How do I record personal expenses (and reimbursement) from an account through a vendor, set up as a bill in QBO?

Hello, @jo-lee. Thank you for the detailed information about your concern about recording personal expenses from an account through a vendor that was set up as a bill in QuickBooks Online (QBO). We're here to help you.

We understand the importance of tracking your sales and expense transactions in QBO to keep your account accurate. 

Initially, we want to let you know that we don't propose mixing business and personal expenses. That way, you can go over your business flawlessly. However, there will be times when we can't prevent it from happening. So, if that time comes, we can follow the process below to handle it in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

In this case, we're going to create a journal entry to record the business expenses you paid for with personal funds. After that, we can choose a way to reimburse it, either to record it by checks or expense. When doing the process, we suggest consulting with your accountant or a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor to guide you through the process to ensure the accuracy of your account since they know what's best for your business.

To create a Journal entry, here's how:

1. Click + New and choose Journal Entry.
2. Select the expense account for the purchase.
3. Enter the purchase amount in the Debits column.
4. Next, select Partner's equity or Owner's equity.
5. Enter the same purchase amount in the Credits column.
6. Then,  Save and close.

For the reimbursement using a check:

1. Click + New and select the Check.
2. Choose a bank account to use to reimburse the personal funds.
3. From the Category column, select Partner's equity or Owner's equity.
4. Type the amount to reimburse.
5. Then select Save and Close or Save and New.

But if you want to reimburse using expenses, refer to this article for additional details: Pay for business expenses with personal funds.

Additionally, you may visit this article for future reference in managing your account in QBO:

• Reconcile an Account in QuickBooks Online
• Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks

Let us know if you need anything else related to QuickBooks, @jo-lee. We are always happy to lend a hand to you. Take care always, and have a great business!

Thank you for the prompt response.  This is actually a personal expense paid for with a business account through a vendor, not a business expense paid for with a personal account.

Does that change things, and if so, how?

Thank you for getting back to us, @jo-lee. I can assist you in managing personal expenses incurred from your business account in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

You'll need to record the expenses and then reimburse them to ensure your books are updated. I'll guide you in this process: 

1. Go to + New > Check or Expense.
2. Select a Payee from the dropdown menu.
3. Choose the Bank Account, Cash Account, or Credit Card you used to make the purchase.
4. In the Category details section, select the dropdown menu to select the tax category that fits your needs.
5. Enter the Amount of the purchase.
6. Tap Save and Close.

Once done, reimburse the company.

1. Go to + New > Bank Deposit.
2. Select the Account to add the reimbursement to, and choose the Date.
3. Go to the Add funds to this deposit section. In the Received From field, enter the person who made the personal expense, then select the account.
4. Choose the Payment Method and enter the reimbursement amount.
5. Tap Save and Close.

When dealing with accounts that may be affected by mixing personal and business funds, I strongly recommend seeking expert advice from a qualified accountant. They can offer valuable suggestions and ensure that your books are accurate and error-free. An accountant's expertise is crucial in maintaining your business's financial health and compliance.

You can refer to this article for more information on the topic: How to pay for personal expenses from a business bank or credit card account.

If you have any questions or need guidance on this matter, please feel free to ask, and I'll provide you with the information and steps you need to handle these expenses effectively.

I appreciate the response - thank you for your time; unfortunately, I don't think the response addresses the question.

I am aware of how to tend to a regular expense/check against an account in QuickBooks. 

The problem is this is a bill through a vendor account not connected with a credit card or bank account.  I create a bill for these purchases, they aren't checks or regular expenses, so the process you referred to, which is familiar to me, is not applicable in this situation.

Also, I'm not making a bank deposit to reimburse the company, I'm taking it out of my client's paycheck.  So, the reimbursement method described does not apply in this situation either.

We appreciate you for coming back here, @jo-lee. I understand that this has been confusing on your end, and it's important to record this transaction correctly. With this in mind, let me direct you to the best help possible.

With regard to this concern, it is best to consult with your accountant to help you place the transaction in the correct account without affecting your book in the future.

We'll also add these articles to help you manage your vendor transactions:

• Pay for personal expenses from a business credit card or bank account in QuickBooks Online.
• Enter and manage bills and bill payments in QuickBooks Online.

For more queries about managing your QBO transactions, don't hesitate to reply to this post. Thank you, and keep safe.

Again, very nice of you to take the time to reply, but this does not address the question at all.  I understand how to tend to personal expenses made with a business cc or bank account and I already understand how to tend to bills.  I just don't know how to combine the two issues in this situation.

Thank you so much!

I didn't do exactly as you said, because this is not a credit card account, it's just a credit account at the store.  He has no actual credit card and therefore we don't have it set up as such in QBO.  Perhaps we could set it up that way, but it's not - instead we enter all the receipts from that account as bills to pay later.  This complicated matters further, but your direction helped me to get it all straightened out - again, thanks so much!

Hello Rainflurry,

Thank you for sharing a solution here in the Community space. I appreciate you for sharing your input to help address the issue.

We love to see members supporting one another! Have a great day.

How do you learn how to do these types of steps in other unusal scenarios that are not standard?

I appreciate you for joining this thread, Dtothez. I'm here to provide some helpful insights regarding the steps in the thread.

Please note that the steps, articles, tutorials, and information shared with our colleague above are for standard scenarios.

When dealing with complex situations, it's recommended that you seek assistance from a qualified accounting professional. They can offer valuable suggestions and ensure books are accurate and error-free. 

Moreover, you might find these articles helpful in achieving basic tasks in QBO: Video tutorials for QuickBooks Online.

We're only a click away if you need assistance with QuickBooks-related concerns. I'll be available to assist you. Take care.

Are you a bookkeeper - do you use QBOA?