to the vendor.
An expense account in Zoho Books is an account in the Chart of Accounts where business costs are recorded, such as rent, salaries, advertising, travel, and software subscriptions. Expense accounts feed the Profit and Loss Statement.
Go to Accounting, then Chart of Accounts, and click New Account. Select Expense as the account type, give it a name, and optionally assign a parent account. It will then be available when categorising bills and expenses.
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