Accounting Help? (GnuCash 2.6.11)

John R. Sowden jsowden at americansentry.net
Thu Mar 10 00:44:29 EST 2016


I think the OP said it was a sole proprietorship.

To take money out for yourself:
Set up an account in the equity section called John Smith, Draw Account
When you take out funds,

    DR Draw Account   100.00
       CR Cash                           100.00
At the end of the calendar year when you file your Schedule C with your 
1040,
the profits (Revenue less Expenses) will be your total profit, which you 
pay income taxes on)
Remember, the draw account is an advance on your share of the profits.

To loan the company money, you could write a note and create a long term 
liability account, Notes Payable, to be paid back
in more than one year, or an Accounts Payable Account for a short term 
loan to be paid back in less than one year.
You want to treat it as a loan because you are probably loaning the 
company funds that you have already paid
income taxes on.  You want that back without paying taxes on it twice.

John


On 03/09/2016 05:20 PM, Rafael Sánchez Treviño wrote:
> Hi Greg,
>
> OK. I think I understand better now. Do you use Equity accounts? If so, you
> may add one named "Dividends" and then credit it when you get money for you
> from the business (debiting the cash account). Dividends are reductions
> from stockholder's equity, not expenses. I would use that if I have
> retained earnings from past years (or the current one). And if you want,
> you could use the option to invest in your business by "purchasing" stock
> when you are putting money into it. That would be a debit to the cash and
> credit to "common stock" or your equivalent equity account.
>
> If you deposit money you may want to use the example that I sent you before
> (using accounts payable, not receivable) or the one I refer here (using
> equity accounts). I think that it depends of your intention when depositing
> the money. Is it something you are lending for a particular purpose and
> want it to get it back as soon as the business is able to pay it? I would
> say it is a loan (so you use Accounts payable). Is it something you want to
> invest in the business and you would recover it as time passes in the form
> of business profits? I would say it is a capital investment, so you should
> use the equity accounts.
>
> Does that make sense?
>
>
> On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 6:58 PM, Greg Feneis <mfeneis at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Rafael,
>>
>> Thanks for getting back to me.  I didn't mean to link the two examples
>> together.  That is, at some point during the operation of my business I may
>> want to take some pay out of it.  When I write a check to me and pay
>> myself, how do I account for that?  Do I just create an expense account
>> called pay or something and use that?
>>
>> Then, in a different circumstance, at some point I may need to add money
>> to the company so it can buy some equipment or some such.  How do I account
>> for adding money to the company.  If I only deposit to the business
>> checking, then the accounts receivable account goes negative because I
>> haven't invoiced for it.  At least that seems like what goes on.  Is this
>> called adding capital to the business?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Greg Feneis
>> 650-678-4670
>>
>>   <http://www.linkedin.com/in/electromechanical>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 4:14 PM, Rafael Sánchez Treviño <
>> elrafasan at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Hello Greg,
>>>
>>> I would say that you need to make a credit to an account payable (you)
>>> and then a debit. I mean, it is like you are lending money to your business
>>> (so it owes you), then you will debit that account when the business pays
>>> you.
>>>
>>> For instance:
>>> 1.
>>> Cash      100
>>>                        Accounts Payable:Greg 100  (This is a liability
>>> account)
>>> Loan to buy this fancy equipment
>>>
>>> 2.
>>> Accounts Payable:Greg 100
>>>                                          Cash 100
>>> To pay back the loan.
>>>
>>> Let me know if that helps. Regards
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Mar 9, 2016 at 5:56 PM, Greg Feneis <mfeneis at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi Folks,
>>>>
>>>> I've got this small business
>>>> ​(sole proprietor, cash basis) ​
>>>> and I converted from Quickbooks back at the beginning of 2013.
>>>> ​  So far so good, I think, except I'm not certain I'm accounting
>>>> correctly
>>>> when I add my personal money to the business in a case where my business
>>>> needs an expensive piece of equipment and there's not enough in the
>>>> business checking account to cover it.  Also, when I pay myself from the
>>>> business checking account, how should that be correctly accounted for?  ​
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ​Thanks!​
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kind regards,
>>>>
>>>> Greg Feneis
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>> gnucash-user at gnucash.org
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>>>> -----
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Rafael Sánchez Treviño
>>> C. 818-010-6040
>>>
>>
>



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