[GNC] Posting a bad debt

Adrien Monteleone adrien.monteleone at lusfiber.net
Wed Apr 10 14:33:33 EDT 2019


Roger,

You just missed my recent reply on account types.

The asset version needs to be of *type* `asset` not *type* `accounts receivable` but you can certainly place regular asset accounts as sub-accounts of that special Accounts Receivable account. I have this very setup and it works fine.

Certainly though, if you prefer the liability method for your use case, by all means, use that instead. It is perfectly legitimate to pay liabilities with other liabilities, that is what a credit card is — you are setting up an account to track a credit line you have with that vendor/client.

And yes, remembering how to make certain entries, especially when they are infrequent, can be a challenge. The only advice (other than a note app) on that front is I personally found I retain more of this info as I became more active on this list helping others. (of course, some things I still have to lookup to refresh my memory) My workflow includes creating a ‘how to’ sub folder in my mail client and archiving some important threads there which places them in quick proximity to reference when revisiting the topic in a new thread.

Regards,
Adrien

> On Apr 10, 2019, at 1:26 PM, <rmomxtx at gmail.com> <rmomxtx at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Adrien,
>  
> I take it the context of your comments is how to allow for payment of invoices with services in kind. I think I follow you. It is ideal to create a sub account of accounts receivable so the roll up number give a more realistic idea of what you can expect to get paid. Paying for the service from a sub-account of accounts receivable is easy, just a transaction in the journal of one of the two accounts. However, if the asset you create is a sub-account of accounts receivable GnuCash does not give you the option of paying the invoice from any account classified as an account receivable. A liability account is a workable solution. That would work similar to buying the network switch charged to a fixed asset account. When I paid the client’s invoice, I credited the invoice for the full amount he charged me for the switch. Now in the invoice module, the balance in his favor always shows and is charged down as we provide our services in kind. Easy solution for us is to create a liability account for services of this type, pay for the expense from that account and then charge our invoice against the liability. That, GnuCash will allow you to do.
>  
> Challenge is to remember that’s what you decided to do. I write it down in OneNote so I can refer back to what I decided to do. Otherwise, ties my head in a knot trying to remember what I did and why. 😊
>  
> Thanks much,
> Roger




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