Daily Entries is the heart of CalCal — the calculating calendar where you record money in and money out. Whether you are a sole trader logging cash jobs or a VAT-registered business tracking every invoice, this is where your books are built day by day.
Why Daily Entries matters
CalCal is named after the calendar and calculator combined. Each day on the calendar shows what you earned and spent. Those entries power your dashboard, profit and loss, tax forecasts, VAT returns, and Self Assessment — so keeping entries up to date saves work at year end.
We designed Daily Entries to be your main port of call when adding transactions (aside from bank import when available on your plan).
Three tabs inside Daily Entries
- Daily Entries — the calendar and day-by-day transaction list
- Assets — your asset register (vehicles, equipment, capital items)
- Stock — stock history; record stock takes in Settings
The calendar view
Open the Entries tab. The calendar usually opens on the date of your last entry — handy if you catch up weekly — but live entry as you go is best.
- Tap Today to jump to the current date.
- Tap any day to see that day’s transactions and totals.
- Coloured dots on a day mean activity: green = income, red = expenses, blue = transfers, grey = bank-import lines (when bank import is on your plan).
- The summary bar above the list shows that day’s + income and − expenses totals.
- On web, use the + and − buttons (green and red) for quick receipt and expense entry on today’s date.
- On mobile, the centre camera button opens a new expense with the camera for receipt photos.
Ways to add an entry
| What you want | Where to go |
|---|---|
| Receipt or expense on a chosen day | Entries → tap the day → add receipt / add expense |
| Quick receipt or expense today | Dashboard + modal → Simple Receipt / Simple Expense |
| Invoice | Dashboard + → Invoice, or calendar add-invoice, or menu → Invoice — see Invoicing |
| Asset purchase | Dashboard + → Asset, or Assets tab |
| Transfer between accounts | Calendar add menu → transfer (needs internet) |
| Customer or supplier payment | People → person → record payment |
Adding a receipt (money in)
A receipt records income — cash in the till, a card payment, or money you expect from a customer later.
Fields on the receipt form:
- Income date — which day the income belongs to (tap the date to change it)
- Income category — how you classify the sale (e.g. main trade vs secondary income). Add categories under Settings → Budgets
- Description — short note; CalCal suggests recent descriptions as you type
- Customer — optional for fully paid cash sales; required if the customer has not paid in full (so CalCal knows who owes you)
- Receivable — total amount of the sale
- Received — how much has actually been paid. If less than receivable, the difference is tracked as customer debt
- To (bank/cash account) — appears when received is greater than zero — which account the money went into
- Net / VAT — shown when VAT registered; CalCal calculates VAT from net or gross as you tab through the fields
Example: You invoice a customer £120 but they pay £50 today — set Receivable £120, Received £50, link the customer. Their balance shows £70 outstanding in People.
Adding an expense (money out)
An expense records money you spent — materials, fuel, subscriptions, and so on.
Fields on the expense form:
- Expense date
- Expense category — HMRC-allowable type (Building Repairs, Motor Expenses, etc.). Tap to open the category picker and search — type “paint” or “building” to find categories quickly
- Description — what you bought; recent descriptions are suggested
- Supplier — who you paid or owe. Required for part-paid bills and for repeating expenses
- Scan receipt (camera) — on mobile, attach a photo of the paper receipt (stored with the entry)
- Payable — bill total
- Paid — amount paid so far. Less than payable = you still owe the supplier
- From (account) — which bank or cash account paid it, when paid > 0
- Net / VAT — when VAT registered
Repeating expenses
When adding a new expense, you can turn on Repeating expense after choosing a supplier. Set how often it repeats (days, months, or years). CalCal creates future unpaid expenses through to the end of your accounting year — useful for rent, insurance, or subscriptions.
Repeating expenses must be saved while online. Editing a series lets you apply changes to future expenses in the series with a toggle.
Other entry types
Transfers
Move money between your own bank and cash accounts in CalCal without counting it as income or expense. Transfers need an internet connection — they cannot be queued offline.
Payments on account
When a customer pays you (or you pay a supplier) without tying to a specific invoice or bill, record it from People → their detail page. It appears on the calendar as a payment entry and adjusts their balance.
Invoices and credit notes
Invoices created in CalCal appear on the calendar tagged INVOICE with the invoice number. Tap one to open the invoice form. Credit notes show as negative invoices. Full guide: How to create and send invoices.
Assets
Capital purchases (vehicles, machinery) can be recorded as asset entries. They appear on the calendar and feed the Assets tab and capital allowance reports. Asset entries need internet and cannot be saved offline.
Bank import lines
When bank import is available, imported transactions show with a grey dot. You categorise them into proper receipts or expenses. Some fields on imported lines are tied to the bank feed.
Assets and Stock tabs
Assets tab — table of registered assets: purchase date, cost, tax treatment, net book value, and status. Add or edit assets here; tapping an asset purchase on the calendar jumps to this tab.
Stock tab — view stock movement history. Run stock takes from Settings when you track inventory.
Editing, copying, and deleting
Tap any entry in the day list to edit it. On web, use the row menu for Edit, Duplicate, or Delete.
- Duplicate — copies the entry as a new draft (handy for similar jobs)
- Delete — removes the entry. Recurring expenses ask whether to delete just this one or this and future expenses in the series
- Sent invoices — cannot be deleted from the calendar; issue a credit note instead (see Invoicing)
- Void invoices — show greyed out on the calendar
If you are VAT registered and have already submitted a VAT return for a period, CalCal may block deleting or changing entries in that period — this keeps your HMRC records consistent. Adjust with correcting entries in a later period or contact support if unsure.
Working offline
On mobile, CalCal can save receipts, expenses, and customer or supplier changes while offline. A banner shows when you are offline or when changes are waiting to sync. They upload automatically when you are back online.
Cannot be done offline: transfers, assets, repeating expense setup, invoice PDF generation, VAT/tax submission, and fresh report data.
Avoid saving the same entry twice while offline then online — wait for the sync banner to clear after reconnecting.
Insider tips
- Wrong date? Tap the date at the top of the entry form to move the transaction.
- Search expense types — type “paint” or “building” to find Building Repairs, or use the search button for HMRC-allowable categories.
- Separate income streams (window cleaning vs gardening) — add income types under Budgets in Settings.
- Regular customer paying tomorrow? Add their name on the receipt with Received less than Receivable — CalCal tracks the debt. See Customers and suppliers.
- Cash sale with no customer? Set Received equal to Receivable — no customer field required.
- Compare calendar totals to Reports — they use the same underlying entries.
Common questions
Why can’t I delete an expense?
Often because the date falls in a VAT period you already submitted. Or your subscription is read-only — check Subscriptions. Sent invoices must be credited, not deleted.
Customer required — who owes you money?
CalCal asks for a customer when Received is less than Receivable on a receipt, so it can track the debt. Either enter the customer or set Received to match the full amount.
Supplier required — who you owe?
Same logic for expenses: if Paid is less than Payable, pick the supplier. Repeating expenses always need a supplier.
My offline entries duplicated
Wait for sync to finish after reconnecting before saving again. If duplicates remain, delete the extra copy or contact support.
Calendar total doesn’t match Reports
Check you are looking at the same date range or accounting period. Reports use the period picker; the calendar is day-by-day. Also confirm the Dashboard year selector matches.
When to contact support
Contact support if entries vanish after sync, VAT lock blocks legitimate corrections, or totals on the calendar do not match reports after verified data entry.
Related: Invoicing · People · Reports · VAT · Settings and budgets
Quick reference
| If you say… | Try this |
|---|---|
| Add sale / income | Receipt on calendar day or Dashboard + → Simple Receipt |
| Photo of receipt | Mobile camera button → expense → Scan receipt |
| Customer owes me | Receipt: Receivable > Received + customer |
| I owe supplier | Expense: Payable > Paid + supplier |
| Monthly rent | New expense → Repeating expense (online) |
| Move between banks | Transfer entry (online) |
| Can’t delete | VAT submitted period / sent invoice / subscription |
| Offline | Receipts & expenses queue; sync when online |
| Invoice on calendar | Tap → opens invoice; see Invoicing guide |