Tracking your expenses in Playground keeps all expense data within one easy to access location. Administrators are able to track expenses manually and/or automatically. You can even include receipts!
💡 If you are family child care, please refer to this article: Working with Expenses in Family Child Care.
Manually Tracking Expenses
The manual expense tracking tool can be used to record business expenses.
Add New Expenses
To create a new expense, follow the steps below:
Navigate to Overview under the Expenses tab
Click the blue Add expense button in the top right corner of your screen. The Add Expense window will appear.
Enter the date the expense was incurred and the total dollar amount.
All other fields are optional. See below for a description of each optional field.
Merchant name: add a merchant name to help you remember where you incurred the expense.
Category: Click the box to expand the dropdown list of categories. To add a category to your list, click the blue + Add Category button.
User: Assign an expense to a specific staff member in Playground.
Memo: add a memo to record any details you need
Expense classification: expenses can be categorized as either business expenses or a percentage of business use. Refer to the table for a detailed explanation of each classification.
If you select Percent Business Use, specify the percentage of the expense that should be recorded as a business expense.
Click Add Receipt to upload a picture of your receipt. This will open your computer's finder window. Click to learn more about adding receipts via your mobile device.
If you have more expenses to record, toggle on Create More to add multiple expenses in the same window.
When you are done adding and editing your expenses, click Save Expense.
Expense Classifications | Define | Example |
Business expense | Costs incurred solely for business operations | Diapers for your child care kiddos. |
Percent business use | Expenses that are partially used for business | If I buy $100 worth of milk and $90 of this is going to my child care my percent business use would be 90%. |
Split Expenses
Splitting expenses allows you to split one expense into multiple expenses. Follow the steps below to split if you need to split an expense:
Navigate to Overview from the Expenses tab.
Under the Transactions table, locate the expense you want to split and click the ellipses (...).
Click Split.
Enter the New Expense information including the Description, Amount, Classification (if applicable), and Category (if applicable). For more information on expense classifications, view the chart above.
Click the blue Add button.
After you have added this new expense, you will have the option to Delete the expense, Split the Remaining Balance, or Split the Expense.
To Delete the expense, click the trashcan icon next to the expense.
To Split the Remaining Balance, click on Split Remaining (the remaining balance will automatically calculate for you here).
To Split the Expense, click the blue Split Expense button.
When you are ready to split up your expense, click the Split Expense button. You will then see your new, individual expenses populate in the Transactions table under Expense Overview.
💡 If you are unable to add a new split expense, the amount you entered may be greater than the total expense.
Automated Expense Tracking
We are adding the ability to link bank and card accounts to Playground that automatically log your expenses. This is coming soon and will have more information once released.
In the meantime, automate your expense tracking by using Playground Spend Cards. Playground Spend Cards are debit cards funded by your Stripe balance or your bank account. There are absolutely no added fees in using spend cards.
Register your account
From the Admin Dashboard on the left of the screen, navigate to the Expenses tab and click Manage Cards.
Click the blue Get Started button. You'll see "Terms of Service agreement" window. From there, click the blue Register account at the bottom right corner of the window.
Once your account is registered, you can manage card limits, track spending, and download spending statements for your Playground cards.
Add and create a card on Playground
Navigate to the Card management window of the Expenses tab, click either of the blue + Add card in the middle of the screen or at the top right. Both will navigate you to the same place.
Under Card type click select an option. Choose a physical or virtual card. Virtual cards can only be used online. Physical cards can be used anywhere.
Enter a name under Card name. This is an internal name, and will not be visible to the cardholder.
Select a staff member on the Card user to assign to cardholder. Then, click Next.
Add shipping and billing information and click Create card
Deposit money to your balance
In the Expenses Overview tab of the admin dashboard, click Manage balance on the right side of the screen to make a deposit
You can track Deposits & Withdrawals to and from your bank account on this tab. Click manage funds on the right side of the screen and Add funds to make a deposit.
Set spending limits on your Playground card
Under the Expenses tab in the admin dashboard click Manage cards to control expense limits
Set customized limits for this card to decide if purchases get authorized or declined. Aggregate limit can be Interval based, Balanced based, or none. Balance based will reset the spending limit to the amount you enter, beginning today and with no expiration date. You can change this limit at any time.
Interval based aggregate limit can be selected on a weekly or monthly basis.
Manage your balance and funds on Playground
In the Expenses Overview tab, you will see Manage balance to the right of the screen.
Next, click Manage funds. Here you can add funds and automatic deposits.
Adding funds requires a deposit amount and funding source to confirm.
Adding automatic deposits allow Playground to automatically transfer funds when your balance falls below a specified amount.
Creating a deposit rule will allow Playground to automatically debit your bank account when balance falls below your set amount. This can be cancelled at any time.
Reporting on expenses
Navigate to the Reports tab
Click on the Expenses tile
Select the start and end date for the period you'd like to report on
Click Generate Report
All reports generated in playground are able to be emailed, printed and/or exported
Working with Expenses on Mobile
From the mobile app, you can quickly access your expense data, add new expenses, and upload receipts.
Add New Expenses
Navigate to the hamburger icon in the mobile app and tap on the Expenses tab.
Click the blue "+" in the top right corner.
Enter the Date, Amount, Merchant Name, and Category. You will also have the option to add a Memo if needed.
After the required fields are filled out, tap the Done button to add the expense.
Upload Receipt
Navigate to the hamburger icon in the mobile app and tap on the Expenses tab.
You will see all logged expenses her as well as the ability to add receipts by tapping on Missing receipt >.
Tap on the blue Add button.
Add your receipt in via taking a photo or referencing your media library.
