In Income / Expense accounting, a transaction is generally recorded with one account entered in the Account column and one category entered in the Category column.

• The accounts are those listed in the Accounts table.
• The categories are those listed in the Categories column.

It is also possible to record a transaction involving multiple accounts or categories, by entering one account or category per row, until the entry is complete.

When you need to record a transaction that involves two accounts, without using a category, you can use the Category column to enter the second account from the Accounts table. 

An example could be the recording of a cash withdrawal from the postal account. The transaction should be entered as shown in the example below.

• Enter the Date and Description in the respective columns
• In the Income or Expense column, enter the amount
• In the Account column, enter the first account
• In the Category column, enter the second account
   

In Income / Expense accounting, a transaction is generally recorded with one account, entered in the Account column, and one category, entered in the Category column.

It is also possible to record a transaction involving multiple accounts or multiple categories, by entering one row for each account or category, until the transaction is complete.

• The accounts to be used in the trasnsactions are those listed in the Accounts table.
• The categories to be used in the transactions are those listed in the Categories table.

When it is necessary to record a transaction between two categories, it is not possible to do so on a single row. A category cannot be entered in the Account column.

Therefore, the transaction between two categories must be recorded over two rows:

• On the first row:
  • Enter the Date and Description in the respective columns
  • Enter the amount in the Income or Expense column
  • Leave the Account column empty
  • Enter the first category in the Category column
• On the second row:
  • Enter the Date and Description in the respective columns
    You can also copy the data from the previous row
  • Enter the amount in the Income or Expense column.
    If necessary, you can reverse the income or expense amount compared to the previous entry.
  • Leave the Account column empty
  • Enter the second category in the Category column

To record transactions with VAT in Banana Accounting, you need to use an Income / Expense template with the VAT management option.

These templates already include all the settings needed to manage VAT:

• The Accounts table includes VAT report and VAT payable accounts.
• In File properties > Basic data > VAT, the VAT report account is set.
• The VAT Codes table already contains VAT codes updated according to regulations.

How to record transactions with VAT

The Transactions table includes specific columns for VAT. If you activate the Complete view, you can see all the dedicated columns.

For each transaction, enter:

• Date → the date of the document (invoice, receipt, etc.).
• Doc → the document number (if available).
• Invoice No. → enter the invoice number from the customer or supplier.
• Doc Link → enter the path to the PDF document to attach.
• Description → short text describing the operation (e.g. Sale of goods or Rent payment).
• Income/Expense → the amount received or paid.
• Account → an account related to the transaction from the Accounts table (e.g. Cash, Bank).
• Category → the reason for the transaction represented by a category from the Categories table (e.g. Sales, Rent).
• VAT Code → indicate the applicable rate:
  • V81 → sales.
  • M81 → purchases related to main business activity.
  • I81 → purchases related to investments or general costs.

Automate the VAT code

To speed up entries, you can make the VAT code fill in automatically.

• Go to the Accounts and Categories table.
• From the menu Data > Columns setup, activate the VAT Code column.
• Enter the VAT code in the corresponding rows. The VAT code must exist in the VAT Codes table. For Switzerland, for example:
  • On fixed asset purchase accounts → I81.
  • On sales categories → V81.
  • On purchase categories → M81 or I81.

This way, when you enter a transaction linked to that account or category, the program will automatically fill in the VAT Code and immediately calculate the related data.

Learn more 

• VAT Summary
• Swiss VAT Management
• Various VAT transaction cases (double-entry accounting)
• Swiss VAT reports → Only with Advanced plan.

Credit card purchases are becoming increasingly common, not only in businesses but also in households. In order to have a better control of the expenses for credit card purchases, it is necessary to record the movements in your accounting. In this regard, it is necessary to verify that the Accounts table contains the credit card account, otherwise it should be added.

Record credit card transactions with advance payments

The credit card account is a debit account and is entered in the Account column.

In Income/Expense accounting, whenever advance payments are made on the credit card, you must record as follows:

• Enter the date, the description
• In the Expenses column, enter the expense amount
• In the Account column, enter the liquidity account (bank, post office).
• In the Category column, enter the credit card account.

When the credit card invoice arrives and the expenses are covered by the advance payments, it is necessary to record the credit card transactions to identify the costs incurred and write off the credit.

In this case you record on multiple rows:

• Enter the same date and the same Document No. for each transaction for all the rows that make up for the transaction.
• Enter the description indicating the type of expense.
• In the Expenses column enter the total amount paid by the credit card.
• In the Account column enter the credit card account.
• In the next rows to record each expense paid by credit card, record in the Expenses column the amount of the expense, and in the Category column, the category of the expense.

After all transactions have been recorded, check your credit card balance (open your credit card account card).

The private account is a financial account used in accounting to record transactions that do not directly concern the business, but rather relate to the owner's private sphere. This account tracks withdrawals and contributions made by the owner for personal purposes; it serves to keep business and personal finances separate, avoiding confusion in the company's bookkeeping.

Withdrawals from the company by the owner

If the owner uses business funds for personal expenses, the amount is debited to the private account. The amounts withdrawn by the owner appear in the Accounts table, in the Income column of the private account, because they represent a receivable of the company from the owner. In the Balance column of the private account, the amount is positive.

Deposits into the company by the owner 

If the owner deposits private funds into business accounts, the amount is credited to the private account. The amounts deposited by the owner appear in the Accounts table, in the Expenses column of the private account, because they represent a liability of the company to the owner. In the Balance column of the private account, the amount is negative.

Balance of the private/partner account

• Positive balance: indicates that the owner owes money to the company.
• Negative balance: indicates that the company owes money to the owner.

The December credit card invoice is usually received in January of the following year, and consequently, the payment is also made in January.

All expenses listed in the December credit card invoice belong to the previous year; therefore, they must be recorded in the accounting of the previous year.

Recording the December credit card invoice

To record it correctly, it is necessary to have the liability account Costs to be Paid in the Accounts table, which is a transitional account. If it is not present, it must be added. 

In the Transactions table, enter:

• Date and any document number in the respective Date and Doc. columns.
• Description
• Total credit card amount in the Expenses column
• Costs to be Paid account in the Account column
• Expense category in the Category column. If the invoice includes multiple expenses, record each expense on a separate row.

Recording the payment of the December credit card invoice in the following year

In the following year, when the new year is created, the balance of the Costs to be Paid account is displayed as an opening balance in the Accounts table. 
When the credit card invoice is paid, the Costs to be Paid account is cleared.

To record the payment of the credit card invoice, enter:

• Date, any document number
• Description
• Total amount of the credit card invoice in the Expenses column
• Liquidity account from which the invoice is paid in the Account column
• The Costs to be Paid category in the Category column.