Why Categorize Business Expenses?
Classifying expenses helps you see exactly where your store revenue is being spent. Rather than viewing a single lump-sum total of store costs, categories enable you to differentiate between direct product fulfillment costs (like shipping boxes and raw materials) and general operating overheads (like shop rent, staff wages, and electricity).
📊 Better Business Insights: Consistent categorization lets you filter your dashboard by category, pinpoint runaway spending, claim legitimate business deductions during tax season, and determine your true operating margins.
The 13 Standard StoreYug Expense Categories
StoreYug comes pre-configured with 13 comprehensive business categories designed specifically for Indian retail stores, e-commerce sellers, and local service businesses:
| Category Name | What to Include | Common Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Rent & Utilities | Fixed storefront or warehouse rental charges, electrical bills, municipal water taxes, and broadband internet. | Shop monthly rent, commercial electricity bill, Wi-Fi router recharge. |
| Salary & Wages | Compensation paid to staff, store helpers, cashiers, seasonal workers, and delivery staff. | Sales assistant monthly salary, festive bonus, daily counter wages. |
| Marketing & Advertising | Expenditures to promote your store, run digital advertisements, print promotional materials, or run campaigns. | Meta/Google ads, printed storefront banners, discount coupons, influencer promotions. |
| Office Supplies | Daily stationery, consumables, and desk supplies needed to run day-to-day store administration. | Thermal receipt paper rolls, barcode labels, pens, staplers, cleaning supplies. |
| Maintenance & Repairs | Servicing, repairs, and upkeep of store fixtures, electronic hardware, air conditioning, or premises. | Barcode scanner repair, AC servicing, shop shutter repair, lighting replacement. |
| Software & Subscriptions | Digital tools, cloud services, domain registrations, and platform subscriptions that power your business. | StoreYug subscription renewal, custom domain name, accounting software license. |
| Taxes & Fees | Professional accounting services, trade licensing, municipal permits, and compliance fees. | Chartered accountant audit fees, trade license renewal, GST filing service charge. |
| Transport & Travel | Local courier dispatches, vehicle fuel, customer order deliveries, and vendor visiting travel. | Delivery bike petrol, third-party courier dispatch fee, auto fare to wholesale market. |
| Insurance | Commercial property policies, inventory protection, transit insurance, and staff coverage. | Shopkeeper policy premium, fire and theft insurance, vehicle insurance. |
| Raw Materials | Components, fabrics, bulk produce, or ingredients sourced to produce finished retail goods. | Fabric rolls for apparel boutique, baking ingredients for cake shop, base materials. |
| Packaging | Materials used to pack and secure customer orders for takeaway or courier delivery. | Corrugated shipping boxes, tamper-evident courier bags, bubble wrap, branded tapes. |
| Miscellaneous | Incidental petty cash purchases and small daily expenses not falling neatly into other groups. | Tea and refreshments for visiting clients, emergency tip, incidental shop sundries. |
| Other Expenses | Any specialized or one-off business outlay unique to your operational setup. | Security deposit adjustment, specialized machinery rental, custom tool rental. |
Using the Searchable Category Dropdown
When creating or editing an expense, StoreYug features a smart category selector:
- Click on the Category dropdown field in the expense modal.
- On desktop, start typing any category keyword (for example, typing pack instantly filters the list down to Packaging).
- Click the matching category name or press enter to select it immediately.
- If you want to leave an expense uncategorized, simply select Select Category.