What's the best way to record this?

[Tom Collier]

On Sun, 2011-01-02 at 19:05 -0600, Ryan Flegel wrote:

> What's the best way to record this?
> 
> I buy something on behalf of a friend and I expect them to reimburse
> me right away (within a week or two).
> 
> My one thought is to just record this as an expense (A:Current
> Assets:Cash -> E:Misc) and then rebate it later (E:Misc -> A:Current
> Assets:Cash). This seems like a bit of an abuse of the Expense
> account, though.
> 
> Another thought was to create A:Current Assets:Loans:Other (I've
> already got Loan accounts for friends that owe me money) and record it
> there and then "pay off" the loan (A:Current Assets:Loans:Other ->
> E:Current Assets:Cash).
> 
> I like the second idea better, but I'm curious what others think.
> 

I created a Current Assets Account named "Reimbursements Due". I use it
for reimbursable business expenses, things like manufacturer's
rebates...when I buy tires, electronic stuff etc., and the account could
be used to park very short-term transactions such as you describe until
you are paid back.  The word "Loan" has precise accounting and tax
implications and I would hesitate to clutter up my personal books with
lots of "loans" ... due, payable and otherwise.