Register a loan and instalment schedule

Step by step

1. 1Add a loan with a name and currency. You may link an existing contact.
2. 2Optionally add instalments with principal and interest. Zero is allowed. Leave the planned payment date empty if unknown. You can paste three Excel columns: date, principal and interest. Check the added rows.
3. 3Saving registers the loan and plan and sets up the accounts, with the correct RGS references and currency. No amount is posted yet.
4. 4Each new loan gets a dedicated balance sheet account named after the loan with an available number. Borrowed money defaults to Long-term loans with Interest expense on financing. Lent money defaults to Other receivables with Loan interest income. A compatible interest account is reused or created. In Loan ledger accounts you can change the links before use. Only for unpaid interest do you also link a dedicated interest balance account.
5. 5Is the loan already in the opening balance of the linked account? Do not record its funding again. Does newly borrowed money arrive in your bank account, or do you lend money through your bank account? Create a loan transaction with the actual date and bank account.
6. 6If the lender pays the supplier directly, for example for a car, record the purchase under Purchases and costs and choose Paid by lender. Select the loan and financed amount. Do not add a bank receipt or a second loan transaction.
7. 7The balance at a date comes from the linked ledger accounts, including opening balances and other journal entries. The instalment schedule does not change it.

What is on the screen?

• Name and currency
• Optional contact and instalments
• Principal, interest result and optional interest balance account

What happens next?

Your loan, plan and accounts are set up. If you change the currency before use, the dedicated loan account and any linked interest balance account follow it, retaining their numbers and RGS. Interest expense or income remains in accounting currency. Used currency and account mappings remain fixed. You may edit the name and plan; an instalment cannot be reduced below its allocated amounts.

Continue reading