Entering and Paying CC Charges in QuickBooks

Did you know that you can keep track of your credit card accounts in QuickBooks the same as you do your bank accounts? The charge transactions can be entered directly through the Enter Credit Card Charges window and you can then pay the credit card through the Write Checks feature, always maintaining the correct balance. Some credit card companies also feature an auto download of the charge data directly into QuickBooks, but if your credit card does not offer this, just follow the following steps to use this in your business:

• Go to Banking > Enter Credit Card Charges. For this option to show, you must have a credit card type account set up in the Chart of Accounts.
• In the Enter Credit Card Charges window, choose the applicable credit card account in the drop down box.
• Under Purchased From, enter or choose the vendor for the charge. It is very important to use the vendor and not the credit card company. This allows you to search vendor transactions at a later date. If the vendor name is only listed in the memo field, it will not be found in a search of vendor transactions.
• Under the Expenses or Items tab, indicate the GL account to which the charge should be posted.
• Click OK.

The above steps will add the charges to the credit card account (other current liability) in the Chart of Accounts. To pay the credit card, whether in full or a partial payment:

• Go to Banking > Write Checks.
• In the Bank Account drop down list, choose the Bank Account you wish to use.
• Under the Expenses tab, choose the applicable credit card account (if you have more than one).
• Click Save & Close

This will create the payment and reduce the amount of the credit card liability, maintaining the correct balance.

Need help getting your credit card accounts set up? Or reconciling charges to your credit card statements? Call one of our QuickBooks Pro Advisors, and remember – we’re here to help.