[Kmymoney] Problems created by lack of knowledge...

[Jack]

On 2013.02.08 17:38, Zed wrote:
> Using KMoney v3.98.1
This is a very old version.  As soon as you figure out your problem,  
you should upgrade.  4.6.3 is the latest version, although instructions  
on upgrading would depend on your platform/distribution.

> I am confused as I think my accounting skill are sadly lacking!

> I have a Propety account with four Asset Accounts - Cheque, Cash,  
> Partner 1, Partner 2.
I'm not sure what a Property account is, although I don't think it  
matters.  If it is just a way for you to keep these four accounts  
together, that is fine.

> Payments are normally made from the Cheque account and receipts are  
> banked to that account.
So far, so good.

> However, at times, the Cheque account has insufficient funds to meet  
> a payment.  In this case, one of the partners meets the expense and  
> is subsequently reimbursed.
This makes sense to me.

> This is what I have been doing and it is obviously the wrong way to  
> do it.
We won't really know if it's wrong until we figure out where your  
problem is, as it seems a reasonable approach to me.

> When the cheque account has sufficient funds.  Pay expenses from that  
> account.
> 
> When there are insufficient funds in the cheque account.
> 
> Pay direct from the partner's account by selecting that account, e.g.  
> Partner 1 and "Pay to" the supplier and allocate to the correct  
> expenses account.  The expense account shows a debit and the  
> Partner's account a credit. At this pint I can see nothing amiss.
If by "expense" account, you mean the category, that's OK.  I also  
assume here the supplier account (Payee) should also show the debig.

> When reimbursed, I have been selecting the Cheque account and paying  
> the Partner account the reimbursement, expecting a credit to appear  
> on the cheque account and a debit on the Partner's account but this  
> is not happening. I have tried various options of Withdrawals,  
> Deposits and Transfers but seem to be digging myself into a deeper  
> hole!
First, I assume you mean that the Cheque account has had a sufficient  
deposit to cover the amount of the purchase.  Since you now need to  
transfer the funds from the Cheque account to the Partner account, a  
Transfer is the appropriate type of transaction.  A regular deposit or  
withdrawal would not work, since they transfer between the account and  
the payee.  However, what do you see when you make a transfer from the  
Cheque account to the Partner account?  It does seem something is going  
wrong here, but we need more information before we just blame it on  
your approach.

> It is now apparent to me that I have go the basics wrong and need to  
> rethink what is the correect way but I have got myself in a position  
> where I can no longer think logically about what I should or  
> shouldn't do.
> 
> Is anyone able to explain what I should do in the sittuation  
> outlined.  If it means starting over again, I'll do so to get myself  
> out of this impenetrable fog.
No suggestions until we figure out what is actually happening.  If it's  
easy to fix, no point in starting over.


Just to show what I would expect:

Starting balances:
  Cheque: 100,  Partner: 500

You need to pay "Store" 200, so you create a payment from Cheque to  
Store for 200, and the balances should be:
  Cheque: 100,  Partner: 300

You get income of 300 which you deposit to Cheque, giving
  Cheque: 400,  Partner 300

Now you transfer 200 from Cheque to Partner.  You do NOT need to  
specify a Payee or a Category, as these were set in the payment  
transaction above.
  Cheque: 200,  Partner: 500
What do you actually see at this point?

Jack