How do I set up the CEBA loan account

Thanks for posting here, @ccbyjackie.

We want to make sure you're able to record your CEBA loan properly in QuickBooks online. We can provide some basic steps to set up accounts in the program, but we always recommend consulting with a tax advisor or an accountant first to review the set up.

You can set up the CEBA loan as a short term liability, especially if you know it will be forgiven. Here's how:

1. Select the Accounting menu, then choose Chart of Accounts.
2. Click New to create an account.
3. Choose Other Current Liabilities from the Detail Type dropdown.
4. From the Detail Type dropdown, select Loan Payable.
5. Provide a name like “CEBA loan.”
6. Choose when you want to start tracking the money from the "as of" field.
7. Enter the full loan amount in the Unpaid balance section, then Save and close.

If you want to record a loan payment, you can use an expense or a journal entry. Refer to your accountant on how to handle the loan payments.

Also, if you want to record forgiveness of CEBA loan proceeds, you can record it as "Other Income". Create a new income account, and use this account when you record the forgiven loan in QuickBooks. Check out the following steps:

1. In your QuickBooks account, go to the Accounting tab.
2. Choose Chart of Accounts then click New.
3. Pick Other Income as the Account Type.
4. For the Detail Type, pick Income.
   
5. Once done, press Save and Close.

If you have any other questions about this CEBA topic, post again anytime. I'll be more than happy to share some more information to help you. Have a nice day!

I am not clear on how to record the CEBA forgiveness payment the Government put into the account. We received $20,000 from the government to bring the account balance to zero but I'm not sure how to record this? I can't add it from the banking feed because the account was disconnected from the banking feed before the Government payment was recorded.