>
> I am presently trying to set up my GnuCash chart of accounts, and
> trying to do a better job of organizing them than Quicken did ;-)
>
> My question...I travel occasionally for business purposes, and any
> expenses that I incur are reimbursed to me by the company. I may
> receive a travel advance, or alternatively I am reimbursed after the
> fact.
Do either the following sound like a reasonable way to look at it to
you?
A) When you are getting reimbursed by the company after the fact, you
are spending your own money to pay for an expense incurred by your
company, an expense they don't pay for until your reinbursement. In
effect, you are loaning your company use of your assets (your cash),
until they reimburse you. Therefore, the business "expense account"
should be classified as an asset (specifically, a short term loan).
B) When you are getting a travel advance before going on the trip, you
are holding money which doesn't belong to you for company purposes. If
that money should happen to go into your accounts, it is in effect a
loan -to- -you-, which you owe back to the company in the form of
expenses, etc. Therefore, the business "expense account" should be
classified as a liability. Or it should be kept off of your personal
books entirely, if possible.
The problem with either of these methods individually is that if you do
both (get reimbursed some trips, advanced other trips) then your
accounts will have balances on the wrong side until you and your
company settle accounts for that trip. You could do both asset and
liability accounts, but that could get confusing. I would probably go
with A), and let the account go negative when they give you a travel
advance.
But I could be wrong...
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Buddha Buck [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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