what are expenditures

Expenditures refer to payments made or liabilities incurred in exchange for goods or services. In accounting, expenditures are recorded at the time of purchase, typically using an invoice or a sales receipt as proof. Expenditures are different from expenses, which are recorded in a period where they have been used up or expired. Expenditures can be classified into two broad categories: capital expenditures and revenue expenditures. Capital expenditures are one-time costs, the benefits of which are expected to be spread over multiple years, while revenue expenditures are recurring expenses that are incurred by the business to generate revenues for the accounting period. In government accounting, expenditures include all amounts of money paid out by a government during its fiscal year, net of recoveries and other correcting transactions, other than for retirement of debt, purchase of investment securities, extension of loans, and agency or private trust transactions.