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moving-forward
Level 1

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

My business is taxed as an S-Corporation. I would like to have accurate P&L statements and be sure that all my transactions balance on reconciliation after entering member withdrawals.

 

I see there are categories for Owner's Equity and Owner's Withdrawals, both categorized as equity. There is also a "Compensation of officers" account under Payroll Expenses.

 

When I enter the money I've withdrawn from my bank account as an expense classified as compensation of officers, my reconciliation works out perfectly. However, my P&L seems to be thrown off.

 

How do I correctly enter owner withdrawals? Should they be entered in both equity and expenses?

Solved
Best answer February 23, 2021

Best Answers
jamespaul
Moderator

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

Hello, moving-forward.

 

I've got you covered. I'll ensure your owner withdrawals are correctly recorded in QuickBooks. 

 

When setting up an owner's draw, you'll want to set it up as an equity account instead of an expense.

 

Create a new account for the owner's draw and set it up as an Owner's Equity account. Inactivate the Compensation of Officers account if necessary. 

 

I take it that you've already entered the withdrawal as an Expense transaction. You'll want to delete it then process the draw as a check and enter it under the equity account.

 

To delete the expense transaction, simply open it, click the More menu then select Delete

 

deleteexp1.PNG

 

Next, process the draw through a check: 

 

  1. Click the + New button.
  2. Select Check.
  3. Choose the Bank Account where your money will be withdrawn.
  4. Under Category, select the Owner's Equity account, then enter the amount.
  5. Add other details of the check such as reference number, memo, etc..
  6. Once done, click Save and close

 

ownerequi1.PNG

 

A reference for the steps can be found here: Set up and pay an owner's draw

 

Also, an accountant will be able to shed some more ideas about recording this. If you need to know how these steps work on the accounting technicalities, I'd recommend consulting with one. 

 

This won't show up under your Profit and Loss report. Instead, you'll want to run the Balance Sheet

 

Need to run reports for the transactions or other records? Check out our guides from the Reports topic page

 

I'll help out again if you have more questions recording other transactions. I'm also open to address any other concerns you might have for QuickBooks Online. 

View solution in original post

6 Comments 6
jamespaul
Moderator

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

Hello, moving-forward.

 

I've got you covered. I'll ensure your owner withdrawals are correctly recorded in QuickBooks. 

 

When setting up an owner's draw, you'll want to set it up as an equity account instead of an expense.

 

Create a new account for the owner's draw and set it up as an Owner's Equity account. Inactivate the Compensation of Officers account if necessary. 

 

I take it that you've already entered the withdrawal as an Expense transaction. You'll want to delete it then process the draw as a check and enter it under the equity account.

 

To delete the expense transaction, simply open it, click the More menu then select Delete

 

deleteexp1.PNG

 

Next, process the draw through a check: 

 

  1. Click the + New button.
  2. Select Check.
  3. Choose the Bank Account where your money will be withdrawn.
  4. Under Category, select the Owner's Equity account, then enter the amount.
  5. Add other details of the check such as reference number, memo, etc..
  6. Once done, click Save and close

 

ownerequi1.PNG

 

A reference for the steps can be found here: Set up and pay an owner's draw

 

Also, an accountant will be able to shed some more ideas about recording this. If you need to know how these steps work on the accounting technicalities, I'd recommend consulting with one. 

 

This won't show up under your Profit and Loss report. Instead, you'll want to run the Balance Sheet

 

Need to run reports for the transactions or other records? Check out our guides from the Reports topic page

 

I'll help out again if you have more questions recording other transactions. I'm also open to address any other concerns you might have for QuickBooks Online. 

moving-forward
Level 1

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

jamespaul, thank you so much for your help!

johnh-321
Level 1

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

Hello,

After I complete the steps above, my Owner's Equity account has a negative balance because at this time I've been able to withdraw more than my original investment. Should I zero that out at the end of the year? If so, how do I do that?

 

I'm a single-member LLC taxed as an S-Corp.

 

Thank you!

Rubielyn_J
QuickBooks Team

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

I appreciate you for doing the steps provided above, @johnh-321. Let me chime in and help handle the negative balance in your Owner's Equity account.

 

We can create a journal entry to zero out the balance at year-end. To proceed, here's how:

 

  1. Click the + New button.
  2. Choose Journal entry.
  3. On the first line, select an account depending if you need to debit or credit the account and enter the amount in the correct column.
  4. On the next line, choose the other account you're moving money to or from and enter the same amount in the opposite column.
  5. Check the amounts - you should have the same amount in the Credit column on one line and the Debit column on the other. 
  6. Input information in the memo section so you know why you made the journal entry.
  7. Lastly, click Save and close.

 

With regards to the account to use, I recommend consulting an accountant for proper guidance. This is to ensure that your recording is accurate.

 

Additionally, let me share this article to help set up an S Corp that includes adjustments as well when there is prior payroll you need to correct: Set up S-Corp Owner's Health Insurance.

 

Please tell me if you need anything else or concerns with managing the Owner's equity in QuickBooks. I'll be happy to help. 

k-b-seib
Level 1

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

Hi there,

I am having trouble finding the "owners equity" category under which to label the withdrawn amount. The only option that comes up for me is "shareholder equity", even when I try to create the category. is that the same thing for S-Corps? I'm trying to figure out how to balance my books when I use my business account to pay for a personal expense and I just don't know what category to label the "check" under because Owner's Equity doesn't come up for me?

JessT
Moderator

S-Corp Officer Compensation: How to enter owner equity and balance the books properly after member draws are taken

Hi k-b-seib,

 

Yes, it's the same thing for S-Corps. Please check with your accountant if you should be using that account. Normally, you can create an owner's equity account using the steps below.

 

  1. Click the Gear icon.
  2. Choose Chart of Accounts and click New.
  3. Select Equity for the Account type.
  4. Choose Owner's Equity for the Detail type.
  5. Name the account and click Save and close.

I'm including this article to guide you in recording your purchases paid by your business account and to reimburse your company: Pay for personal expenses from a business credit card or bank account.

 

You can always visit us back through this thread if you need more help with your account or transactions.

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