# Managing expense accounts, categories, and budgets

> Set up the accounts that hold each client's money, the categories and receipt rules that classify spending, and the budgets that flag overspending.

Canonical: https://enmantle.com/help/expense-accounts-and-budgets · Section: Client Funds & Expenses · Updated: 2026-08-07

Behind every client expense are three things an administrator sets up: the accounts that hold each person's money, the categories that classify spending, and the budgets that flag when an account runs hot. This is representative-payee ledgering — tracking money that belongs to the people you support — not employee reimbursement. Approving an entry posts it to a client's balance; it never pays anyone back.

Admins manage categories, budgets, and closing periods. Directors can set budgets and run exports.

## Set up a client's accounts

Each client can have one or more accounts — one for each place their money lives:

- `Cash` — petty cash on hand.
- `Checking` — a bank account.
- `Card` — a debit or gift card, such as a Walmart gift card.
- `Other` — anything that doesn't fit the above.

Each account has a starting balance and, optionally, a monthly budget. As approved entries post, the balance moves to match.

## Categories and receipt rules

Categories classify every entry — Food, Clothing, Transportation, Activities, Medical, Client Savings, Personal Care, Emergency, and Other. Open `Categories` from the `Client Expenses` header to manage them. Each category has:

- A receipt threshold — the dollar amount above which a receipt is required. The default is $25. Activities, Medical, and Emergency default to $0, so they always require a receipt. Client Savings is $100.
- An optional GL code, so expenses map cleanly into your accounting system.

Set the thresholds to match your compliance rules. Any entry at or above a category's threshold is blocked from submission until a receipt is attached.

## Monthly budgets and Over-Budget

Give an account a monthly budget from `Budgets` in the header, and Enmantle tracks spending against it. On the `Client Expenses` landing page, the `Over Budget` stat card counts the accounts that have passed their limit.

Budgets don't block spending — they surface it, so you can follow up before a small overrun becomes a problem.

## Close a month

At the end of a period, an Admin can close the month. Once it's closed:

- No new entries can be recorded into that month.
- Nobody can back-date an entry into it.

Closing locks the ledger so your records stay clean once you've reconciled. Entries are also retained for 7 years to meet DODD requirements.

## Export for reporting and audits

Directors and Admins can export from `Reports` in the `Client Expenses` header. Use exports for monthly reconciliations, funder reporting, or a DODD audit — the same records, in a form you can hand off.

> Keep the framing straight: this ledger records a client's own money being spent on their behalf. Approving an entry posts it to that person's balance — there is no reimbursement to staff. For the review side, see [Reviewing and approving client expenses](/help/approve-client-expenses).