How to handle expense checks that include per-diem

[Bill Michal]

Thanks

I've been thinking about this.  I can understand that the expenses are
owed to me, but I still have a liability on my credit card for the
costs.  When I enter a transaction in Assets:Reimbursable, do I put
Liabilities:Credit Card on the line?

Also, I will be transferring from Checking to Liabilities:Credit Card to
pay off the card balance before I receive the reimbursement check.  Your
comment seems to say that I deposit the reimbursement check into
Assets:Reimbursable.

Sorry, I don't have the app in front of me right now.

Bill

-----Original Message-----
From: gnucash-user-bounces at gnucash.org
[mailto:gnucash-user-bounces at gnucash.org] On Behalf Of Andrew
Sackville-West
Sent: Friday, November 02, 2007 12:54 PM
To: gnucash-user at gnucash.org
Subject: Re: How to handle expense checks that include per-diem

On Fri, Nov 02, 2007 at 08:49:43AM -0700, Bill Michal wrote:
> Hello,
> 
>  
> 
> I would like to run an idea past the experts.  I have expenses related
to
> travel for my employer (airfare, hotel, car rental, cell phone, .)
plus I
> receive a per-diem for each day I travel.  I created a new account
called
> Expenses:Work to record these specific expenses and a new account
called
> Income:Reimbursement to record expense checks.  My idea was that when
I
> received an expense check, record it in Income:Reimbursement then
transfer
> an amount equal to the current balance of expenses (or all of it if
expense
> total exceeds check).  Any balance in Income:Reimbursement is
transferred to
> Income:Checking Account.
> 
>  
> 
> Does that sound right?

not to me. I would create an asset account called "Reimburseable
expenses" or some such. When I make a work related expense, it would
be a transfer to that asset account. Then when I get reimbursed, it
would likewise be transfered to that account. The theory is that money
owed to you is an asset. Money you pay on behalf of your employer
increases the value of that asset. Money paid to you by your employer
as a reimbursement reduces the value of that asset.

At some point you have to deal with that account, if yoiu have
recieved money in excess of what you are owed, then at some point you
either have to pay it back, or write it off as income. LIkewise if you
never get reimbursed for some expense, then you write it off as an
expense later. 

hopefully, that makes sense, and I understood your question.

A