Help getting started off square one

[Divine Word Lutheran]

I am working through the Accounting setup. I understand it. I just need some advice on how we should configure ourselves. We have a Checking Account that handles all the "normal" budgeted items. We have a Money Market Account that has all the misc. "funds" in it like the Kitchen Fund and the Choir Fund etc. etc.

We would like to have one set of "books" to report on that are associated with the Checking Account and the regular budget. Then we would like to have a second set of "books" that have all the messy funds in it that people give a couple bucks to here and there, and it grows until we buy something with it - and all these miscellaneous funds are in the Money Market Account.

We would like to be able to separate the reporting on these two basic sides of the church so the money market activity doesn't confuse the standard budget reports.

So, if you follow what I am saying, I just need to know the best way to set this up conceptually. Do we have 2 "funds" - a General Fund and an All Other fund that has all the misc funds under it? Or do we have two completely different Entities?

Help? Thanks.

[Jeff]

A common way to set things up like this is to have 2 funds. One fund for budget items and second fund for things that people give to outside of the budget.

You can split the accounts across the funds. For example the money market account can have money in both funds. The 01 money market would have the amount of money claimed by the general fund and the 02 money market account would have the amount of money claimed by the "Other Funds".

If you know you are going to setup 2 funds, when you go through the accounting setup, enter the balances for just the operating fund. After completing the setup you can create the second fund and enter the balances with a transaction.

[Divine Word Lutheran]

That sounds like just what we want to do. Thank you very much for your reply.