Methods to Track Gift Cards and Similar Items

[Mike or Penny Novack]

On 7/31/2017 4:24 PM, Paul W. wrote:

>
> On the one hand, these items are a form of income.  As such, I could track them as income.
> On the other hand, I use these items  they way I use a credit card to make purchases.  As such, I could track them as a credit card.
> Are there other hands with other methods?
Stop.

This is DOUBLE ENTRY bookkeeping. So the "on the one hand income" misses 
the point. When you receive a "gift card" (etc.) the credit side of that 
transaction would be income but the debit side an asset account. Not 
like a credit card but like a debit card.

When you use the card (or some portion of it) the transaction might be a 
debit to some expense account and the credit to that asset account

Michael D Novack