Can't seem to add to all categories?

cyphix333

Hello,

I'm trying to add an expense to the "Short-term Liability" category but when I search for it in the dropdown category menu it can't seem to find it?

Please advise.

Thanks!

Alexia

Hi, @cyphix333.

Are you trying to use that liability as the payment account or the category? Only certain types of accounts are considered payments account in Wave.

You can get around this easily by making that transaction a journal entry instead. You can do that by clicking on "More" in the top-right corner of the transactions page and choosing "Add Journal Transaction".

Can you tell me what you're trying to represent in the real world? I might be able to give you a better-tailored solution.

cyphix333

Hi @Alexia,

I was trying to add it as a category, but I checked and it's not under payment accounts either.

However, to answer your question, a client transferred me the funds to purchase a 3rd-party item on their behalf, so since I won't be retaining the money I felt until I had actually purchased the item it belonged in the "Short-term Liability" category.

Cheers,

Brett

Alexia

Hi, @cyphix333.

No, it wouldn't be a payment account. In the way you are trying to represent this transaction, it would have to be.

Are you doing this on the receipts page, or just as a regular expense on the Transactions page?

In your case, this would actually be an income transaction. You would create an income with your bank account as the "Account" and that liability account as the category. This represents money going out of that liability account and into your bank account. You should be able to just create that on the Transactions page. If you can't find your new liability account in the category list there, can you share a screenshot of the Liabilities section of the category drop-down menu, as well as one of your Chart of Accounts Liability tab?

cyphix333

I've entered as just a regular expense on the transactions page, but since I haven't paid for it yet I wanted to mark it as a liability, but when I do, then I guess I could just move it to the respective category for the expense.

In your case, this would actually be an income transaction. You would create an income with your bank account as the "Account" and that liability account as the category.

I added the income as per regular but set the category to a custom "3rd-Party Fees" category, it was the expense I was going to put as a short-term liability - but I guess putting the income into that category would make more sense ha - though does it stay on this category once you pay for the item?

Alexia

Hi, @cyphix333.

I've been talking about this with colleagues since Friday to make sure I wasn't giving you wrong information, and here's my final answer (after thinking of a ridiculously overcomplicated way to do this, and then talking to one of our accounting specialists who offered a much, much simpler way to handle it). So let's reiterate from the start.

When you receive that money...

• You'll create an income transaction using your bank account as the Account, and your new liability account as a category. This will add money to your bank account (as it should) and set the balance you owe on that liability account accurately.

When you spend some of that money on an expense...

• Create an expense transaction using your bank account as the Account, and your new liability account as a category. It'll lower the balance on your liability account, which is the amount you owe.

You don't have to also register those expenses to an expense account since those expenses are your client's, not yours. This way, those transactions won't show up on your Profit & Loss report.

When comes time to pay your client back for the remainder of your spending fund, just create another expense transaction with the same account and category.

If you run into any issues with this (your category not showing up again, for example), I can show you how to do the same thing with journal transactions as well.

cyphix333

Hey @Alexia - thanks very much for this, seems really easy now.

I believe the reason it wasn't showing up was because I hadn't yet added an "account" to that section under "chart of accounts" - sometimes I forget you have to do that.

Alexia

Happens to the best of us, @cyphix333! Happy to hear everything makes sense now!