Cash is short, so you transfer personal money into the company’s account. That creates a debt owed by the company to you, not a capital contribution — and the difference between the two turns on how easily you will get that money back. It is documented at the moment of payment, never afterwards.
The essentials in five points
- It is a loan, not a contribution: the company owes you the money and you remain a creditor.
- Repayment is flexible, unlike capital, which cannot be taken back freely.
- It confers no extra rights: no shares, no votes, no share of the result.
- A debit balance is an anomaly: it means the company has lent to you, which raises other questions.
- Everything is documented: every payment in, every repayment, with its date and its bank trace.
1. Capital or current account: what changes
Both fund the company with the shareholders’ money. They are not used in the same situations and are not recovered the same way.
| Capital contribution | Shareholder current account | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A share of the company’s capital | A loan from the shareholder to the company |
| What it confers | Shares, voting rights, a share of the result | A receivable, and nothing else |
| Recovery | Regulated: share transfer, capital reduction | Flexible, by simple repayment |
| Effect on third parties | Strengthens equity, reassures a lender | Remains a liability |
| Formalities | Amendment of the articles, publication | A written record and a bank trace suffice |
The fourth line explains why a bank looks at the two differently. A current account swells liabilities; it may be viewed more favourably if locked in by an agreement, but by default it remains money you could take back tomorrow.
2. Documenting the payments in
A poorly kept current account turns into an argument, usually at the most awkward moment: an inspection, a sale, a disagreement between shareholders.
- Transfer from your personal account to the company’s, never in cash with no trace.
- State the purpose in the transfer reference: shareholder current account contribution.
- Record each movement in a named shareholder account, not a pooled one.
- Keep a dated statement per shareholder, payments in and repayments together.
- Where the amount is significant, formalise a written agreement between you and the company.
- Have the transaction approved under the rules applying to your legal form.
The fifth line becomes essential as soon as the sum matters. An agreement states the existence of the debt, how it is repaid, and where relevant how it is remunerated — that last point carrying tax consequences to be settled with your accountant.
3. The debit balance, and why it worries people
The current account should be in credit: the company owes you money. The reverse changes the nature of the arrangement entirely.
- What a debit balance means: The company has advanced you money: you owe it the sum. You are no longer funding the business; it is funding you.
- How it happens: Rarely by decision. Most often by accumulation: personal spending settled from the company account and never regularised.
- Why it is a problem: Depending on the legal form, this kind of advance to a director is regulated and sometimes prohibited. And for tax, money made available without consideration is rarely analysed in your favour.
- How to avoid it: By separating the accounts from day one, as set out in separating accounts, and regularising every mixed expense as you go.
The second line describes the real trajectory: nobody decides to borrow from their own company. The balance tips through a series of small personal payments made from the business account because it was simpler at the time.
An undocumented current account becomes money with no owner
Putting money into your company with no written record, no reference and no statement creates a situation that is easy to make and painful to unwind: two years later, nobody can say who paid in what, or whether the withdrawals were repayments or something else. Between shareholders it becomes a disagreement; in front of an inspection it becomes a question you have no written answer to. A transfer reference and a statement per shareholder are enough to avoid it.
4. Repayment
This is the current account’s main advantage over capital, and it requires no heavy formalities — provided the company can bear it.
- Check that cash allows repayment without putting the business in difficulty.
- Repay by transfer, from the company’s account to your personal one.
- Label the transfer explicitly: repayment of shareholder current account.
- Record the movement as a reduction of your shareholder account, never as an expense.
- Check that the account balance matches the statement you keep.
The fourth line is the classic accounting error: repaying a current account is not an expense and does not affect the result. It extinguishes a debt. Recording it as an expense reduces the result by an amount that was never a cost.
Mistakes to avoid
- Paying funds in cash, with no bank trace.
- Pooling several shareholders into a single current account.
- Keeping no dated statement of payments in and repayments.
- Letting the account go into debit through personal spending.
- Recording a repayment as an expense rather than a reduction of debt.
- Repaying when cash does not allow it.
Frequently asked questions
How does it differ from a capital contribution?
A current account is a loan: it creates a debt owed by the company to you, is repaid freely, and confers neither shares nor votes. Capital is a share of the company, regulated in how it can be taken back.
Can I repay myself whenever I want?
In principle yes, which is its main advantage. In practice cash has to allow it: repaying yourself while weakening the business creates a bigger problem than the one it solves.
Can the account earn interest?
Remuneration is possible and is provided for by agreement. Its tax treatment and the applicable limits are settled with your accountant before it is put in place, as they do not simply follow the parties’ wishes.
What if the account is in debit?
Regularise it quickly: it means the company has advanced you money, which is regulated depending on the legal form and rarely treated favourably. Reconstruct the movements and repay.
Does BelloPOS track the shareholder current account?
No, it is a general ledger account rather than a cash flow. BelloPOS tracks sales, collections and authorised cash withdrawals; the shareholder account is kept in the accounts, with your accountant.
What to take away
The shareholder current account is the most flexible funding tool you have, provided it is kept as a loan rather than as a drawer. A traced transfer, an explicit reference, a statement per shareholder, an agreement as soon as the amount matters — and a balance that stays in credit.
Sources
The figures and rules quoted above come from these pages, read on the date given in the article.
- Moroccan Tax Administration, 2026 General Tax Code
- Ministry of Economy and Finance, General Code of Accounting Standardisation, read 1 September 2026
Separate the flows from day one
BelloPOS tracks sales, collections and authorised cash withdrawals from the free Lite licence onward: enough to keep the business’s movements distinct from your own.
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