Short answer. Yes, with interest. Article 1796 makes the partnership responsible to every partner for the amounts he disbursed on its behalf and the corresponding interest, running from the time the expense was made. It also answers for obligations a partner contracted in good faith for the business, and for risks arising from his management.

What the law says

The partnership shall be responsible to every partner for the amounts he may have disbursed on behalf of the partnership and for the corresponding interest

Civil Code, Article 1796 — Partnership's Reimbursement Duty. Read the full provision →

The partnership owes you back

Article 1796 recognises that partners often spend their own money or take on obligations for the firm, and it makes the partnership answer for that. The partnership shall be responsible to every partner for the amounts he may have disbursed on behalf of the partnership and for the corresponding interest. So money you advanced for the business — paying a supplier, covering an expense, meeting a bill the firm owed — is a debt the partnership owes back to you, not a gift you made to it. And it does not come back bare: the article expressly adds interest, so the partnership owes both the sum you laid out and interest on it.

Interest runs from when you spent it

A useful detail is when the interest starts. The article says the interest runs from the time the expense was made — that is, from the day you actually parted with the money, not from some later demand or from the end of the partnership. That matters, because a partner who has carried a cost for the firm for a long time is entitled to be compensated for the whole period his money was tied up. The expense is treated as a loan to the firm from the moment it is incurred.

Obligations and risks, not just cash

The article reaches beyond out-of-pocket cash. The partnership also answers to a partner for the obligations he may have contracted in good faith in the interest of the partnership business, and for risks in consequence of its management. So if you took on a liability for the firm, acting in good faith and in the firm's interest, the partnership stands behind it and indemnifies you. And losses or risks that fall on you as a consequence of managing the business are the firm's to bear, not yours alone. The condition is good faith in the interest of the business.

Keep the proof

To make a reimbursement claim work in practice, document each outlay as you make it: what you paid, when, to whom, and that it was for the partnership rather than for yourself. Keep receipts, the firm's records, and anything showing the expense was in the interest of the business and made in good faith, because both the principal and the interest depend on establishing those points. If you contracted an obligation for the firm, keep the paperwork that shows you did so on its behalf.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.