Expense Tracking in Money Pro

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Expense Tracking in Money Pro

How Money Pro automatically tracks, categorizes, and reports your business expenses — and how to keep your books accurate year-round.

Overview

Expense tracking is the heart of Money Pro. Every time you spend money on your business — a software subscription, office supplies, a client lunch, a flight to a conference — that expense needs to be recorded and categorized so it's ready for tax time. Money Pro automates the tedious part.

When you connect your bank account, Money Pro pulls in your transactions and categorizes them automatically based on merchant name and transaction type. The categories it uses are IRS Schedule C categories — the same ones you (or your accountant) use to report business expenses on your tax return. Advertising, Office Expenses, Business Meals, Travel, Software & Subscriptions — each expense lands in the right bucket without manual sorting.

That said, no automatic system is 100% accurate. A restaurant might be a business meal or a personal dinner. A hardware store purchase might be a legitimate business supply or something personal. Your job is to periodically review the transactions Money Pro categorized and correct anything that's wrong. Money Pro learns from your corrections and applies the same rule automatically going forward — so you correct most merchants once.

Good expense tracking habits pay off in two ways: a clear picture of where your money goes throughout the year, and clean organized records at tax time that your accountant can use instead of a shoebox of receipts.

How Automatic Categorization Works

When a transaction posts to your linked bank account, Money Pro:

Receives the transaction via your Plaid connection (after the transaction fully posts — typically 3–5 business days after the purchase)
Identifies the merchant using the transaction description
Assigns a category based on merchant type (e.g., Southwest Airlines → Travel, Amazon Business → Office Supplies)
Applies any expense rules you've set — if you previously changed a merchant's category, that rule fires automatically on future transactions from the same merchant
Flags uncertain transactions for your review if it isn't confident in the categorization

IRS Schedule C Categories

Money Pro uses IRS Schedule C expense categories because those are the ones that matter for your taxes:

Category	What It Covers
Advertising	Marketing, online ads, printing, promotional materials
Car and Truck Expenses	Actual vehicle costs (separate from mileage deduction — use one or the other)
Commissions and Fees	Payments to contractors and freelancers
Insurance	Business insurance premiums
Meals	Business meals with clients (50% deductible at tax time)
Office Expense	Supplies, postage, small equipment
Professional Fees	Accountant, lawyer, consultant fees
Rent or Lease	Office space, equipment rentals
Software & Subscriptions	SaaS tools, software licenses
Travel	Airfare, hotels, transportation for business travel
Utilities	Business phone, internet, utility bills
Other Business Expense	Legitimate business expenses that don't fit a named category

Custom subcategories: You cannot change the main IRS parent categories (they're tied directly to Schedule C), but you can create subcategories under any parent. For example, add "Etsy Account" as a subcategory under "Advertising." Go to Expenses → gear icon → Business Categories → + Add to create one.

Tax note: Business meals are generally 50% deductible. Money Pro tracks the full amount. The 50% limitation is applied at filing time by your tax software or accountant — don't halve the amount before entering it.

Reviewing and Categorizing Transactions

The Deduction Finder

After your bank connects, use the Find Deductions button to quickly process your initial batch of transactions:

Go to the Expenses page and click Find Deductions
Money Pro scans all your transactions and groups them into three buckets:
Very Likely — transactions that are clearly business expenses
Not Likely — transactions that appear personal
Needs Review — transactions where it's unclear
Review each group and confirm or override in bulk
For Needs Review items, take time to evaluate each one

If most of your expenses are already tagged, Find Deductions may not find anything new.

Categorizing Individual Transactions

Click on any transaction to open it
Click the current category label and select the correct category from the dropdown
When prompted with a "Suggested Rule" banner, click "Review Now" and accept it to automate that category for all future transactions from that merchant
Add a Note for any transaction that might look questionable in an audit (e.g., "Client dinner — John Smith, ABC Corp")

Bulk Recategorization

Filter the Expenses view by date range, account, or category
Click Bulk Select and check the transactions you want to change
Select the new category and confirm

Splitting a Transaction

If a single purchase contains both business and personal items (e.g., you bought office supplies and personal items in the same Target run):

Open the transaction
Click Split instead of Business or Personal
Enter the dollar amount that is business and the dollar amount that is personal
Save — each portion is categorized and reported separately

Adding Manual Transactions

Money Pro only tracks what flows through your linked bank accounts. For cash purchases, expenses from accounts you don't want to link, or expenses paid from a personal card:

Go to Expenses → click "Add Expense"
Enter: date, vendor, amount, business/personal status, category, which business, client (optional), bank account, notes, receipt photo, and whether it's recurring (one-time, weekly, monthly, or yearly)
Click Save Details

Income Tracking

The Income page mirrors the Expenses page for deposits. When money is added to your linked accounts — client payments, transfers in, refunds — it appears as income for you to tag as business or personal.

Automatic invoice matching: When a client pays an invoice through Money Pro, the deposit syncs from your bank and appears on the Income page. You can also manually match a deposit to an invoice from the Invoice Dashboard — open the invoice, click Add Bank Transaction, and select the matching deposit.

Income rules work like expense rules: click an untagged deposit, select "Create rule," and Money Pro will automatically tag future deposits from the same source.

Manually add income: Go to Income → "+ Add Income" and enter the date, source, amount, business/personal status, business name, bank account (optional), and any notes.

Receipts and Documentation

Attaching receipts to transactions protects you in case of an IRS audit.

From the mobile app:
1. Open the transaction → tap the camera icon or Attach Receipt
2. Take a photo or select from your camera roll

From the web:
1. Open the transaction → click + Add a Receipt
2. Upload a photo or PDF

When you export the Expense Detail List Report, there's a "Receipt" column with a link to each uploaded receipt.

Expense Rules

Expense rules automate your tagging by remembering your categorization decisions:

When you categorize a transaction, Money Pro may show a "Suggested Rule" banner — accept it to apply the rule to all future (and optionally past) transactions from that merchant
Rules can set: category, business vs. personal tag, which business, and which client
To manage rules: gear icon → Business Categories or review them as they're suggested during categorization

Owner's Draws vs. Business Expenses

The most common categorization mistake for LLC owners:

Business expenses are operating costs — deductible, reduce taxable income.

Owner's draws are money you take from the LLC for personal use — NOT deductible, not a business expense. You're taxed on your LLC's net profit regardless of whether you take draws.

If you categorize owner's draws as business expenses, you overstate your deductions and create audit risk.

In Money Pro: When you see a personal withdrawal or a personal purchase accidentally paid from the business account, categorize it as Owner's Draw or Personal — not any business expense category.

Deleting and Restoring Transactions

Deleting transactions: Deleted transactions are moved to the Archived section — they are not permanently erased. They can be restored at any time.

When to delete: personal transactions mistakenly imported, incorrect CSV imports, or duplicate entries.

To delete:
1. Navigate to the Transaction Dashboard (Expenses or Income)
2. Click on the transaction → select Delete → confirm
3. For bulk deletion: click Bulk Select, choose transactions, click the Trash icon
4. Note: bank transfers cannot be bulk deleted — they must be deleted individually

To restore:
1. Go to Expenses or Income → click the Type Filter → select Archived
2. Find the transaction → click it → select Restore → confirm
3. Bulk restore is also available from the Archived view

Special cases:
- Deleting a bank transfer creates an "orphaned" transaction in the other account — reclassify it as Member's Capital or Member's Draw to clean it up
- Deleting tax payments affects your estimated tax liability calculations — review carefully first

Expense Reports

To access reports: Expenses → gear icon → View Reports

Available reports:
- Business Expenses by Business
- Business Expenses by Category
- Business Expenses by Vendor
- Business Expenses by Client
- Expense Details List with Receipts (includes receipt links)
- Personal Expenses by Category
- Personal Expenses by Vendor
- Total Expenses from Recurring Vendors

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mixing personal and business accounts — Dedicate your business accounts to business only; it eliminates most categorization work
Leaving transactions uncategorized — Uncategorized transactions are excluded from expense reports and tax estimates
Forgetting cash purchases — Add them manually via "Add Expense"
Not attaching receipts — Especially for meals, travel, and equipment over $75
Importing CSV without reviewing — Always review imports for mapping errors and duplicates
Not using expense rules — After categorizing a merchant once, set a rule so you never have to do it again

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do transactions sync from my bank?

After transactions fully post to your bank, they appear in Money Pro within 3–5 business days. Banking holidays can add an extra day. If transactions from more than 5 business days ago aren't showing up, contact support — there may be a connection issue.

Can I add a transaction that isn't in my bank account?

Yes. Go to Expenses → Add Expense and fill in the details manually. This is useful for cash purchases, or expenses paid from an account you don't want to link.

What if a transaction includes both business and personal spending?

Use the Split feature. Click the transaction, select Split instead of Business or Personal, and enter the dollar amount for each portion. Each portion is then categorized and reported independently.

What is the Deduction Finder?

The Deduction Finder scans all your transactions and groups them into "Very Likely" business, "Not Likely" business, and "Needs Review" buckets. You then confirm or override each group in bulk. It's the fastest way to process a backlog of uncategorized transactions after your initial bank connection.

Does Money Pro separate personal and business expenses automatically?

Only if your account type is set to Business Only — then all transactions from that account auto-tag as business. With Mixed Use accounts, you review and tag each transaction manually. Keeping dedicated business accounts (set to Business Only) eliminates most manual work.

Can I create custom expense categories?

You can create custom subcategories under the main IRS Schedule C categories. For example, "YouTube Ads" as a subcategory of "Advertising." You cannot change or remove the parent IRS categories themselves — they're tied directly to Schedule C. To add: gear icon → Business Categories → + Add, enter the name, select the parent category, and save.

I deleted some transactions by mistake. Can I get them back?

Yes. Deleted transactions go to the Archived section, not permanent deletion. Go to Expenses → Type Filter → Archived, find the transactions, and click Restore.

My expenses aren't showing up. Where did they go?

First check your filters — the date range on the Expenses page might be set too narrow. Change it to "All time." Then use the search field. If you still can't find them, check Archived transactions — you may have accidentally deleted them. If the transactions truly didn't sync, verify your bank connection in Banks & Integrations.

Does Money Pro handle payroll expenses?

Money Pro doesn't integrate directly with payroll software. However, if you pay employees or contractors from a linked bank account, you can tag those transactions as Payroll or Contractors in Money Pro so they're captured in your expense reports and tax estimates.

Still need help?

Reach us at (844) 493-6249, via live chat on your dashboard, or at support@zenbusiness.com. We're available Monday–Friday during business hours.