Expenses by Supplier Type Widget

The Expenses by Supplier Type widget groups your spending by the type of business you're purchasing from. Instead of individual merchants, it shows how much you spend at supermarkets, restaurants, gas stations, online stores, and other business categories.

What Does It Show?

This widget aggregates all your expense transactions and groups them by supplier type (business category). For each type, it displays:

• Total amount spent - The sum of all transactions at that type of business
• Percentage of total expenses - What share of your spending goes to each business type
• Number of suppliers - How many individual merchants of that type you've visited

Supplier Types

Apocha recognizes dozens of business types, automatically categorizing your merchants. Common types include:

Category	Examples
Supermarket	Grocery stores, food retailers
Restaurant	Dining establishments, cafes
Gas Station	Fuel stations
Online Store	E-commerce retailers
Pharmacy	Drugstores, pharmacies
Electronics Store	Tech and electronics retailers
Clothing Store	Fashion and apparel shops
Utility	Electricity, water, gas providers
Insurance	Insurance companies
Telecom	Phone and internet providers
Healthcare	Doctors, hospitals, clinics
Transportation	Public transit, taxis, ride-sharing

And many more categories covering all aspects of daily spending.

Why Track by Supplier Type?

While tracking individual suppliers shows where you shop, supplier type analysis reveals broader spending patterns:

Insight	What You Learn
Lifestyle spending	How much goes to restaurants vs. groceries
Essential vs. discretionary	Utilities and insurance vs. entertainment and shopping
Category budgeting	Set realistic budgets based on actual spending by type
Habit awareness	Discover if online shopping or dining out dominates your budget
Comparison benchmarks	Compare your category spending to typical patterns

Display Modes

The widget offers three visualization options:

Pie Chart View (Default on Desktop)

The pie chart shows spending distribution across business types as proportional slices. Each slice represents a supplier type with its share of total spending. Hover for exact amounts and percentages. Ideal for quickly seeing which business categories dominate your expenses.

Bar Chart View (Default on Mobile)

The bar chart displays business types as horizontal bars sorted by spending. This view makes it easy to compare spending across many categories and works well on mobile screens. Each bar shows the amount and percentage.

Grid View

The grid view presents data in a sortable table:

Column	Description
Supplier Type	The business category
Amount	Total spent at this type of business
%	Percentage of total expenses

Use this view when you need precise figures or want to scan through all categories.

Configuration Options

Click the filter icon in the widget header to customize your analysis.

Date Range

Control the time period:

• Predefined intervals - Current month, last month, last 3/6/12 months, current/last year, all time
• Custom range - Select specific start and end dates

Account Filter

Limit analysis to specific accounts:

• All accounts (default) - Aggregate across all accounts
• Selected accounts - Analyze specific accounts only

Tag Filter

Filter by transaction tags:

• Focus on tagged expenses (e.g., "business" or "vacation")
• Exclude specific transaction types

Display Mode

Choose your visualization:

• Pie Chart - Best for proportional view
• Bar Chart - Best for comparing categories
• Grid - Best for detailed numbers

Number of Categories

Limit how many supplier types appear (1-50). Shows top categories by spending. Reducing this focuses on major categories.

Using Supplier Type Insights

Common Spending Patterns

Typical patterns you might discover:

• Supermarkets lead - Grocery spending often ranks highest for families
• Dining surprises - Restaurant spending is frequently higher than expected
• Subscription services - Streaming, software, and online services can add up
• Transportation costs - Gas stations and transit reveal commuting expenses
• Healthcare baseline - See your ongoing healthcare spending

Actionable Insights

Use this data to:

1. Create category budgets - Set spending limits for restaurant, entertainment, or shopping categories
2. Identify savings opportunities - High restaurant spending might suggest more home cooking
3. Plan for expenses - Understand seasonal patterns (higher utility costs in winter, travel in summer)
4. Balance lifestyle - Ensure essential spending (groceries, utilities) aligns with discretionary spending
5. Track behavior changes - Monitor if lifestyle changes affect your category mix

Comparing Time Periods

Switch between time periods to spot trends:

• Month-over-month - See if restaurant or shopping spending is increasing
• Year-over-year - Compare this year's patterns to last year
• Seasonal patterns - Identify categories with seasonal variation

Supplier Type vs. Expenses by Category

Apocha offers two complementary analysis widgets:

Feature	Expenses by Supplier Type	Expenses by Category
Groups by	Type of business	Transaction category
Example	All supermarket purchases	All "Groceries" categorized transactions
Based on	Automatic merchant classification	User-assigned categories
Best for	Understanding where you shop	Understanding what you buy

Use both widgets together for complete spending visibility.

Customization

Personalize the widget:

• Custom Title - Click the title to rename (e.g., "Spending by Business Type" or "Where I Shop")
• Custom Icon - Click the icon to choose a different symbol
• Widget Size - In edit mode, drag edges to resize

Related Features

• Expenses by Supplier - See individual merchants instead of categories
• Expenses by Category Widget - Analyze by transaction category
• Monthly Cash Flow Widget - Track overall income vs. expenses
• Savings Rate Widget - See how category spending affects savings
• Receipt List - The supplier type column in your transaction list shows each transaction's business type

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Part of the Dashboard Widgets guide series.