What is the Expense Manager feature in Stayflexi, and how does it benefit to a property?

The Expense Manager feature in Stayflexi is designed to help property managers efficiently track, manage, and log daily expenses, withdrawals, and top-ups for their hotel or vacation rental. By providing clear categories and logging capabilities, the tool simplifies financial management and ensures greater accuracy in tracking cash flows.

Here’s a breakdown of how it benefits your property and how to use it:

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1. Configuring Expenses: This is the first and most crucial step. With Stayflexi’s Expense Manager, you can define custom expense categories that suit the needs of your property. These categories are used to log expenses like housekeeping supplies, repairs, office utilities, etc.
   • Steps to Configure Expenses:
     • Logging into Your Stayflexi Dashboard:
       • Enter your username and password to log in.
     • Navigate to the Expense Manager Page:
       • Once logged in, click on the More Apps icon (represented by four blocks) in the top right corner.
       • From the dropdown menu, select Expense Manager (as shown in Image 1).
       • On the left-hand menu, select Configuration dropdown, and under that, click Configure Expense.
       • You will be taken to the Expense Master page (as shown in Image 2).
       • Click “Create Expense”:
         • To add a new expense category, click on the Create Expense button.
         • A pop-up window will appear, prompting you to enter the name of the new expense type.
       • Enter Expense Name:
         • In the text field, type the name of the expense category you wish to create. For example, you could add “Housekeeping”, “Maintenance”, or “Food and Beverages”.
         • This name will be used later when recording expenses to ensure proper categorization.
       • Save the Expense:
         • Once you’ve entered the expense name, click Save.
         • The new expense type will be available for use when logging any related costs in the future.
   • By configuring your expenses ahead of time, you ensure that your property has a predefined set of expense categories, which helps maintain consistency and accountability when managing finances.
2. Configuring Withdrawals: Withdrawals usually refer to cash taken out from the cash drawer for purposes like petty cash use, paying daily wages, or emergency cash-outs. Properly tracking withdrawals ensures your cash flow remains transparent and well-documented.
   • Steps to Configure Withdrawals (as shown in Image 3):
     • Go to Configure Withdrawal:
       • Under the Configuration menu, click Configure Withdrawal.
     • Create Withdrawal Types:
       • Just like with expenses, you can create different categories for withdrawals by clicking on the Create withdrawal button. For instance, “Daily Wages”, “Vendor Payment”, or “Cash for Emergencies”.
     • Log Withdrawals:
       • After configuration, these withdrawal types will be available when you log cash withdrawals. This helps you keep a clear record of cash movements.
3. Configuring Cash Top-Ups: Top-ups allow you to manage the process of adding cash to your cash drawer. This feature helps ensure your daily operations have enough cash flow to cover expenses and withdrawals.
   • Steps to Configure and Log Top-Ups (as shown in Image 4):
     • Go to Configure Top-Up:
       • Under Configuration, select Configure Top-Up.
       • Here, you can create various top-up types like “Morning Cash Load” or “Emergency Top-Up” by clicking on the Create cash top-up button.
     • Log Top-Ups:
       • When you need to add cash into the drawer, such as at the start of the day, you can easily log the top-up in the system using one of the predefined top-up types.
     • Maintain Cash Flow:
       • This ensures that every time cash is added to the drawer, it is recorded, making it easy to track and balance the funds at the end of the day.
4. Configuring Employees: Stayflexi’s Expense Manager also allows you to assign different employees to handle specific actions, ensuring transparency and accountability.
   • Steps to Configure Employees(as shown in Image 5):
     • Go to Configure Employee:
       • Under the Configuration menu, click Create Employee.
     • Assign Employees:
       • You can log and track the activities of each individual handling expenses, withdrawals, and top-ups.
       • This feature is vital for maintaining accountability and understanding who is responsible for specific financial actions.
5. Logging Daily Expenses: After configuring the categories, you can now log your daily expenses. This is crucial for tracking where your funds are going and ensuring that everything is accounted for.
   • Steps to Log Expenses (as shown in Image 6):
     • Navigate to Add Expense:
       • On the left-hand menu, click Add Expense.
     • Select Expense Category:
       • Choose from the predefined expense categories you created earlier (e.g., Housekeeping, Maintenance, etc.).
     • Enter Expense Details:
       • You’ll be prompted to enter the date of the expense, the expense amount, and any relevant notes.
     • Save the Expense:
       • After entering the details, click Save to log the expense into the system.
   • This ensures that your daily operating costs are tracked and managed efficiently.
6. Logging Withdrawals: For cases where cash needs to be withdrawn from the drawer (e.g., to pay for emergency supplies or staff wages), the withdrawal logging feature comes in handy.
   • Steps to Log Withdrawals (as shown in Image 7):
     • Navigate to Add Withdrawal:
       • On the left-hand menu, click Add Withdrawal.
     • Select Withdrawal Category:
       • Choose from the predefined withdrawal categories, like “Petty Cash” or “Emergency Fund”.
     • Enter Details:
       • Input the withdrawal amount, date, and any necessary notes for clarity.
     • Save the Withdrawal:
       • Click Save to log the withdrawal and ensure accurate tracking.
7. Logging Cash Top-Ups: To maintain adequate cash flow for your property’s daily operations, you may need to add cash into the drawer using the Top-Up feature.
   • Steps to Log Top-Ups (as shown in Image 8):
     • Navigate to Add Top-Up:
       • Click on Add Top-Up from the menu.
     • Select Top-Up Category:
       • Choose from the predefined top-up categories (e.g., Morning Cash Load).
     • Enter Top-Up Details:
       • Enter the amount and any additional notes (such as why the top-up was necessary).
     • Save the Top-Up:
       • After entering the required details, click Save.

Stayflexi’s Expense Manager is a powerful tool designed to simplify financial management for property managers. By pre-configuring expenses, withdrawals, top-ups, and tracking employee activities, this feature ensures transparency, accuracy, and accountability in managing a property’s daily cash flow.

With easy-to-use logging functions, property managers can maintain a clear record of all financial movements, allowing them to make informed decisions and manage operational expenses more effectively