---
title: "Introduction to Expenses categories"
slug: "introduction-to-expenses-categories"
updated: 2026-08-19T14:52:59Z
published: 2026-08-19T14:52:59Z
canonical: "help.cintra.co.uk/introduction-to-expenses-categories"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.cintra.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Introduction to Expenses categories

Categories define the types of expense that users can claim in Expenses. Each category carries its own settings including VAT treatment, GL codes, spend limits, and approval workflows. These are applied automatically when a user selects that category on an expense form.

### Default categories

Expenses includes a set of default categories to get you started. You can edit these to match your organisation's requirements, create new ones, and assign additional items such as tags, projects, and approval workflows to control how expenses are classified and processed.

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image(360).png)

![](https://cdn.document360.io/fc2cda72-4645-4b36-96bf-60439ec11f11/Images/Documentation/image-BS2LXW7N.png)

### Category matching

Capture Expense uses two mechanisms to assign categories automatically. When a claim is saved, the system records the relationship between the merchant and the category used, so future claims from the same merchant are assigned automatically. Where no existing mapping exists, AI matching assigns a category when a receipt is uploaded or a card transaction is processed, indicated by a sparkle icon ✨ on the claim.