Expenses dated before the FreeAgent start date

If you're new to FreeAgent, you may well have spent some money on business expenses before you started using the software.

Here's how to enter those expenses.

There are three possible scenarios you might be in:

1) Your business has been on-going for a while and you've prepared accounts for an earlier year that include these costs.

For example, you bought a train ticket for business travel on your own personal credit card.

You put that ticket into your Travel category in your last year's accounts, but your business hasn't yet paid you back for it.

Your FreeAgent start date falls between the date when you bought the ticket and the date when you expect your business to pay you back.

How do I put it into FreeAgent in that scenario?

Don't put it in as an out-of-pocket expense.

Instead, put it in as part of your opening balances and post it to account 905, Expense Account, as a credit balance (i.e. put a minus in front of the amount) because it's money that the business owes to you.

2) Your business has been on-going for a while and you haven't put these costs into any earlier accounts.

For example, you bought a train ticket for business travel on your own personal credit card, and you've only just found the train ticket and realised you've not put that into Travel in your previous year's accounts.

You need to both put it into Travel and show it as due back to you from your business.

How do I put it into FreeAgent in that scenario?

Put it in as an out-of-pocket expense as normal, BUT don't put it in on the date as listed on the ticket, because that'll be before your FreeAgent start date.

Instead, put it in as if you'd bought the ticket on your FreeAgent start date - so use your FreeAgent start date for the date of the ticket.

3) Your business is new.

In this case, by definition the expense can't have gone into an earlier set of accounts.

How do I put it into FreeAgent in that scenario?

Put it in as an out-of-pocket expense as normal, BUT don't put it in on the date as listed on the ticket, because that'll be before your FreeAgent start date.

Instead, put it in as if you'd bought the ticket on your FreeAgent start date - so use your FreeAgent start date for the date of the ticket.