Sometimes one purchase isn’t really “one cost.” It’s a mix of items that should be tracked separately.
Splitting an expense into line items helps you:
Map each part to the right accounting account
Allocate costs across different projects (especially in construction)
Keep reports clean, accurate, and easy to review
Why splitting into line items matters real life examples
1) Accurate accounting breakdown (Chart of Accounts)
One invoice can include different types of spending.
Each type should go into its correct account.
Example: one invoice includes:
Cement and steel → Construction materials
Equipment rental → Equipment rental
Engineering services → Professional services
Why line items help:
Each cost lands in the right place
Your profit & loss shows the real breakdown
You avoid misclassified spending and messy reporting
2) Project-based cost tracking (construction teams)
Construction and contracting teams need costs tracked per project.
That’s how you measure project profitability and stay in control.
Example: one supplier purchase includes:
Bricks and cement used on Project X
Electrical materials used on Project Y
Why line items help:
Each item can be assigned to the correct project
Project costs stay accurate and easier to audit
You avoid charging everything to one project by mistake
Without line items, project tracking becomes unreliable.
And disagreements between teams become more likely.
Pemo can auto-split your receipt for you 🤖🧾
If a receipt is attached, Pemo uses AI to automatically split the expense into line items.
That means you don’t have to type everything manually.
Why this helps:
Saves time during expense reviews
Keeps the ride cost and extra fees separate
Makes categorising and exporting faster and more accurate
Before you start: When can you split an expense?
You can only split an expense if it meets all of these:
Type: Purchase
Export status: Not exported yet
Status: Pending or Completed
Once the expense is exported, line items can’t be edited.
Split an expense into line items
Step 1: Open the expense
Go to Transactions in your Accounting Export tab and open the purchase you want to split.
Step 2: Click “Split items”
In the expense view, click Split items.
This will replace the usual view with a new option called Line items.
Step 3: Review your line items
If a receipt is attached ✅
Pemo automatically pulls the items from the receipt and creates line items for you.
All you need to do is:
Review the item descriptions and amounts
Double-check the categories and accounting details
Adjust anything that doesn’t look right
If the line items don’t add up to the full expense amount, Pemo adds an Other items line with the remaining amount.
If there’s no receipt (or the receipt doesn’t show a clear item list) ✍️
You can still split the expense manually.
Start with “Other items”
Pemo creates one line item called Other items for the full expense amount.Add your real line items
Create new line items for each part of the purchase.Watch “Other items” adjust automatically
As you add items, Other items shrinks until it reaches zero (then disappears).
This keeps the total balanced and accurate the whole time.
Once split you can quickly double check the line items from your Accounting Export tab by expanding the transaction.
How line items are filled in automatically
When receipt items are available, line items are created like this:
Description → item name from the receipt
Quantity → quantity from the receipt
Item amount → price per item
If missing, the system calculates it using the total and quantity
Total amount → total per item
Accounting details → copied from the main expense
Each line item will be marked as:
Ready when required details are complete
Not ready when something important is missing
Keeping totals balanced
Pemo always checks that your line items match the expense total.
If your line items add up to less than the expense
Pemo creates: Other items with the remaining amount
If your line items add up to more than the expense
That isn’t allowed. Line items can’t go above the original expense total.
What stays on the expense vs what moves to line items
When you split an expense, some info stays on the main expense.
The item-level details live inside each line item.
Stays on the main expense
Examples include:
Receipts
Merchant name
Expense date
Budget
Other shared transaction details
Stored inside each line item
Each line item contains:
Description
Quantity
Item amount (per unit)
Total amount (item amount × quantity)
Accounting details (copied from the expense by default)
Rules to remember
✅ Totals must match
Line items combined must equal the original expense amount
You can’t exceed the expense total
Any remaining amount becomes “Other items”
✅ Quantity matters
Every line item must include a quantity
✅ Currency stays consistent
Line items always use the transaction currency
✅ Readiness is based on line items
The main expense can’t be marked as ready and exported until all line items have the required accounting fields filled.