How do I categorize a refund in my register?

AresTransportInc

My bank account was charged for a purchase I did not authorize and my bank refunded that charge. How do I categorize the charge and the refund in my register?

Boatnmaniac

You could categorize the unauthorized charge against the "Misc" expense category and then also credit that same category for the refund.  That will then show a $0 net expense in just about any report but it will still show the transaction details in reports that provide transaction details.

Or you could select a different category that you feel would be more appropriate.

Or you can create a new custom expense category for it if you wish.

The important thing would be to make sure that you use the same category for both the unauthorized charge and for the refund so they cancel each other out in the category rollup and in reports.

Boatnmaniac

You could categorize the unauthorized charge against the "Misc" expense category and then also credit that same category for the refund.  That will then show a $0 net expense in just about any report but it will still show the transaction details in reports that provide transaction details.

Or you could select a different category that you feel would be more appropriate.

Or you can create a new custom expense category for it if you wish.

The important thing would be to make sure that you use the same category for both the unauthorized charge and for the refund so they cancel each other out in the category rollup and in reports.

Chris_QPW

I would use the same category for the purchase and the refund so that they will cancel out.  As for which category to use for a fraudulent transaction, that is really up to you, especially since the two transactions are going to cancel out.  One might use a new category like "fraud" or just one of the existing categories, it just depends on how much you want it to be visible in the future.  One could also use the memo to record that it was fraudulent.

AresTransportInc

Thank you both! The "using the same category" worked great! I am a new Quicken user and man it's a lot to learn! :)

Boatnmaniac

AresTransportInc said:

Thank you both! The "using the same category" worked great! I am a new Quicken user and man it's a lot to learn!

You are welcome.  You are not alone in feeling there is a lot to learn.  Heck, I've been using Quicken since 2010 and many others have been using Quicken since the 1980s and 1990s and we all will say that we are still learning about how to use it.  So, welcome to the club!