Expense categories | Yokoy Help Center

🌐 Web | 👤 Yokoy admin with Categories (Expenses) permission

Expense categories are the classification for the different types of spend types users can have when travelling.

Employees generate expenses such as taxi, hotel, car rental, train, meals, etc. when travelling, and the spend system needs to be able to accommodate those different types of spend categories.

Categories let you:

Categorize expenses properly
Book expenses in your financial systems with different GL accounts per category
Map AI detection to a client-specific category
Associate VAT input tax

You can adapt the expense management process to your company's needs by setting up various categories for your expense reports. You set up the categories for the expense reports in Admin > Categories (Expenses).

Before you start configuring categories, choose the applicable company under Company for which you want to set up categories for expenses. The Status filter lets you view categories according to whether they are active, inactive or draft.

You can add new categories, import multiple categories or edit an existing category by clicking on it in the table.

Add a new category

Click + Add new category to add a new category.

Fill in the following fields:

Field	Description
Name	The name of the expense category.
Symbol	Choose a symbol that best fits the purpose of the category.
AI category mapping	Yokoy’s AI model is self-learning and can automatically map expenses the more expense reports are created. To help Yokoy’s AI category mapping, choose the applicable category for an expense report. Please note that only one category should be checked and only once. For example, if you have a category for Accommodation Hotels and Accommodation Private, only use the AI category mapping Accommodation once. Only use the AI category Other if you have an Other category.
Date settings	Single dates are applicable for most expenses, such as a meal or a ticket. Require date range (count days) is applicable for expenses that span multiple days, such as car rentals. Require date range (count nights) is applicable for expenses that span multiple nights, such as hotel accommodations.
Account (ERP)	The expense account on which the expense is booked in your finance system.
ID	Yokoy unique ID for a category, which is automatically generated.
Comment description	Include a description for the required comment, if applicable.
Require comment	If enabled, submitters always needs to include a comment for expenses in this category before they can submit the report.
No input VAT/Tax	When selected, no tax information is exported when this category is used. This is only applicable if private expenses are allowed on the company card. If this is the case, Yokoy usually sets up a separate category for these expenses and selects this checkbox.
No cost object allowed	When selected, no cost object information is exported when this category is used. This is only applicable if private expenses are allowed on the company card. If this is the case, Yokoy usually sets up a separate category for these expenses and selects this checkbox.
Display only for company card payments	When selected, this category is only be shown when the payment method is Company card. This option is only relevant if the company allows private expenses on their corporate card. In such cases, Yokoy usually creates a separate category for these expenses and selects this checkbox.
Not visible for employees	If enabled, this category is not visible to submitters and managers. However, finance users can still select it when reviewing an expense. In addition, you can select it as a technical category in a policies, per diems and mileage rates.
Generate warning	If enabled, a warning is displayed if this category is chosen.
Charge to employee (Only Company credit card)	Only applicable for private expenses that are paid with the company card. If enabled, the expense is booked on the user account instead of the expense account.
Disable for expense types	Select the expense type for which this category is disabled, if necessary. For example, you can choose not to show this category for receiptless expenses.
Description	Include a description for this category, if needed.

After you filled in all fields to configure a new category, click Activate to directly activate it or click Save to save your changes and activate the category at a later point in time.

Import multiple categories

To import multiple categories simultaneously, click Import file in the top right corner of your screen. A window pops up where you can download an example CSV file.

Here, you can insert all categories by filling in the following cells:

Column	Description
id	Yokoy unique identifier for a category. This can be left empty as it is automatically generated.
name	The name of the expense category
account	The expense account on which the expense is booked in your finance system.
icon	Choose a symbol that best fits the purpose of a category.
expenseRobotCategoryIds	Yokoy’s AI model is self-learning and can automatically map expenses the more expense reports are created. To help Yokoy’s AI category mapping, choose the choose the applicable category for an expense report. Please note that only one category should be checked and only once. For example, if you have a category for Accommodation Hotels and Accommodation Private, only use the AI category mapping Accommodation once. Only use the AI category Other if you have an Other category.
dateSettings	Type in one of the following terms, which applies to your category: `singleDay`: applicable for most expenses, such as a meal or a ticket `dayRange`: expenses that span multiple days, such as car rentals `nightRange`: expenses that span multiple nights, such as hotel accommodations
requireComment	Type `true` if the submitter always needs to include a comment when choosing this category or `false` if this is not needed.
commentDescription (optional)	Include a description for the required comment, if applicable.
disableTaxes (optional)	Insert `true` if you don’t want VAT/tax information to be exported when this category is used; otherwise, insert `false`. This is only applicable if private expenses are allowed on the company card. If this is the case, Yokoy usually sets up a separate category for these expenses and sets this as `true`.
disableCostCenters (optional)	Insert `true` if you don’t want cost object information to be exported when this category is used; otherwise, insert `false`. This is only applicable if private expenses are allowed on the company card. If this is the case, Yokoy usually sets up a separate category for these expenses and sets this as `true`.
disableCategoryForExpenseTypes (optional)	Type in the expense type (receipt or no receipt) for which this category is disabled; otherwise, leave the cell empty.
generateWarning (optional)	Insert `true` of you want a warning to be displayed if this category is chosen.
companyCreditCardOnly (optional)	Insert `true` if you want this category to appear only when the payment method Company card is chosen (other categories are also visible). Otherwise, insert `false`. This is only applicable if private expenses are allowed on the company card. If this is the case, Yokoy usually sets up a separate category for these expenses and sets this as `true`.
chargeToEmployee	Only applicable for private expenses that are paid with the company card. Insert `true` if you want the expense to be booked on the user account instead of the expense account; otherwise, insert `false`
description (optional)	Include a description for this category, if needed.
hidden	Type `true` if the category should be hidden or `false` if this is not needed.

Once you entered all required data in the CSV file, click Import file in the top right corner of your screen once again and select the company entity you want to apply your changes to.

Next, click Choose file to upload your CSV file or use the drag-and-drop function to drag the file directly into the field. To finish this process, click Start import.

When the import has finished, you can view a log file that indicates any errors that may have occurred during the import process.

Link a category to a policy

If your company set up policies in Yokoy, make sure to link the new category with the respective policy. Otherwise, the category won't be visible in the expense.

To add a category to a policy, go to the Admin > Policies tab and select the policy you want to apply your changes to.

Click Applicable categories dropdown field and select the new category.