An organization credit card is a liability account with its own register. Charges go on it as they happen (each coded to the expense it really was), and the monthly payment moves money from checking to the card. Done this way, the statement reconciles like a bank account and the expenses land in the right month, not the month you paid the bill.
Where: left menu Credit Cards. The entry appears as soon as your chart of accounts has at least one credit card account.
Setting up the card
Chart of Accounts → Add Account, type Liability, sub-type Credit Card, named for the card ("Visa •••• 4412"). One account per card. If you're starting mid-statement, enter the balance owed as of your accounting start date in your opening balances so the first payment reconciles.
Recording a charge
Open Credit Cards, pick the Card Account at the top if you have more than one, and use the Charge form:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Transaction Date | The date on the receipt, not the statement date. |
| Merchant / Payee | Where it was charged. Pick from your contacts or type a name. |
| Total Amount | The charge. |
| Account and Fund | What the purchase was for and which fund pays. Split Transaction opens multiple lines when one receipt covers several things. |
| Confirmation # | Optional: the transaction ID or last four digits from the statement. |
| Attachment | The receipt. Photos are converted to PDF automatically, like the register. |
The card's balance increases and the expense is booked on the transaction date. Entering charges from the receipts as they come in, rather than from the statement a month later, is what makes the statement easy to match.
Paying the card
The Payment form on the same page records the check or transfer that pays the bill: Payment Date, Pay From Account (your checking account), Payment Amount, and Fund. The payment reduces the card balance and comes out of checking; it does not touch expense accounts, because those were recorded with each charge.
Pay in full or pay part; the register shows the running balance owed either way. Interest and annual fees are ordinary charges coded to a bank-fees or interest expense account.
Reconciling
When the card statement arrives, reconcile the card account exactly like a bank account: Bank Reconciliation, choose the card, enter the statement ending balance (the balance owed) and tick off the charges and payments that appear. See Reconciling Your Bank Account.
Good to know
- Charges post to the register immediately; there's no approval step for card charges, but the same internal controls that watch checks (receipt required, round-number, off-hours) apply if you've turned them on.
- Refunds and returns from a merchant are entered as a negative charge (or a charge with a negative amount), which credits the expense and reduces the balance owed.
- Cash-basis organizations: yes, charges are still recorded on the transaction date. A credit card purchase is money spent; the card is just the lender.
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