[FAQ] How do I handle credit cards?

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Your church may have one or more credit cards that it uses, and you may be wondering the best way to track the balance and record expenses against your credit card for day to day use. Church360° Ledger allows you to quickly track payments made through credit cards, and pay off said credit cards when they come due.

First, you'll want to set up each credit card you have as a liability. If you have a balance on any of these credit cards from before you started tracking transactions within Church360° Ledger, you'll want to enter that balance as the initial balance on the account.

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Next, whenever you use the credit card, a payment should be entered. The payment will use the liability account for the appropriate credit card in place of using an asset account within your payment. You will still use the same expense account you would have used normally for this transaction, and the payee will still be whichever payee you're paying through this transaction. By making this transaction, the balance of the credit card liability will be increased, as will the expense account(s) you used to offset the transaction.

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When you're ready to pay off your credit card, you'll make another transaction with another payment (or check, if you're paying the credit card company by check), where you will use the asset or restricted funds you're using to pay the credit card bill on the left side of the payment, and on the right side, select the liability account of the credit card you're paying off. This transaction will have the effect of reducing both the asset and/or restricted funds you're using to pay off the credit card, and it will also reduce the balance on the credit card liability, showing you owe less money.

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