Accrued Expense

Definition

A cost incurred but not yet invoiced. The obligation is real; the paperwork hasn't arrived, so the amount is an estimate. Classic cases: cloud usage invoiced next month, earned-but-unpaid salaries, utilities before meter reading.

Worked Example

June 30: AWS dashboard shows ~$8,200 of June usage; invoice arrives July 3.

June 30 - Accrue:
   Expense (Cloud/COGS)   +$8,200   (estimate, hits June P&L)
   Accrued Expenses       +$8,200   (liability)

July 3 - Invoice arrives for $8,347:
   Reclassify accrual -> AP; true-up:
   Expense                  +$147
   Accounts Payable       +$8,347
   Accrued Expenses       -$8,200

Interpretation & Pitfalls

The one-line test: do you have the invoice? Yes -> AP. No -> Accrued.

In TupicFinance

Ticking "I don't have an invoice yet" on an unpaid cost sets liability_type = ACCRUED; attaching the invoice later converts it to AP.