Dividends - do I use the Clearbooks function or just expense payment as employee cost?

Hi Oliver

I'm wondering if the confusion above has arisen because you are using the Clear Books default Dividend tool, rather than the new beta Dividend tool, available to switch on in "Labs", which is what Kevin is describing above?

The default tool worked by recording an individual dividend to one person in the form of a bill. So you generate a £9,000 dividend, which appears as a dividend payment in the appropriate code and also as an unpaid bill in Purchases. If this is the case then, when you import the bank statement, you should allocate the £9,000 against the unpaid bill from the shareholder, rather than put it to the dividend account which, as you say, merely duplicates the payment.

For lots of reasons the default dividend tool was inadequate and certainly, recording a dividend debt as a supplier bill, unconventional. Consequently we have upgraded the tool, to be switched on in Labs and, in addition to proper legal documentation and procedures, what happens now is as Kevin says above, ie the dividend payment would still show as normal but rather than creating a bill to pay off, the "creditor" (sum owing) is now shown in a special shareholder account code, so when you explain the bank statement you put the money to this code to cancel the debt.

Anyway, on the assumption you haven't switched on the new tool, delete your current explanation of the £9,000 and explain it again, this time allocating it against the unpaid bill.

I hope that helps. Cheers

Hi Oliver

I'm wondering if the confusion above has arisen because you are using the Clear Books default Dividend tool, rather than the new beta Dividend tool, available to switch on in "Labs", which is what Kevin is describing above?

The default tool worked by recording an individual dividend to one person in the form of a bill. So you generate a £9,000 dividend, which appears as a dividend payment in the appropriate code and also as an unpaid bill in Purchases. If this is the case then, when you import the bank statement, you should allocate the £9,000 against the unpaid bill from the shareholder, rather than put it to the dividend account which, as you say, merely duplicates the payment.

For lots of reasons the default dividend tool was inadequate and certainly, recording a dividend debt as a supplier bill, unconventional. Consequently we have upgraded the tool, to be switched on in Labs and, in addition to proper legal documentation and procedures, what happens now is as Kevin says above, ie the dividend payment would still show as normal but rather than creating a bill to pay off, the "creditor" (sum owing) is now shown in a special shareholder account code, so when you explain the bank statement you put the money to this code to cancel the debt.

Anyway, on the assumption you haven't switched on the new tool, delete your current explanation of the £9,000 and explain it again, this time allocating it against the unpaid bill.

I hope that helps. Cheers