Expense tracking and recurring cost categorization

Purpose

1.1. Automate the capture, classification, and reporting of expenses and recurring costs for Alsace restaurants, ensuring real-time visibility, systematic categorization, error reduction, and compliance with regulatory requirements for financial health and strategic decisions.
1.2. Detect new expenses from multiple sources (bank, POS, vendors, invoices), automatically categorize into pre-defined classes (utilities, ingredients, staff meals), and flag anomalies or duplicate entries.
1.3. Aggregate recurring costs (rent, subscriptions, suppliers), map to correct chart of accounts, and generate both summary and detailed cost reports for accounting and management teams.

Trigger Conditions

2.1. Receipt of new transaction data from financial accounts or POS (daily sync or webhook).
2.2. Detection of bills/invoice PDF uploads in a designated email or cloud folder.
2.3. Monthly/weekly scheduled execution for recurring expense review.
2.4. Vendor communication (email, EDI) indicating a new invoice or recurring charge.
2.5. API notification from accounting, ERP, or POS platforms about new cost entry.

Platform Variants

3.1. QuickBooks Online
• Feature/Setting: Create Expense (API `POST /v3/company/{companyId}/purchase`). Map `CategoryRef` to Alsace-restaurant-defined GL codes.

3.2. Xero
• Feature/Setting: Bills & Expense Claims (API `POST /api.xro/2.0/Receipts`). Attach scanned receipts, set `LineItems[].AccountCode`.

3.3. Sage Intacct
• Feature/Setting: AP Bills & Recurring Entries (API `create_bill`, `create_recurring_bill`). Set vendor, category, and frequency.

3.4. FreshBooks
• Feature/Setting: Expense Entry (API `POST /accounting/account/{account_id}/expenses/expenses`). Attach receipts, use custom field for sub-category.

3.5. Zoho Books
• Feature/Setting: New Expense (API `POST /expenses`). Categorize using `expense_category_id`, auto-attach files.

3.6. NetSuite
• Feature/Setting: Expense Report (SOAP `add` operation). Use custom segments and department mapping.

3.7. Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance
• Feature/Setting: Vendor Invoice (API `POST /vendorInvoices`). Specify recurring frequency and project tags.

3.8. SAP Business One
• Feature/Setting: Incoming Payment/Journal Entry (Service Layer `POST /JournalEntries`). Set recurring schedule flag.

3.9. Wave
• Feature/Setting: Expense Entry (`POST /businesses/{business_id}/expenses`). Define `expense_type` and tagging.

3.10. Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP
• Feature/Setting: Payables Invoice (API `POST /fscmRestApi/resources/11.13.18.05/payablesInvoices`). Set `recurring` field, assign category ID.

3.11. Expensify
• Feature/Setting: Expense Creation (API `CreateTransaction`). Define policy rules for Alsace restaurant categories.

3.12. Receipt Bank / Dext
• Feature/Setting: Receipt Extraction (API `POST /documents`). Map extracted vendor info to expense line.

3.13. Square POS
• Feature/Setting: Export Transactions (API `GET /v2/transactions`). Filter by type and push to expense categories.

3.14. Shopify
• Feature/Setting: Order Data Sync (API `GET /admin/api/2022-10/orders.json`). Extract supplier recurring charges.

3.15. Stripe
• Feature/Setting: Incoming Charges/Subscription (API `GET /charges`, `GET /subscriptions`). Map Stripe metadata to expense.

3.16. Paypal
• Feature/Setting: Transaction Search (API `GET /v1/reporting/transactions`). Filter by merchant and auto-categorize.

3.17. Google Sheets
• Feature/Setting: Append Row (API `spreadsheets.values.append`). Log and tag new expense data for lossy sources.

3.18. Dropbox
• Feature/Setting: New File in Folder (API `files/list_folder`). OCR and parse invoices added for expense automation.

3.19. Google Drive
• Feature/Setting: Watch Files (API `changes/watch`). Extract and classify batch uploads.

3.20. Slack
• Feature/Setting: Expense Report Submission (API `chat.postMessage`). Staff submit expenses; bot tags and forwards.

3.21. Gmail
• Feature/Setting: New Attachment Received (API `users.messages.list`). Extract PDF/Imagen of invoices and link to category.

3.22. Plaid
• Feature/Setting: Transactions Sync (API `/transactions/get`). Auto-tag recurring debits (utilities, rent, procurement).

3.23. Bill.com
• Feature/Setting: Bill Creation (API `POST /v3/bills`). Specify auto-pay and vendor/GL mapping.

3.24. DocuSign
• Feature/Setting: Envelope Completed (API `POST /envelopes`). When contract with recurring charges is signed, add to expense automation.

3.25. Vend (Lightspeed Retail)
• Feature/Setting: Product Supplier Orders Export (API `GET /api/register_sales`). Recurring ordering for ingredients/costs.

Benefits

4.1. Eliminates manual entry and human error, increasing speed and accuracy.
4.2. Ensures all recurring costs are captured and categorized consistently for reporting and compliance.
4.3. Enables better visibility into cost drivers, supporting informed menu pricing and operational decisions.
4.4. Provides timely warnings for anomalous or duplicated expenses.
4.5. Integrates seamlessly with existing restaurant accounting, POS, and payroll solutions.