Cookbook

Practical examples for recording common financial scenarios in beancount.

Salary and Employment

Recording a Paycheck

A typical paycheck with taxes and deductions:

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Employer Inc" "January paycheck"
  Income:Salary:Gross        -5000.00 USD
  Expenses:Taxes:Federal       750.00 USD
  Expenses:Taxes:State         200.00 USD
  Expenses:Taxes:SocialSec     310.00 USD
  Expenses:Taxes:Medicare       72.50 USD
  Expenses:Health:Insurance    150.00 USD
  Assets:Retirement:401k       250.00 USD  ; Pre-tax contribution
  Assets:Bank:Checking        3267.50 USD  ; Net pay

401(k) with Employer Match

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Employer Inc" "401k contribution + match"
  ; Your pre-tax contribution (from paycheck above)
  Assets:Retirement:401k:PreTax    250.00 USD
  ; Employer match (50% up to 6%)
  Assets:Retirement:401k:Match     125.00 USD
  Income:Salary:401kMatch         -125.00 USD

Stock Vesting (RSUs)

When restricted stock units vest:

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Employer Inc" "RSU vesting - 100 shares"
  ; Shares vest at current market price
  Assets:Brokerage:ACME    100 ACME {150.00 USD}
  Income:Salary:RSU     -15000.00 USD

  ; Taxes withheld (shares sold to cover)
  Expenses:Taxes:Federal   3000.00 USD
  Expenses:Taxes:State      750.00 USD
  Assets:Brokerage:ACME    -25 ACME {150.00 USD} @ 150.00 USD

Vacation/PTO Tracking

Track accrued time off using a custom currency:

beancount

2020-01-01 commodity PTOHR
  name: "PTO Hours"

2020-01-01 open Assets:PTO          PTOHR
2020-01-01 open Income:PTO:Accrued  PTOHR
2020-01-01 open Expenses:PTO:Used   PTOHR

; Accrue PTO each pay period
2024-01-15 * "PTO accrual"
  Assets:PTO           6.67 PTOHR
  Income:PTO:Accrued  -6.67 PTOHR

; Use PTO
2024-02-20 * "Vacation day"
  Expenses:PTO:Used    8 PTOHR
  Assets:PTO          -8 PTOHR

Investments

Buying Stock

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Buy AAPL shares"
  Assets:Brokerage:AAPL    10 AAPL {185.00 USD}
  Expenses:Fees:Trading     4.95 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking  -1854.95 USD

Selling Stock (with Capital Gains)

beancount

2024-06-15 * "Sell AAPL shares"
  ; Sell 10 shares bought at $185, now at $195
  Assets:Brokerage:AAPL   -10 AAPL {185.00 USD} @ 195.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking   1945.05 USD
  Expenses:Fees:Trading     4.95 USD
  Income:CapitalGains:Short  ; Auto-calculated: -100.00 USD

Dividends

Cash dividend:

beancount

2024-03-15 * "AAPL dividend"
  Assets:Brokerage:Cash     24.00 USD
  Income:Dividends:AAPL    -24.00 USD

Reinvested dividend (DRIP):

beancount

2024-03-15 * "VTI dividend reinvested"
  Assets:Brokerage:VTI    0.15 VTI {245.00 USD}
  Income:Dividends:VTI   -36.75 USD

Stock Split

beancount

2024-08-01 * "AAPL 4:1 stock split"
  ; Remove old shares
  Assets:Brokerage:AAPL   -10 AAPL {185.00 USD}
  ; Add new shares at adjusted cost basis
  Assets:Brokerage:AAPL    40 AAPL {46.25 USD}

Index Fund Rebalancing

beancount

2024-01-02 * "Annual rebalancing"
  ; Sell overweight position
  Assets:Brokerage:VTI   -5 VTI {240.00 USD} @ 255.00 USD
  ; Buy underweight position
  Assets:Brokerage:VXUS   8 VXUS {58.00 USD}
  ; Net cash movement
  Assets:Brokerage:Cash  811.00 USD
  Income:CapitalGains:Long  ; gain on VTI sale

Banking

Opening Balance

When starting to track an existing account:

beancount

2024-01-01 pad Assets:Bank:Checking Equity:Opening-Balances
2024-01-01 balance Assets:Bank:Checking  5432.10 USD

Bank Transfer

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Transfer to savings"
  Assets:Bank:Checking  -1000.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Savings    1000.00 USD

ATM Withdrawal

beancount

2024-01-15 * "ATM" "Cash withdrawal"
  Assets:Cash            200.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking  -200.00 USD

Bank Fees

beancount

2024-01-31 * "Monthly account fee"
  Expenses:Fees:Bank    12.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking

Interest Earned

beancount

2024-01-31 * "Savings interest"
  Assets:Bank:Savings     15.23 USD
  Income:Interest:Bank   -15.23 USD

Credit Cards

Credit Card Purchase

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Amazon" "Office supplies"
  Expenses:Office        45.99 USD
  Liabilities:CreditCard:Chase

Paying Credit Card Bill

beancount

2024-02-01 * "Credit card payment"
  Liabilities:CreditCard:Chase  500.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking         -500.00 USD

2024-02-01 balance Liabilities:CreditCard:Chase  -234.56 USD

Credit Card Rewards

beancount

2024-03-15 * "Cash back redemption"
  Assets:Bank:Checking      50.00 USD
  Income:Rewards:CashBack  -50.00 USD

Loans and Mortgages

Mortgage Payment

beancount

2024-01-01 * "Mortgage payment"
  Expenses:Interest:Mortgage    850.00 USD  ; Interest portion
  Liabilities:Mortgage          650.00 USD  ; Principal paydown
  Expenses:Escrow:Taxes         200.00 USD
  Expenses:Escrow:Insurance     100.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking        -1800.00 USD

Car Loan Payment

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Auto loan payment"
  Expenses:Interest:Auto     45.00 USD
  Liabilities:Loans:Auto    355.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking     -400.00 USD

Student Loan Payment

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Student loan payment"
  Expenses:Interest:StudentLoan   125.00 USD
  Liabilities:Loans:Student       275.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking           -400.00 USD

Currency and International

Currency Exchange

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Currency exchange"
  Assets:Bank:EUR     500 EUR @@ 545 USD
  Assets:Bank:USD    -545 USD

International Wire Transfer

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Wire to Europe"
  Assets:Bank:EUR        1000 EUR @ 1.09 USD
  Expenses:Fees:Wire       35.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:USD       -1125.00 USD

Foreign Expense

beancount

2024-07-15 * "Hotel in Paris" #vacation
  Expenses:Travel:Lodging  150 EUR @ 1.10 USD
  Liabilities:CreditCard

Shared Expenses

Splitting a Bill

When you pay and someone owes you:

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Dinner with friend"
  Expenses:Food:Restaurants   40.00 USD  ; Your half
  Assets:Receivables:John     40.00 USD  ; Friend owes you
  Assets:Bank:Checking       -80.00 USD  ; You paid total

When they pay you back:

beancount

2024-01-20 * "John paid back"
  Assets:Bank:Checking       40.00 USD
  Assets:Receivables:John   -40.00 USD

Roommate Expenses

beancount

2024-01-01 * "January rent"
  Expenses:Housing:Rent      1000.00 USD  ; Your share
  Assets:Receivables:Roommate  1000.00 USD  ; Roommate's share
  Assets:Bank:Checking       -2000.00 USD  ; Total rent paid

Expense Reimbursement

Work expense you'll be reimbursed for:

beancount

2024-01-15 * "Business lunch with client"
  Assets:Receivables:Employer   85.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking         -85.00 USD

2024-01-31 * "Expense reimbursement"
  Assets:Bank:Checking          85.00 USD
  Assets:Receivables:Employer  -85.00 USD

Taxes

Quarterly Estimated Tax Payment

beancount

2024-04-15 * "Q1 estimated tax payment"
  Expenses:Taxes:Federal:Estimated  2500.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking             -2500.00 USD

Property Tax

beancount

2024-03-01 * "Property tax payment"
  Expenses:Taxes:Property  3200.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking    -3200.00 USD

Tax Refund

beancount

2024-04-20 * "Federal tax refund"
  Assets:Bank:Checking          1250.00 USD
  Expenses:Taxes:Federal:Refund -1250.00 USD

Healthcare

HSA Contribution

beancount

2024-01-15 * "HSA contribution"
  Assets:HSA              200.00 USD
  Assets:Bank:Checking   -200.00 USD

Medical Expense from HSA

beancount

2024-02-10 * "Doctor visit copay"
  Expenses:Health:Medical   50.00 USD
  Assets:HSA               -50.00 USD

Insurance Claim

Track pending reimbursement:

beancount

2024-02-15 * "Medical procedure"
  Expenses:Health:Medical       500.00 USD
  Assets:Receivables:Insurance  400.00 USD  ; Expected reimbursement
  Assets:Bank:Checking         -100.00 USD  ; Copay

2024-03-01 * "Insurance reimbursement"
  Assets:Bank:Checking          400.00 USD
  Assets:Receivables:Insurance -400.00 USD

Tips

Use Tags for Analysis

beancount

2024-07-15 * "Flight to Paris" #vacation #travel
  Expenses:Travel:Flights  450.00 USD
  Liabilities:CreditCard

2024-07-16 * "Museum tickets" #vacation
  Expenses:Entertainment   25.00 USD
  Assets:Cash

Query vacation expenses:

sql

SELECT sum(cost(position))
WHERE "vacation" IN tags AND account ~ "Expenses"

beancount

2024-01-10 * "Book flight" ^trip-paris-2024
  Expenses:Travel:Flights  450.00 USD
  Liabilities:CreditCard

2024-01-12 * "Book hotel" ^trip-paris-2024
  Expenses:Travel:Lodging  800.00 USD
  Liabilities:CreditCard

2024-02-01 * "Trip reimbursement" ^trip-paris-2024
  Assets:Bank:Checking         1250.00 USD
  Assets:Receivables:Employer -1250.00 USD

Query all trip expenses:

sql

SELECT * WHERE "trip-paris-2024" IN links

Cookbook ​

Salary and Employment ​

Recording a Paycheck ​

401(k) with Employer Match ​

Stock Vesting (RSUs) ​

Vacation/PTO Tracking ​

Investments ​

Buying Stock ​

Selling Stock (with Capital Gains) ​

Dividends ​

Stock Split ​

Index Fund Rebalancing ​

Banking ​

Opening Balance ​

Bank Transfer ​

ATM Withdrawal ​

Bank Fees ​

Interest Earned ​

Credit Cards ​

Credit Card Purchase ​

Paying Credit Card Bill ​

Credit Card Rewards ​

Loans and Mortgages ​

Mortgage Payment ​

Car Loan Payment ​

Student Loan Payment ​

Currency and International ​

Currency Exchange ​

International Wire Transfer ​

Foreign Expense ​

Shared Expenses ​

Splitting a Bill ​

Roommate Expenses ​

Expense Reimbursement ​

Taxes ​

Quarterly Estimated Tax Payment ​

Property Tax ​

Tax Refund ​

Healthcare ​

HSA Contribution ​

Medical Expense from HSA ​

Insurance Claim ​

Tips ​

Use Tags for Analysis ​

Use Links for Related Transactions ​

See Also ​

Cookbook

Salary and Employment

Recording a Paycheck

401(k) with Employer Match

Stock Vesting (RSUs)

Vacation/PTO Tracking

Investments

Buying Stock

Selling Stock (with Capital Gains)

Dividends

Stock Split

Index Fund Rebalancing

Banking

Opening Balance

Bank Transfer

ATM Withdrawal

Bank Fees

Interest Earned

Credit Cards

Credit Card Purchase

Paying Credit Card Bill

Credit Card Rewards

Loans and Mortgages

Mortgage Payment

Car Loan Payment

Student Loan Payment

Currency and International

Currency Exchange

International Wire Transfer

Foreign Expense

Shared Expenses

Splitting a Bill

Roommate Expenses

Expense Reimbursement

Taxes

Quarterly Estimated Tax Payment

Property Tax

Tax Refund

Healthcare

HSA Contribution

Medical Expense from HSA

Insurance Claim

Tips

Use Tags for Analysis

Use Links for Related Transactions

See Also