How to Log Expenses In Odoo

Last Updated: 9 February 2026

Odoo is an open-source ERP platform that includes a native Odoo Expenses App for managing employee and company expenses. Before an expense can be reimbursed or accounted for, it must be recorded in the Odoo database.

Using the Odoo Expenses App, expenses can be logged in multiple ways: manual entry, receipt upload, or email submission via an expense alias. This guide explains how to log expenses in Odoo and how each expense-creation method works within the Odoo ERP ecosystem.

Ways to Create an Expense Record in Odoo

• Odoo provides multiple methods to create an expense record, ensuring flexibility for employees and accounting teams:
  Manual expense entry in the Odoo Expenses App
• Automatic expense creation by uploading receipts
• Email-based expense submission using an expense email alias

All methods integrate directly with Odoo Accounting, analytic accounting, and employee reimbursement workflows.

Manually Enter Expenses in the Odoo Expenses App

Manual expense entry is commonly used for structured or non-receipt expenses. To create a manual expense record, open the Odoo Expenses App, click New, and complete the expense form.

Expense Form Fields in Odoo

Description

Enter a concise description of the expense to clearly identify its purpose.

Expense Category

Select the relevant expense category, which determines tax behavior, expense accounts, and reimbursement rules

Total Amount

Enter the total amount paid for the expense in any of the following ways:

1. If the expense is for a single item/expense, and the category selected is single item/expense, enter the cost in the Total field.
2. If the expense is for multiples of the same item/expense the Unit Price is displayed. Then enter the quantity in the Quantity field, and the total cost is updated automatically with the correct total.

Included Taxes

 If taxes were configured on the expense category, the taxes are applied automatically.

Employee

Select the employee associated with the expense.

Paid By

Indicate whether the expense was paid by the employee or the company.

Expense Date

Select the date on which the expense was incurred.

Expense Account

Choose the expense account where the cost should be posted in Odoo Accounting.

Customer to Reinvoice:

If the expense is billable, select the customer for re-invoicing.

Analytic Distribution:

Assign the expense to analytic accounts such as projects, departments, or cost centers. Multiple analytic dimensions can be used.

Company:

In a multi-company Odoo environment, select the relevant company.

Notes:

Add clarifying notes if additional context is required.

How to Attach Receipts

Receipt management is a core feature of the Odoo Expenses App. After creating an expense record, click Attach Receipt to upload a receipt file.

• Receipts are stored directly on the expense record
• Multiple receipts can be attached to a single expense
• Attached receipts are used for verification, auditing, and OCR digitisation.

This supports compliance and simplifies expense validation.

How to Log Expenses 

We can create expense records automatically by uploading a PDF receipt. To enable this feature we need to purchase credits and enable a setting.

Digitalization Settings

Navigate to Expenses app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings, and tick the checkbox beside the Expense Digitization (OCR) option to enable receipt scanning. Click Save and when enabled, additional options appear. Click on the corresponding radio button to select one of the following options:

• Do not digitize: receipt digitization is turned off.
• Digitize on demand only: digitization of receipts are done only upon requests.
• Digitize automatically: all receipts are automatically digitized upon their uploading.

Upload Receipts to Create Expenses in Odoo

In the Expenses app, on the My Expenses dashboard, click the button Upload, and a file explorer appears. Open the desired receipt.

A new expense record is created upon scanning of the receipt. The Expense Date field contains today’s date, along with other fields based on the scanned data from the receipt.

Email Expenses in Odoo

We can automatically create expenses by sending an email to an email alias instead of individually creating each expense. First, an email alias must first be configured. In Expenses app ‣ Configuration ‣ Settings. Ensure the checkbox beside Incoming Emails is ticked. The default email alias is expense@(domain).com. We can entering the desired email in the field to the right of Alias, click Save.

Emails can be sent to that alias to create new expenses, once the email address has been entered without it to be in the Odoo database.

To submit an expense via email, Create a new email, and enter the product’s internal reference code, if present, and the amount of the expense as the subject of the email; to submit an expense via email. Then, attach the receipt to the email

To check the expense category’s internal reference, In Expenses app ‣ Configuration ‣ Expense Categories. If any internal reference is provided for the expense category, it will be listed in the Internal Reference column.

Click on the category to open the expense category form to add an internal reference for the expense category. Enter the Internal Reference for the product in the corresponding field and under the Internal Reference field, the sentence appears as ‘Use this reference as a subject prefix when submitting by email’.

How Odoo Expenses Integrates with Odoo Accounting

The Odoo Expenses App integrates tightly with:

• Odoo Accounting
• Employee reimbursement workflows
• Analytic accounting
• Customer re-invoicing
• Multi-company accounting

Approved expenses automatically generate accounting entries, ensuring accurate financial reporting and control.

Need Help Managing Company Expenses in Odoo?

If you need assistance with Odoo expense management, expense configuration, OCR setup, or accounting integration, feel free to contact us for expert support.