# Manual Entry > Enter expenses manually with detailed line items, discounts, and custom categories. Source: https://spentrip.app/help/manual-entry ## What is Manual Entry? Manual entry lets you type in expense details yourself. You fill in the merchant, date, and individual line items with prices and categories. It's the most direct way to log an expense and works for situations where you don't have a receipt to scan or don't want to use voice. This is a free feature with no limits. You can log as many expenses as you want without a subscription. Free — no subscription required ## How to Enter an Expense Manually 1 #### Start a new expense Tap the **+** button on the home screen and select **Manual Entry**. 2 #### Fill in the header Enter the **merchant name**, pick a **date** using the date picker (future dates are not allowed), and select the **currency**. The currency auto-detects based on your recent receipts or the active trip's default. 3 #### Add line items Each item needs a **name** (required), **quantity** (supports decimals like 1.5), **unit price**, and a **category** (chosen from 14 travel categories). Add as many items as you need. 4 #### Add discounts (optional) Apply a discount to individual items, or set a receipt-level discount that distributes proportionally across all items. 5 #### Tag it (optional) Attach up to **10 tags** per receipt for filtering and organization. Tags like "Business", "Reimbursable", or "Trip" help you find expenses later. 6 #### Save Review the total and tap save. The expense is added to your home screen and synced to the cloud. ## Field Reference Field Required Details Merchant name No The store or business name Date Yes Defaults to today. Cannot be a future date. Currency Yes Auto-detected from recent receipts or trip default Item name Yes What you purchased Quantity Yes Supports decimals (e.g., 1.5 kg) Unit price Yes Price per unit. Negative values allowed for refunds. Category Yes One of 14 travel categories Item discount No Per-item discount amount Receipt discount No Applied proportionally across all items Tags No Up to 10 custom labels per receipt ## Tips & Details ### Validation Rules The total can't be negative. Refund items (those with a negative price) can't have discounts applied to them. The app enforces these rules and will show an error if something doesn't add up. ### Two Kinds of Discounts **Item-level discounts** reduce the price of a specific item. **Receipt-level discounts** apply a flat amount distributed proportionally across all items based on their share of the subtotal. ### Currency Auto-Detection The currency field defaults to whatever you used on your most recent receipt, or the default currency of the active trip. You can always change it manually. ### 14 Travel Categories Each line item gets assigned to one of 14 fixed categories. These categories are the same ones used across all expense types, keeping your reports consistent whether you scan, type, or speak. ## Related Articles [Receipt Scanning Let AI fill in the details by scanning a receipt or PDF.](/help/receipt-scanning.md) [Voice Mode Speak your expenses instead of typing them.](/help/voice-mode.md) [Editing & Deleting Change details, add items, or remove an expense.](/help/editing-expenses.md)