Payee vs. Expense Category: What Is the Difference?

A payee answers “Who did we pay?” An expense category answers “Why did we spend the money?”
Example: employee salary
Payee: the employee’s name
Category: Salary or Payroll
More examples
Payee: Building Owner; Category: Rent
Payee: Electric Company; Category: Utilities
Payee: Local Newspaper; Category: Advertising
Using both fields consistently makes expense history and financial reporting much easier to analyze.