> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bumara.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Sales and expenses

> Lay-by sales, operating expenses and cash taken out of the till.

Beyond stock movements, the inventory zone records the money side of a shop floor: goods held
against instalments, what you spend running the place, and what leaves the till.

## Lay-by sales

A lay-by holds goods for a customer who pays in instalments. The goods are set aside but remain
yours until the balance is cleared.

<Warning>
  Stock is only deducted when the lay-by **completes**. An active lay-by does not reduce your
  on-hand quantity — which means your available stock figure includes goods physically reserved for
  a customer. Set them aside physically, and label them.
</Warning>

### Creating one

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Inventory, then Sales, then Lay-by sales">
    Choose **New lay-by**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the location">
    Where the goods are held.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the items">
    Item, quantity, unit and sale price for each line.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set a due date">
    When the balance should be cleared. Have a policy for what happens if it is not.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the opening deposit">
    What the customer is paying today. It can be zero, though a deposit is normally wise.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    The lay-by is **Active**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set the goods aside physically">
    And label them with the lay-by reference.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Recording instalments

Open the lay-by and record each payment as it comes in, with the amount, the date and the method.
The outstanding balance updates.

### Completing

<Steps>
  <Step title="Confirm the balance is zero">
    All instalments received.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose Complete">
    Stock is deducted at this point.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Hand over the goods">
    And give the customer a receipt.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Cancelling

If the customer does not complete, cancel the lay-by. No stock movement occurs, since none ever
happened. Return the goods to normal sale.

What happens to instalments already paid is a matter of your policy — set it out clearly when the
lay-by is created, in writing, so there is no argument later.

### Lay-by statuses

| Status        | Meaning                    | Stock            |
| ------------- | -------------------------- | ---------------- |
| **Active**    | Payments ongoing           | Not yet deducted |
| **Completed** | Fully paid and handed over | Deducted         |
| **Cancelled** | Abandoned                  | Never deducted   |

### Managing lay-bys

* **Review actives weekly.** Chase anything past its due date.
* **Set realistic due dates.** Ninety days is common.
* **Label the goods.** A lay-by item accidentally sold to someone else is a genuinely bad afternoon.
* **Have a written cancellation policy.** Especially about deposits.
* **Remember they are not in your available stock.** When you check whether you can fulfil an order.

## Expenses

Operating costs recorded against a location — what it costs to run the place.

Expenses never affect stock. They exist so your profit view can net them against sales.

### Recording one

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Inventory, then Expenses">
    Choose **New expense**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the location">
    Which shop or store the cost belongs to.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a category">
    | Category    | Covers                       |
    | ----------- | ---------------------------- |
    | Supplies    | Consumables and materials    |
    | Utilities   | Electricity, water, internet |
    | Transport   | Fuel, deliveries, travel     |
    | Maintenance | Repairs and servicing        |
    | Marketing   | Advertising and promotion    |
    | Salaries    | Staff costs at this location |
    | Rent        | Premises                     |
    | Other       | Anything else                |
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the amount, date and description">
    Be specific in the description. "Generator repair — starter motor" beats "repairs".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record the payment method">
    Cash, mobile money, bank transfer or other.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    It appears in your expense list and in your profit view.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Reviewing expenses

Filter by location, category and date range. Look for:

| Watch for                                     | What it may mean                                                |
| --------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| A category rising month on month              | A cost drifting out of control                                  |
| Large one-off amounts                         | Should it have been treated as an asset rather than an expense? |
| One location much higher than comparable ones | Worth understanding why                                         |
| Vague descriptions                            | Enforce the standard — you will need these at year end          |

<Note>
  Keep the receipt for every expense. Upload it to your [document vault](/account/document-vault)
  and reference it in the description. An expense without a receipt is difficult to defend.
</Note>

## Cash-outs

Money taken out of the till, recorded separately from expenses because the reasons differ and some
need authorisation.

### Reasons

| Reason         | Use for                                  |
| -------------- | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Float**      | Opening change put into the drawer       |
| **Petty cash** | Small operational payments from the till |
| **Withdrawal** | Cash banked or taken to the office       |
| **Refund**     | Money returned to a customer             |
| **Other**      | Anything else — explain it               |

### Recording one

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open Inventory, then Cash-outs">
    Choose **New cash-out**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose the reason and enter the amount">
    With the date.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe it">
    What the money was actually for.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Record who authorised it">
    For anything beyond routine float. This is the control that makes cash-outs trustworthy.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save">
    It appears in your till reconciliation.
  </Step>
</Steps>

### Reconciling the till

<Steps>
  <Step title="Start with the opening float">
    What was in the drawer at the start.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the day's cash sales">
    From the sales list, cash only.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Subtract the day's cash-outs">
    Everything taken out.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Compare with what is physically in the drawer">
    Count it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Investigate any difference">
    Usually an unrecorded cash-out, change given wrongly, or a sale rung up incorrectly.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Record cash-outs at the moment the money leaves the drawer, not at the end of the day from
  memory. A daily reconciliation that never balances is worse than useless — staff stop taking it
  seriously, and a real shortfall goes unnoticed.
</Warning>

<Note>
  Related: [Point of sale](/inventory/point-of-sale) and [Insights](/inventory/insights).
</Note>