# Expense Categories — Finance Tracker

Use this file as the canonical reference for categorizing transactions.
Cowork: always match merchants to the most specific category below.
When in doubt, flag the transaction in the Notes column for the user's review.

---

## HOW TO SET THIS UP FOR YOURSELF

This file has two entities: **Business** and **Personal**. Before your first
run, spend two minutes editing this file:

1. Rename "Business" below to your actual business name if you'd like
   (optional, "Business" works fine as-is).
2. Under "Known merchants in this category" for Software Subscriptions, add
   the tools you actually pay for. A few lines are pre-filled as examples,
   delete or replace them with your own.
3. Set your primary currencies in the CURRENCY RULES section further down.
4. Delete any category you'll never use, or add new ones. Categories are
   just markdown headers, Cowork will follow whatever structure is here.

Once this file matches your real tools and categories, every future month
just works, no further editing needed.

---

## BUSINESS EXPENSES (Entity = "Business") — tracked in [YOUR PRIMARY BUSINESS CURRENCY, e.g. USD]

### Software Subscriptions
Regular SaaS tools used to operate the business.
Known merchants in this category (edit this list to match your own tools):
- *Example: Adobe Creative Cloud — design software*
- *Example: Slack — team communication*
- *Example: QuickBooks — accounting*
- *Add your own tools here, one per line*

### Advertising & Marketing
Paid ads, sponsored content, or paid promotion.
- Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram)
- Google Ads
- LinkedIn Ads
- Any other paid digital advertising spend

### Tools & Equipment
One-time hardware or software purchases for the business.
- Laptop accessories
- Microphones, cameras
- One-time software licenses

### Professional Services
Contractors, freelancers, lawyers, accountants.
- Designer fees
- Developer contractors
- Legal / accounting

### Travel (Business)
Travel directly related to client meetings or business events.
- Flights for client visits
- Train / transport for business purposes
- Hotels for business trips
- Note: must have a clear business purpose

### Meals & Entertainment (Business)
Client dinners, prospect meetings, business coffees.
- Always note who it was with and the purpose in Business Purpose column
- Must have a clear client / prospect / partner justification

### Domain & Hosting
- Domain registrars, web hosting, CDNs

### Miscellaneous (Business)
Any business expense that doesn't fit above.
- Always add a note explaining the charge
- Flag for review

---

## PERSONAL EXPENSES (Entity = "Personal") — tracked in [YOUR PRIMARY PERSONAL CURRENCY, e.g. EUR]

### Rent / Utilities
- Monthly rent or mortgage
- Electricity, gas, water
- Internet / mobile phone

### Groceries
- Supermarket shops
- Food delivery (personal)
- Any food purchased for home

### Meals & Entertainment
- Restaurants, cafes, bars
- Netflix, Spotify, or other personal entertainment subscriptions
- Events, concerts, activities

### Transport
- Public transit
- Trains (non-business)
- Taxi / rideshare (non-business)
- Flights (personal / holiday)

### Health
- Pharmacy
- Doctor / dentist visits
- Gym membership

### Clothing
- Any clothing, shoes, or accessories

### Subscriptions (Personal)
Personal subscriptions not related to work.
- Cloud storage
- Personal software
- Streaming services (if not already in Meals & Entertainment)

### Miscellaneous (Personal)
Any personal expense that doesn't fit above.
- Always add a note

---

## CURRENCY RULES

Set your two primary currencies here so Cowork logs amounts correctly:
- Business currency: **[e.g. USD]**
- Personal currency: **[e.g. EUR]**

Do not convert between currencies. Log the amount in whichever currency
column matches the charge, and leave the other column blank. If a charge
appears in a currency other than your two primary ones, note the original
currency in the "Currency Paid" column.

---

## AMBIGUOUS CASES — how to handle

| Situation | Rule |
|---|---|
| Coffee while working | Personal unless with a client → then Business |
| Phone bill (one phone used for both) | Split 50/50 or flag for review |
| Travel that mixes business + personal | Flag for review to decide the split |
| Someone else's card on the same account (e.g. a partner or co-founder) | Note whose card it was in Payment Method, still categorize normally |
| Charge in a currency other than your two primary ones | Log the original amount in the matching column, leave the other blank |
| Recurring charge not in your known tools list | Flag as Miscellaneous and add a note |
| New tool you're testing | Software Subscriptions — Business |

---

## FLAGGING RULES

Always add to the Flags section of Monthly Summary if:
- Single transaction over a threshold you're comfortable with (a common
  starting point is **$500 / €400**, adjust to what makes sense for you)
- Merchant name is unrecognizable
- Same merchant charged twice in the same month
- Any charge that looks like it could be a duplicate or fraud
- Missing receipt for a business expense over $50 (or your local equivalent)