{"id":1151,"date":"2019-07-01T15:08:15","date_gmt":"2019-07-01T15:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sage-new-clone.local\/en-au\/blog\/?post_type=sage_glossary&#038;p=1151"},"modified":"2025-10-10T13:51:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-10T05:51:53","slug":"what-is-expenses","status":"publish","type":"sage_glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-expenses\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an expense?"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/glossary\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Glossary definition<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhat is an expense?\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"What is an expense?\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-expenses\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-expense\">Expense<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-accounting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">accounting<\/a>, an expense refers to any cost that contributes to a company\u2019s overall cost of doing business. That is, any costs incurred as a result of a company\u2019s attempted or successful revenue production. Expenses may include cash, cash equivalents, and depreciation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some common examples of expenses include:<br>\n\u2022 Employee wages<br>\n\u2022 Rent or property lease<br>\n\u2022 Utility bills<br>\n\u2022 Advertising<br>\n\u2022 Cost of goods sold<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Every company faces unavoidable expenses, meaning costs that are necessary to maintain normal business operation. A more general expense definition is any cost an individual or organisation incurs within a specified period.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice Newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Get a roundup of our best business advice in your inbox every month<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-9bb1029b-6379-408c-b78c-6f45c352c6f3\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1178687924-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1178687924-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this term<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/tag\/cash-flow\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCash flow\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/tag\/expenses\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tExpenses\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/tag\/profit-and-loss\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProfit and loss\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-1519 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-cash-flow tag-expenses tag-profit-and-loss tag-revenue business_type-small-business card-post--is-clickable\"\n>\n\t<div class=\"card-post__media-wrapper\">\n\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-93-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-93-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-93-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-93-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card-post__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__label\">Recommended<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-06-26T14:00:58+08:00\">26 June, 2020<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">3 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h3\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/rebuilding-your-business\/\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tWhile rebuilding your business, check these important numbers\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"card-post__description\">\n\t\t\t\tKeeping tabs on these metrics will help you track your recovery progress As your business rebuilds, key performance indicators (KPIs) let you quickly check on how your company is doing. Bringing to light where you can improve is essential to moving forward and achieving your business goals. Focus on these five KPIs to help steer [&hellip;]\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__non-featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--more h4\">More on this Topic<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-1 post-1504 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-trends-insights tag-business-continuity tag-business-management tag-cash-flow tag-profit-and-loss business_type-small-business business_type-medium-sized-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/safeguard-business\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-118-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-118-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-118-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-118-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-05-29T09:41:16+08:00\">29 May, 2020<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">6 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to safeguard your business during unprecedented times\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-1401 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-daily-money category-money-matters tag-accounting tag-entrepreneurship tag-profit-and-loss tag-revenue business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/accounting-for-entrepreneurs\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-121-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-121-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-121-768x585.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2019\/07\/resize-1675x1275-121-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2020-01-07T12:40:17+08:00\">7 January, 2020<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">3 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tAccounting for entrepreneurs: Your eight-point survival guide\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-1162 sage_glossary type-sage_glossary status-publish hentry tag-accounting tag-cash-flow tag-expenses tag-profit-and-loss tag-revenue\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-net-income\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/sage\/dist\/images\/placeholder-related.png\" class=\"card-post__image\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">1 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tWhat is net income?\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-1145 sage_glossary type-sage_glossary status-publish hentry tag-accounting tag-cash-flow tag-entrepreneurship tag-expenses tag-profit-and-loss\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/glossary\/what-is-an-asset\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/sage\/dist\/images\/placeholder-related.png\" class=\"card-post__image\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">&lt; 1 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tWhat is an asset?\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Expense In accounting, an expense refers to any cost that contributes to a company\u2019s overall cost of doing business. That is, any costs incurred as a result of a company\u2019s attempted or successful revenue production. Expenses may include cash, cash equivalents, and depreciation. Some common examples of expenses include: \u2022 Employee wages \u2022 Rent or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[179,55,70],"class_list":["post-1151","sage_glossary","type-sage_glossary","status-publish","hentry","tag-cash-flow","tag-expenses","tag-profit-and-loss"],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice Malaysia","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/sage_glossary\/1151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/sage_glossary"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/sage_glossary"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/sage_glossary\/1151\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-my\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}