Writing Off Uncollectible Loaned Product

To properly account for your year-end cost of goods on hand, all inventory should be cleared out of the Loan, Borrow & Exchange area in Boulevard. If you have loaned items that cannot be recuperated, follow the steps below to enter them as a bad debt expense. If the product was sold to a customer and already invoiced, see Record a Bad Debt or Account Unrecoverable instead. 

Note:  You'll first want to ensure that you have a Bad Debt Expense Category created in Expenses.

Linked to an Existing Contact (Recommended)

If the loan was linked to an existing contact in Boulevard when initially created, follow the steps below.

1. From the Products menu, select Loan/Borrow & Exchanges.
2. Select the loaned product for one person, then click to begin the invoice.
3. Choose Business Supplies as the invoice Sale type.
4. At the bottom of the invoice, if you'd like, you can apply the typical discount you receive when ordering inventory (to write off the cost of the product versus if you had sold it for full retail to a customer)*.
5. From the Discount drop-down, select Business Supplies.
6. Then, from the Expense Category drop-down, choose Bad Debt.
7. From the Details tab at the bottom of the invoice, in the Cash/Check field click  to zero out the balance of the invoice. 
8. In the Memo/Check# field, enter a note such as BAD DEBT.
9. If you'd like to print a copy of the invoice, select the Print checkbox, then click  Save to save and close the invoice. Boulevard will automatically create the expense entry with the invoice number indicated. 
10. Repeat the steps above for each person you loaned the product to, then add an expense entry for writing the uncollected product off.

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Not Linked to a Contact

If the loan was not linked to an existing contact in Boulevard when initially created, follow the steps below.

1. From the Products menu, select Loan/Borrow & Exchanges.
2. Select the checkbox next to all loaned items to be written off, then from the toolbar, click Exchange.
3. In the Exchange With field, type BAD DEBT. View
4. Click  Note, and enter a short note indicating that the product is being written off. View
5. Enter 1 in the Print Copies field to print. View
6. Click  OK to save, then Yes to continue with the uneven exchange.
7. From the Reports - Tools group on the main toolbar, click  Expenses.
8. Click  to create a new expense. View
9. The Pay To is not required and can be left blank. In the Memo field, enter a short note indicating the entry is for product that was loaned and the amount could not be collected.
10. If necessary, adjust the Date, and from the Category drop-down, select Bad Debt.
11. Enter the cost of the product in the Amount field (your typical discount amount of the Retail from the printout in step 5)*. View
12. When finished, click  Save.

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Additional Information:

If you would like to reprint either of the options from above, you can see Print a Loan, Borrow, or Exchange.

* Note: Main Street cannot give tax advice, only general suggestions. Please seek advice from your tax professional on handling individual expenses and income for your tax situation.

If the items were not entered into Boulevard as a loan but instead invoiced to a customer, please see Record a Bad Debt or Account Unrecoverable.