split transaction question

[Mike or Penny Novack]

Michael DeBusk wrote:

>On 02/02/2010 10:15 PM, Jeffrey Schneider wrote:
>
>  
>
>>My question is I would like to know how to post a check to my credit
>>card company and split the transaction into each  retailer that I
>>used.  BUT I also want to show the total amount in the liability
>>credit card account.
>>    
>>
>
>That isn't the way to do it, though. It doesn't accurately reflect the
>way the money flows.
>
>When you charge, say, a tank of gasoline, you debit Expenses:Auto:Gas
>and you credit Liabilities:American Express:12345. That's because AmEx,
>and not you, paid the vendor for the gas.
>
>At the end of the cycle, you credit Assets:MyLocalBank:Checking and you
>debit Liabilities:American Express:12345. That's because they paid some
>of your expenses for you, and you're paying them back.
>
>  
>
That is the correct way to do this. But just in case .......... if your 
confusion is about "real time" entry.

People in my organization with charge cards are supposed to tell me when 
they have purchased supplies but often I don't find out till I see the 
combined credit card statement (and sometimes even can't tell from the 
entry "what was that?" and so have to email the person). Doesn't matter 
that this is well after the activity, I go down the statement and enter 
the items as of their transaction dates (expense vs liability) and THEN 
cut the check to pay the total balance (liability vs current account). 
It doesn't matter that you are entering the transactions at a later 
"real time" date; you are allowed to specify the date of a transaction 
instead of letting it be the default of "today".

You should be doing something similar.

The way you pictured doing it wouldn't even work at all if you weren't 
paying off the entire balance.

Michael

-- 
There is no possibility of social justice on a dead planet except the equality of the grave.