User Support Forum

My church has a Pators Assistance committee. The money that they collect is used for things such as cry cleaning, car wash, home repair etc. The money is put in a seperate bank account, not a church-owned account.

My question is this. How do I account for contributions that are given toward this fund? Would it be a pass-thru? If so, when the church cuts a check to the Pastors Assistance Committee for the amount that was collected, what is debited and credited?

From the Church's point of view, here's what I'd do:

1. When donations are received, debit Cash (Bank) and credit the Liability - Accounts Payable - Pastors' Assistance Committee.

2. When the cheque (check) is written, debit Accounts Payable - Pastors' Assistance Committee and credit Cash (Bank).

Al

Can you tell me what the report looks like when you've received and paid in a pass thru account? I have one printed out, and looking at it, there are some numbers that have minuses by them; those have been paid. Is this a way to keep track of what's been donated?

Our church had similar problem with money that was collected for various trips and donations that were sent to other charities. I set up a separate fund account that is separate from any of our other operating accounts. This allows you to record contributions in contributions module and post to the income account numbers for this fund. When we dispurse the money from the church we post it to an expense account in this fund. That way, I can print out a income/expense report for this fund and it shows all the money that was received and spent.

The other advantage is that it keeps this pass through money from showing up in our operating account and making it look like we had more income than we really got for church operations.

Each year, at end of the year, I make sure the income and expenses for this pass through fund are the same and the fund balance is zero to start the new year. That way it keeps from building up any residual funds and makes sure that all funds received are sent to appropriate organizations.