• Home
  • Services
    • Cash Flow Forecasting
    • PPP Loan Forgiveness Assistance
    • Accounting Services
    • Bookkeeping
    • Payroll
    • Advisory Services
    • Consulting for QuickBooks®
    • Training for QuickBooks
    • Cloud Accounting
    • Business Formation Services
    • Business Compliance and Filings
  • QuickBooks Products
    • QuickBooks Online
    • QuickBooks Online Advanced
    • QuickBooks Desktop
    • QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions
    • QuickBooks Point of Sale
    • QuickBooks Payments
  • Industries
    • Services
    • Construction
    • Medical and Health Care
    • Real Estate
    • Non Profit
    • Retail
    • Restaurant
    • Manufacturing
    • Wholesalers and Distributors
    • eCommerce
  • Resources
    • Resources
    • Mobile Accounting
  • Blog
  • About
    • About
    • Send Us Your Referrals
  • Contact
(770) 777-4115
info@evolbussolutions.com
April 25, 2019

Buying a Car or Truck for Your Business?

Rosalind Fletcher Accounting, Bookkeeping Tips

ShareTweetPinterestLinkedin

When you purchase a new vehicle, you get the fun of riding around in a new car with the new car smell! Our job has just begun – to get your new asset recorded properly on your books. We thought it’d be fun to give you a behind-the-scenes sneak peek at our part. 

Sales Contract

The first thing we’ll ask you for is the sales contract.  It will give us the payment price of your car, and we’ll use that number to record your new asset on your balance sheet.  If you paid cash with no trade-in, the journal entry we’ll make is:

Debit: 2019 Toyota RAV4

$25,500

Credit: Cash

$25,500

Then we’ll decide on a depreciation method and book depreciation monthly or at year-end.

Debit: Depreciation Expense

$5,100

Credit: Accumulated Depreciation

$5,100

Trade-in

If you traded in a vehicle that is on your books, we’ll need to make an adjustment to your books. Effectively, your old car will be eliminated from your balance sheet. If this asset had a book value and it was not fully depreciated, the net value would be compared to the trade-in value and a gain or loss on the asset sale would be recorded on your income statement. 

Let’s say the balance sheet value of the three-year-old car you traded in was $10,000 and you got $8,000 on the trade-in. Here’s what we would record:

Debit: 2019 Toyota RAV4

$25,500

Debit: Accumulated Depreciation

$15,000

Debit: Loss on Sale of 2016 Car

$ 2,000

Credit: Old 2016 Toyota RAV4

$25,000

Credit: Cash

$17,500 ($25,500 – $8,000 trade-in)

We’d also start the depreciation for the new car.

New Car Loan 

Most often, a new car purchase will be financed, so we have a new liability to record too.  We’ll need to get a copy of the loan documents from you and an amortization schedule of the payments. Let’s say you made a ten percent down payment with no trade-in.  Here’s how that would look:

Debit: 2019 Toyota RAV4

$25,500

Credit: Cash

$2,550

Credit: Toyota Loan

$22,950

Then, each time you make a monthly payment, the amount will need to be split between principal and interest and those amounts will need to change each month.

Debit: Interest Expense

$390

Debit: Toyota Loan

$60

Credit: Cash

$450

We left out a few trade secrets just to keep it intriguing. There are a lot of other numbers on a car purchase: taxes, licenses, warranties, add-ons, fees, and more. Some of these can be directly expensed, while others need to be included in the value of the asset. So if you’re happy that we’ll take care of this for you, we’re happy to do so. 

Let us know if you purchase an asset this summer so we can get it booked right for you. 

Your New Hire Checklist How AI Is Changing Accounting

Related Posts

Accounting, Business Tips, Tax

A 39-Item Tax and Accounting Year-End Checklist for Your Small Business

Bookkeeping Tips, Business Tips

Watch Out for These Five Common Accounts Payable Errors

Accounting, Accounting Software, Business Growth, Business Tips, Technology

5 Signs You Need to Upgrade Your Accounting System

Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017

Categories

  • Accounting (23)
  • Accounting Software (2)
  • Blog (5)
  • Bookkeeping (1)
  • Bookkeeping Tips (5)
  • Business Development (13)
  • Business Growth (9)
  • Business Tips (64)
  • Cool Tech Tools (13)
  • Cost-Saving Tips (1)
  • Customer Service Tips (6)
  • Decision-Making Tips (2)
  • Expense Reduction Tips (4)
  • Finance Management (1)
  • Management Tips (9)
  • Marketing Tips (1)
  • Money Management (1)
  • News (4)
  • Payroll Tips (3)
  • Personal Development (5)
  • Profitability Tips (10)
  • Tax (4)
  • Technology (1)
  • Time Management Tips (4)
  • Uncategorized (15)
  • Home
  • Services
  • Products
  • Industries
  • Resources
  • Blog
  • About
  • Contact

Contact Us

Tax Services, Accounting Services and Services for QuickBooks®

EVOL Business Solutions LLC.

Serving the metro Atlanta, GA area

(770) 777-4115

info@evolbussolutions.com

5174 McGinnis Ferry Rd #183
Alpharetta, GA 30005


Intuit, QuickBooks, and QuickBooks ProAdvisor are registered trademarks of Intuit Inc. Used with permission under the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Agreement.
Copyright EVOL Business Solutions LLC. 2020 | Site Design by Accelerator Websites