Creating Custom Cost Categories (Premium)

With Gekko Premium, you can create your own custom cost categories. Personalized cost categories give you more insight into your business expenses. You can indicate whether a cost category is a balance sheet investment and whether it is VAT-deductible.

Gekko already provides several standard cost categories, which are available to all users. However, with custom cost categories, you can go one step further and create more detailed distinctions between types of costs.

For example, Gekko includes a standard category called "Materials." But let’s say you’re a contractor and want to separate "Construction Materials" from "Tools." In that case, you can create two separate categories for better clarity.

And if you purchase a machine of more than €450,- ex. VAT as an investment, the machine needs to appear on your balance sheet. By creating a category named "Investments" and marking it as a balance sheet investment, you ensure that costs with this cost categroy are saved properly as investments in Gekko.

When using custom cost categories, make sure to select the correct category when saving your costs in Gekko.

How to Create a New Cost Category

You can create custom cost categories both via the Gekko Costs app and on the Gekko website. Below, we will explain both methods:

Cost type Using the Gekko Costs App

1. Open the Gekko Costs app and log into your account.
2. Tap the three lines in the top-left corner to open the menu.
3. Tap "Cost types".
4. Tap the plus icon at the bottom right to create a new category.
5. Choose an icon and name for your new category.
6. Indicate whether the category is VAT deductible and/or has to appear on the balance sheet, and save it.

Never lose a receipt or incoming invoice again with the Gekko Costs app!

Cost Type on the Gekko Website

Log in to the Gekko website. Go to the settings of your account and navigate to the Cost Categories page.

Under "Custom Cost Categories", scroll to the top of the list to fill-out your cost category.

Choose an icon and name, then indicate whether this category is:

• A balance sheet investment (only for investments)
• VAT-deductible

Click on '+ Create' to create the category. You can always edit or update your custom categories later.

You can also archive cost categories. Archived categories will no longer appear as an option when entering new costs. Archived categories can be reactivated at any time.

Setting VAT per Cost Category

For your VAT report in Gekko, it’s important to indicate whether each cost category is VAT deductible.

Some expenses may not be deductible for VAT purposes, even though they may still be deductible for income tax. A common example is hospitality expenses (e.g., restaurant receipts). You usually cannot deduct the VAT for these in your VAT return, but they may be partially deductible from your income tax at the end of the year.

Make sure you select the correct cost category when saving your costs:

• If a cost category is marked as VAT-deductible, you should not exempt the cost from VAT manually.
• If a category is not VAT-deductible, then no VAT should be applied to those costs.

Balance Sheet Investments

If you’ve marked a custom cost category as a balance sheet investment, you can save costs using that category as an investment in Gekko.

These investments will automatically appear on your balance sheet under "Investments". These investments will also show up on your Financial Statements in Gekko under your Assets.

Depreciations related to these investments will appear in the Total Costs section of your Financial Statements.

Your investments and their depreciations will be displayed on the balance sheet grouped by cost category.