# 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 Premium 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 (Premium plan)

In the Premium 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.