How do I set up a receivable account?

RachelC.

I loaned my child money (interest free) and would like to track the payments and balance in Quicken. I have Quicken Classic Premier (for Mac). Please be specific since I'm a new user. TIA!

NotACPA

A receivable account is simply an Asset account.

When you made the loan, record it as a Transfer into that account.

As your child makes payments, record them as coming FROM that account into your banking account.

RickO

For Mac specific info:

If you make it a Cash account, it will show up in the Banking > Cash account group. If you make it an Asset, it will show up in Property & Debt > Property. It's a matter of preference where you want to see the account in the sidebar. Doesn't really matter operationally.

To make an inter-account Transfer within Quicken, you can put "Transfer:[otheraccountname]" in the Category field. This is created the corresponding linked transaction in the other account. Or you can turn on the Transfer column and enter the other account name there.

To create the new account, click the Plus Sign at the top of the sidebar. Then click Offline Account at the bottom of the popup window. Choose either Cash or Asset in the Other Assets & Liabilities group.

NotACPA

A receivable account is simply an Asset account.

When you made the loan, record it as a Transfer into that account.

As your child makes payments, record them as coming FROM that account into your banking account.

RachelC.

Thank you very much. It's a Cash Asset account then?

volvogirl

Will you always be depositing the payments in a bank account? Then the deposit will be a Transfer to the loan receivable account. If you get cash and don't deposit it I guess you will need to set up a separate Cash Account to transfer it to the loan account.

NotACPA

@mshiggins Since the OP stated that the loan is Interest-free, I didn't see the need for a Loan-type account.

@RachelC. A Cash account would work well, and is simpler than a "Lender Loan" account, since there's no interest to be calculated.

RickO

For Mac specific info:

If you make it a Cash account, it will show up in the Banking > Cash account group. If you make it an Asset, it will show up in Property & Debt > Property. It's a matter of preference where you want to see the account in the sidebar. Doesn't really matter operationally.

To make an inter-account Transfer within Quicken, you can put "Transfer:[otheraccountname]" in the Category field. This is created the corresponding linked transaction in the other account. Or you can turn on the Transfer column and enter the other account name there.

To create the new account, click the Plus Sign at the top of the sidebar. Then click Offline Account at the bottom of the popup window. Choose either Cash or Asset in the Other Assets & Liabilities group.

RachelC.

Thank you all so much!

jacobs

A Cash account would work well, and is simpler than a "Lender Loan" account, since there's no interest to be calculated.

@NotACPA Just FYI, lender loan accounts don't yet exist in Quicken Mac, although the developers have it marked as a Planned future feature.

So whether there is interest or not (as in this case), in Quicken Mac the options are to create a Cash or Asset account for the loan amount and record payments as reductions of the cash/asset account. If there is interest, it must be calculated manually, and can be recorded as a split in the deposit transaction (one split categorized for interest income, one split as a transfer to the cash/asset account for the principal repayment).