[GNC] How to balance correctly a particular transaction which involves debt?

Fred Bone Fred.Bone at dial.pipex.com
Mon Sep 21 10:16:59 EDT 2020


On 21 September 2020 at 16:37, Daniel Fishman said:

> Hello,
> 
> Suppose that you go with your friend to a shop, and then a friend
> remembers that he forgotten his credit card and asks you to pay
> for his merchandise. He intends to return the money later. You pay
> in the shop (for example, buy a book) using your credit card. Then
> a few days later the friend returns his debt - for example, by paying you
> cash.
> 
> I want to document those facts in gnucash.
> 
> Since the payment to the shop was made by the credit card, an account
> 'Expenses:<shop name>' is debited, while an account 'Liability:<credit
> card name>' is credited. 

This is wrong.

[...]
> What is the accepted way to document such transactions?

Only two splits needed:

Liabilities:Creditcard
Assets:Owed to me:Friend

You have not incurred an expense so should not be listing one. Unless, 
perhaps, you were buying something for yourself in the same transaction, 
in which case the obvious split applies.



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