Expense Categories

Admin permissions required.

The expense category object

Attribute	Type	Description
`id`	integer	Unique ID for the expense category.
`name`	string	The name of the expense category.
`unit_name`	string	The unit name of the expense category.
`unit_price`	decimal	The unit price of the expense category.
`is_active`	boolean	Whether the expense category is active or archived.
`created_at`	datetime	Date and time the expense category was created.
`updated_at`	datetime	Date and time the expense category was last updated.

List all expense categories

Returns a list of your expense categories. The expense categories are returned sorted by creation date, with the most recently created expense categories appearing first.

The response contains an object with a expense_categories property that contains an array of up to per_page expense categories. Each entry in the array is a separate expense category object. If no more expense categories are available, the resulting array will be empty. Several additional pagination properties are included in the response to simplify paginating your expense categories.

GET /v2/expense_categories

Parameter	Type	Description
`is_active`	boolean	Pass `true` to only return active expense categories and `false` to return inactive expense categories.
`updated_since`	datetime	Only return expense categories that have been updated since the given date and time.
`page`	integer	DEPRECATED The page number to use in pagination. For instance, if you make a list request and receive 2000 records, your subsequent call can include `page=2` to retrieve the next page of the list. (Default: 1)
`per_page`	integer	The number of records to return per page. Can range between 1 and 2000. (Default: 2000)

This endpoint supports cursor-based pagination and therefore deprecates the page parameter. For more information, visit the pagination guide.

Example Request:

curl "https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Harvest-Account-Id: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -H "User-Agent: MyApp ([email protected])"

Example Response:

{
  "expense_categories":[
    {
      "id":4197501,
      "name":"Lodging",
      "unit_name":null,
      "unit_price":null,
      "is_active":true,
      "created_at":"2017-06-27T15:01:32Z",
      "updated_at":"2017-06-27T15:01:32Z"
    },
    {
      "id":4195930,
      "name":"Mileage",
      "unit_name":"mile",
      "unit_price":0.535,
      "is_active":true,
      "created_at":"2017-06-26T20:41:00Z",
      "updated_at":"2017-06-26T20:41:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id":4195928,
      "name":"Transportation",
      "unit_name":null,
      "unit_price":null,
      "is_active":true,
      "created_at":"2017-06-26T20:41:00Z",
      "updated_at":"2017-06-26T20:41:00Z"
    },
    {
      "id":4195926,
      "name":"Meals",
      "unit_name":null,
      "unit_price":null,
      "is_active":true,
      "created_at":"2017-06-26T20:41:00Z",
      "updated_at":"2017-06-26T20:41:00Z"
    }
  ],
  "per_page":2000,
  "total_pages":1,
  "total_entries":4,
  "next_page":null,
  "previous_page":null,
  "page":1,
  "links":{
    "first":"https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories?page=1&per_page=2000",
    "next":null,
    "previous":null,
    "last":"https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories?page=1&per_page=2000"
  }
}

Retrieve an expense category

Retrieves the expense category with the given ID. Returns an expense category object and a 200 OK response code if a valid identifier was provided.

GET /v2/expense_categories/{EXPENSE_CATEGORY_ID}

Example Request:

curl "https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories/4197501" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Harvest-Account-Id: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -H "User-Agent: MyApp ([email protected])"

Example Response:

{
  "id":4197501,
  "name":"Lodging",
  "unit_name":null,
  "unit_price":null,
  "is_active":true,
  "created_at":"2017-06-27T15:01:32Z",
  "updated_at":"2017-06-27T15:01:32Z"
}

Create an expense category

Creates a new expense category object. Returns an expense category object and a 201 Created response code if the call succeeded.

POST /v2/expense_categories

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`name`	string	required	The name of the expense category.
`unit_name`	string	optional	The unit name of the expense category.
`unit_price`	decimal	optional	The unit price of the expense category.
`is_active`	boolean	optional	Whether the expense category is active or archived. Defaults to `true`.

Example Request:

curl "https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Harvest-Account-Id: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -H "User-Agent: MyApp ([email protected])" \
  -X POST \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name":"Other"}'

Example Response:

{
  "id":4197514,
  "name":"Other",
  "unit_name":null,
  "unit_price":null,
  "is_active":true,
  "created_at":"2017-06-27T15:04:23Z",
  "updated_at":"2017-06-27T15:04:23Z"
}

Update an expense category

Updates the specific expense category by setting the values of the parameters passed. Any parameters not provided will be left unchanged. Returns an expense category object and a 200 OK response code if the call succeeded.

PATCH /v2/expense_categories/{EXPENSE_CATEGORY_ID}

Parameter	Type	Description
`name`	string	The name of the expense category.
`unit_name`	string	The unit name of the expense category.
`unit_price`	decimal	The unit price of the expense category.
`is_active`	boolean	Whether the expense category is active or archived.

Example Request:

curl "https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories/4197514" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Harvest-Account-Id: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -H "User-Agent: MyApp ([email protected])" \
  -X PATCH \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"is_active":false}'

Example Response:

{
  "id":4197514,
  "name":"Other",
  "unit_name":null,
  "unit_price":null,
  "is_active":false,
  "created_at":"2017-06-27T15:04:23Z",
  "updated_at":"2017-06-27T15:04:58Z"
}

Delete an expense category

Delete an expense category. Returns a 200 OK response code if the call succeeded.

DELETE /v2/expense_categories/{EXPENSE_CATEGORY_ID}

Example Request:

curl "https://api.harvestapp.com/v2/expense_categories/4197514" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ACCESS_TOKEN" \
  -H "Harvest-Account-Id: $ACCOUNT_ID" \
  -H "User-Agent: MyApp ([email protected])" \
  -X DELETE

Welcome to the Harvest API v2 Help Center

The expense category object

List all expense categories

Retrieve an expense category

Create an expense category

Update an expense category

Delete an expense category

Still have questions? We’re happy to help!