💳 Credit Card Bookkeeping for NC Business Owners

It’s safe to say most businesses have at least one credit card—and yet, I often see them set up incorrectly in the books. A common mistake? Recording the entire statement as a single lump-sum expense after it’s paid. Technically, that’s not wrong… but it’s far from ideal.

Let’s walk through an example to show why.

🧾 Mock Credit Card Statement

Statement Period: July 1 – July 31, 2025

Account Number: XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-1234

Statement Date: August 1, 2025

Due Date: August 25, 2025

Account Summary

• Previous Balance: $0.00

• Payments Received: $0.00

• Purchases: $1,842.63

• Interest Charges: $0.00

• Fees: $0.00

• New Balance: $1,842.63

Transactions

Date	Description	Category	Amount
Jul 02	Office Depot – Printer Ink	Office Supplies	$89.99
Jul 03	Starbucks – Team Meeting	Meals & Entmt.	$18.75
Jul 05	QuickBooks Online Subscription	Software	$70.00
Jul 07	Lowe’s – Facility Repairs	Maintenance	$215.30
Jul 09	Google Ads – July Campaign	Advertising	$300.00
Jul 10	Shell Gas Station – Supervisor	Travel	$52.75
Jul 12	Amazon – Office Chairs	Equipment	$522.91
Jul 14	Panera – Client Lunch	Meals & Entmt.	$32.40
Jul 16	Staples – Office Paper	Office Supplies	$45.53
Jul 18	Microsoft 365 – Monthly License	Software	$99.00
Jul 20	Facebook Ads – Promo Boost	Advertising	$200.00
Jul 22	Exxon – Field Visit Fuel	Travel	$196.00

🚫 The Common Approach

Many businesses record this as one journal entry like:

Date: July 31, 2025

Memo: Credit card purchases for July

Account	Debit	Credit
Office Supplies	135.52
Meals & Entertainment	51.15
Software Subscriptions	169.00
Repairs & Maintenance	215.30
Advertising	500.00
Travel	248.75
Equipment	522.91
Credit Card Payable		1,842.63

This entry is technically accurate—but it’s limiting.

🤔 Why Proper Credit Card Bookkeeping for NC Business Owners Matters

Let’s say you want to check how much you’ve spent on Google Ads this year. If you lumped everything into one “Advertising” bucket, your accounting software won’t help. You’ll be digging through paper statements to find the word “Google.”

Same goes for tracking vendor spend, pulling audit reports, or reconciling across months. If your statement spans July 1–31 but you record everything on July 31, you lose transaction-level accuracy.

✅ The Better Way

Most accounting platforms like QuickBooks offer bank feeds. When set up properly, each transaction flows in daily—letting you record it with the correct vendor, category, and amount.

Here’s how those ad expenses would look:

Date: July 9, 2025Vendor: Google

Debit: Advertising $300.00

Credit: Credit Card Payable $300.00

Date: July 20, 2025Vendor: Facebook

Debit: Advertising $200.00

Credit: Credit Card Payable $200.00

Now you can:

• Pull vendor-specific reports

• Search transactions by name or date

• See your real-time credit card balance on the balance sheet

• Reconcile with ease—just match transactions and enter the ending balance

📌 Final Thought

Recording credit card activity in detail isn’t just about being “extra.” It’s about giving your business the clarity and control it deserves. The more accurate your records, the better your decisions—and the less time you’ll spend chasing down receipts.