EIDL loan payment

Hello there, @EAKIN.

Let's set up a liability account so you can record your EIDL loan and its payments in QuickBooks Online (QBO).

You'll need to create a liability account to record the loan amount and its payments in QBO and help track what you owe to SBA. To do this, here's how:

1. Go to Settings ⚙, then select Chart of accounts.
2. Select New to create a new account.
3. From the Account Type dropdown, select Long Term Liabilities. Note: If you plan to pay off the loan by the end of the current fiscal year, select Other Current Liabilities instead.
4. From the Detail Type dropdown, select Notes Payable.
5. Give the account a relevant name, like "Covid-19 relief loan."
6. Choose when you want to start tracking your finances. In the Balance field, enter the amount in the account, and determine the as of date. Enter today's date if you want to start tracking immediately.
7. Select Save and Close.

Since the loan money was deposited directly into your bank (EIDL) account, I recommend creating a journal entry for the amount. Please follow these steps:

1. Go to the + New button.
2. Select Journal entry.
3. On the first line, select the liability account you just created from the Account dropdown. Enter the loan amount in the Credits column.
4. On the second line, select your bank account from the Account dropdown. Enter the same loan amount in the Debits column.
5. When you're done, select Save and close.

In case your EIDL account is linked to QuickBooks via bank feeds, you can match the downloaded transaction to the journal entry.

Once you're done, you're ready to pay back your EIDL loan or record its payments. For the step-by-step guide, you can refer to this article: Set up a loan in QuickBooks Online.

Also, I encourage you to reconcile your accounts in QBO regularly (every month). This helps monitor your income and expense transactions and detect any possible errors accordingly. You may want to check out this article as your reference to guide you in doing and fixing reconciliation in QBO: Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.

Let me know if you have other concerns about recording a loan and its payments in QBO. I'm always here to help. Take care, and have a great day, @EAKIN.

Thank you!  That was very helpful!

I have that setup now.  I see our payment for this loan went through and it is showing up as a transaction in the banking tab.  Can I match this somehow so it goes toward the loan in QB? 

It's great to help you today, @EAKIN

 Yes, you can match and categorize your loan payment with the bank transaction. Here's how:

1. Go to Banking.
2. Select the transaction.
3. The Date, Description, Payee, and Amount Spent or Received should all be noted.
4. To expand the view, click on the downloaded transaction.
5. Check the QuickBooks records that match. This might be the transaction that matches the one you just submitted in QuickBooks.
6. To learn more, click the link next to each match. Verify that this is the right match. Check in particular the fields on forms for the existing transaction in QuickBooks that say Deposit to, Payment Method, and Bank account.
7. Close the open transaction if this matches exactly.
8. Choose Match.  

If you have trouble categorizing or matching your transactions, you can also refer to this link for detailed process: Categorize and match online bank transactions in QuickBooks Online.

Additionally, I recommend that you often reconcile your accounts in QBO (every month). This makes it easier to keep track of your revenue and spending transactions and spot any potential problems. You might wish to use the following article as a guide to help you perform and correct reconciliation in QBO: Learn about the QuickBooks reconcile workflow.

If you have further queries about QBO, don't hesitate to leave a comment, I'd be happy to help. Have a wonderful weekend!