Expense labels
Set up and use expense labels — a separate, two-level way to classify what each expense is for, used for filtering and reporting.
Expense labels are a flexible way to describe what an expense is for — separate from your accounting categories. They are organised in two levels: a top-level label and, under it, more specific sub-labels (for example Programmes › School meals). Unlike categories and funds, labels carry no balance — they exist purely so you can filter your expenses and summarise spending by purpose in reports.
You set labels up once in Finance settings, then your finance team chooses one each time they code a payment voucher or finalise a staff payment request. Staff who only submit a request never see the label field — it is added later, when finance codes the expense.
Who can do this. Creating and editing labels needs a finance role that grants update — typically the Accountant or the Finance Manager. Anyone with finance read access can see the labels and use them when filtering. If you don't see the Expense Labels settings section or the New label button, your role doesn't allow it; see Members & roles.
Where to find it. Finance → Settings → Expense Labels.
How labels are structured
A label set has two levels:
- A top-level label — a broad heading such as Programmes, Operations or Fundraising.
- A sub-label under it — a more specific purpose such as School meals or Office rent.
Each label is given a short code automatically — L01, L02 for top-level labels, and
L01.01, L01.02 for the sub-labels beneath them. You don't type these; the system assigns
the next number for you, and the code is shown read-only on each row. Codes make labels easy
to search and keep your reports tidy.
When finance codes an expense, they pick a single terminal label — meaning either a sub-label, or a top-level label that has no sub-labels of its own. You cannot pick a top-level label that has children: choose one of its sub-labels instead.
Create a label
Open Expense Labels
Go to Finance → Settings and choose Expense Labels from the settings list. You'll see two panes: top-level labels on one side, and the sub-labels of whichever label you select on the other.
Add a top-level label
Select New label. In the dialog, enter the Name (English) and Name (Arabic) — both are required, so the label reads correctly to everyone whichever language they use the dashboard in.
Choose a colour and description (optional)
Pick a colour from the swatches to make the label easy to spot in lists and reports — tap the chosen swatch again to clear it. You can also add a short description explaining what belongs under this label. Leave Active ticked so the label can be chosen on new expenses.
Save
Select Save. The new label appears in the top-level list with its automatically assigned
code (for example L03).
Add sub-labels
Select the top-level label you just created, then choose New sub-label in the other pane.
Give it a bilingual name (and, if you like, its own colour and description) and save. The
sub-label inherits its parent's colour when you don't set one, and gets a code like L03.01.
A sub-label is what your team will normally pick on an expense. A top-level label is only directly selectable when it has no sub-labels under it. So if a heading is meant to be chosen as-is, leave it without children; if it's a grouping, give it sub-labels.
Edit a label
Select Edit on any label or sub-label row to change its names, colour, description, or Active status. The code never changes, and you cannot move a sub-label under a different parent — if you need a different grouping, create a new label.
To retire a label you no longer use, untick Active rather than trying to remove it. Inactive labels stop appearing as choices on new expenses, but they stay visible on expenses that were already coded with them — so your historical reports stay intact.
Labels are a reporting dimension, not a money record, so editing or deactivating one does not change any balance or any posted ledger entry. Renaming a label simply changes how it's shown going forward. If you deactivate a label that's still in use, expenses already carrying it keep it; only new entries lose it as an option.
Using a label on an expense
When finance creates or codes an expense, the Expense label picker appears on the form — on a payment voucher and when coding a staff payment request. It is a single searchable dropdown listing every selectable label; sub-labels are shown as Parent › Sub-label with their code in front, and you can search by name (English or Arabic) or by code.
Choosing a label is required to save a coded expense — the Save button stays disabled until a label is picked. This makes sure every paid expense can be classified in reports.
Staff who submit a payment request don't choose a label — the request form doesn't show the field. The label is added by the accountant or finance manager when they review and code the request. See Staff payment requests.
Filtering and reporting by label
Once expenses carry labels, you can put them to work:
- Filter the expense list by expense label using the filter bar above your expenses, to see only the spending for a given purpose.
- Summarise by label in reports — labels are available as a reporting dimension, so you can break total spending down by label (and sub-label) alongside categories, funds and other dimensions. See Balances & reports.
Because labels sit alongside categories rather than replacing them, you can answer two different questions at once: a category tells you which budget line an expense came from, while a label tells you what it was for.