Record personal transactions from a business account

Categorize a transaction as personal

Why should unincorporated businesses categorize to Owner investment/drawings?

Why should incorporated businesses categorize to Due to You and Other Business Owners?

Record the repayment to your business

Learn how to bookkeep common personal transactions with a video.

Categorize a transaction as personal

  1. Open the Transactions page.
  2. Find the transaction you want to indicate as personal.
  3. In the category field, select Deposit from Personal for income transactions or Personal Expense or Withdrawal for expense transactions.
  4. Select the relevant account. If your business is a corporation, you’ll see liability accounts. If your business is not a corporation (i.e. a Sole Proprietorship or Partnership), you’ll see equity accounts.

    You can categorize a personal transaction to any account listed under Business Owner Contribution and Drawings (non-corporations) or under Due to You and Other Business Owners (corporations).

  5. Select Save.

Marking a transaction as personal won't create a transaction in your personal Wave account.

If you have questions about the specific account to select when categorizing your transactions, we recommend reaching out to an accountant or bookkeeper, such as our Wave Advisors. Learn more about Personalized bookkeeping with Wave Advisors.

Why should unincorporated businesses categorize to Owner investment/drawings?

When you pay for a personal expense from business funds, you bookkeep those transactions to owner investment/drawing to indicate that you took money from your business.

When you deposit personal funds into your business, this category allows you to keep track of how much you've invested.

To view transactions in this account, head to the Reports page, and open your Balance Sheet.

Why should incorporated businesses categorize to Due to You and Other Business Owners?

Owner's draws are usually not used for incorporated businesses. Corporations are separate entities from the owners, so personal transactions are not usually made on business accounts. If a personal expense is paid through the business, it is considered a loan.

Record the repayment to your business

Once the business owner repays the amount to the corporation, record the repayment:

  1. Open the Transactions page.
  2. Find the repayment transaction.
  3. In the category field, select Deposit from Personal.
  4. Select the relevant liability account.
  5. Select Save.