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Recurring Expenses

Configure automatic expenses for services and payments that recur monthly, quarterly, or annually. Frihet automatically records each occurrence on the correct date.

Create Recurring Expense​

Step 1: Access the form​

Go to Expenses > New Recurring or from an existing expense click on Convert to Recurring.

Step 2: Define the Base Expense​

Specify the recurring data:

  • Vendor: Amazon, Telefónica, Cadastral Office, etc.
  • Amount: Fixed quantity (if it varies monthly, you will need to edit manually)
  • Category: Tax classification (services, rent, insurance)
  • Tax type: VAT/IGIC/Exempt as applicable
  • Invoice number: Optional pattern (e.g., INV-{YYYY}-{MM} generates INV-2026-02)
  • Description: Expense detail (e.g., "Hosting Cloud Platform")

Step 3: Configure the Frequency​

Choose when it recurs:

  • Monthly: Fixed day each month (e.g., 1st of each month, 15th)
  • Bi-monthly: Every 2 months
  • Quarterly: 4 times a year (e.g., Jan 10, Apr 10, Jul 10, Oct 10)
  • Bi-annual: 2 times a year
  • Annual: Once each year

If the selected day does not exist (e.g., 31st of a 30-day month), Frihet automatically adjusts to the last available day.

Step 4: Define Start and End Dates​

  • Starts: First occurrence of the expense
  • Ends: When it stops recurring (mandatory, prevents ghost expenses)
    • If indefinite, set a distant date (e.g., 2099)
    • If you cancel a service, update this date

Examples of Recurring Expenses​

Office Rent​

  • Vendor: Your landlord
  • Amount: 1,200 EUR
  • Frequency: Monthly, day 1
  • Category: Office rent
  • Period: 2026-01-01 to 2027-12-31 (2-year contract)

SaaS Subscription​

  • Vendor: Stripe
  • Amount: 29 EUR
  • Frequency: Monthly, day 15
  • Category: SaaS tools
  • Period: 2026-02-15 to indefinite (still active)

Business Insurance​

  • Vendor: AXA Insurance
  • Amount: 450 EUR
  • Frequency: Annual, January 1
  • Category: Business insurance
  • Period: 2025-01-01 to 2026-12-31 (2-year policy)

Quarterly Professional Fee​

  • Vendor: Professional Bar Association
  • Amount: 120 EUR
  • Frequency: Quarterly
  • Category: Professional fees
  • Period: 2026-01-01 to 2099-12-31 (indefinite)

Managing Recurring Expenses​

View Your Recurring Expenses​

Go to Expenses > Recurring to see a list of all your automatic expenses:

  • Next occurrence: When the next expense will be recorded
  • Last occurrence: When the last one was (useful for auditing)
  • Next 3 months: Quick view of scheduled expenses
  • Annual total: Estimated annual expense (amount × 12 / frequency)

Edit or Pause​

If the amount changes or you need to temporarily pause:

  1. Select the recurring expense
  2. Click Edit
  3. Modify the amount or end date
  4. Confirm

Changes apply from the next occurrence. Expenses recorded in the past are not modified.

To pause without deleting:

  1. Open the recurring expense
  2. Set Ends to today's date
  3. Create a new one when reactivated

Delete​

If you cancel a service:

  1. Open the recurring expense
  2. Click Delete or set Ends to today's date
  3. Previous expenses remain in your history

Variable Expenses​

If the amount changes each month (e.g., electricity/water invoice), Frihet offers:

Option 1: Reclassify Manually​

Record the recurring expense with an average amount and edit each month with the actual amount.

Option 2: Do Not Use Recurring​

Manually record each expense when the invoice arrives. Takes 20 seconds.

Option 3: Bank Import​

If your bank exports to Frihet, expenses are automatically detected (some banks support this in the Business plan).

Recurring Expense Statuses​

Each automatic expense has a status:

  • Active: Automatically recorded each period
  • Paused: Temporarily paused (does not generate new expenses, but maintains historical data)
  • Finished: Term reached or manually deleted
  • Failed: Error in recording (e.g., insufficient funds in bank) — requires intervention

Failures are notified in Notifications so you can correct them manually.

Tax Impact​

Tax Declaration​

Automatically recorded recurring expenses appear in:

  • Monthly deduction summary
  • Annual expense report by category
  • Export for declaration (form 130, 347, etc.)

They are treated as normal expenses for tax purposes.

Cash Flow​

Frihet generates a projected cash flow graph in Reports > Prediction which includes:

  • Future recurring expenses
  • Projected income
  • Projected balance for the next 3, 6, 12 months

Useful for financial planning.

Advanced Automation (Business plan)​

In the Business plan, you can:

  • Export recurring expenses to accounting tools
  • Configure alerts before spending (e.g., 7-day notice before payment)
  • Link to quote (if limit exceeded, automatic alert)
  • API Integration: Consult scheduled expenses via REST API

Contact support for configuration.