Fund accounts

[shilohchurch]

I have a few fund account setup. My church anniversary Fund account is negative. We started the year with a zero balance and it seems to be set up like the other fund accounts but the contributions from our members show as credits instead of debits. However the transfers from the primary checking account are showing as debits as it should.

[NeilZ]

I have a few fund account setup. My church anniversary Fund account is negative. We started the year with a zero balance and it seems to be set up like the other fund accounts but the contributions from our members show as credits instead of debits. However the transfers from the primary checking account are showing as debits as it should.

Is this a standard accounting FUND, or a temporarily restricted account?

That said, Contributions to an INCOME account (whether in a separate fund, or Temp Restricted Account) are always CREDITS. You should have a checking account (ASSETS) listed in Contributions under the Maintain List of Accounting Funds as the DEBIT account.
The asset account should be in the same fund as the INCOME account.

For example: if the Fund has a prefix of AF, then the income account should be something like AF-4110-000, the checking account should be something like AF-1110-000. You can use the same checking account that you use for the 01- operations fund, and the system will keep the funds separate for reporting purposes.

Could you explain why you think contributions would not be CREDITS, and where are you transferring funds from? Where is the INCOME account located, in this separate Fund??

[shilohchurch]

Ok I get that. Thank you! So its my transfers that are not posting properly. I use manual checks to transfer funds from the primary account and add it to the anniversary account and they are showing as debits to this account. I'm sorry I am very new to PowerChurch. No it is not a restricted account. They should be showing as credits, so where did I go wrong? because they are showing as debits

[NeilZ]

Ok I get that. Thank you! So its my transfers that are not posting properly. I use manual checks to transfer funds from the primary account and add it to the anniversary account and they are showing as debits to this account. I'm sorry I am very new to PowerChurch. No it is not a restricted account. They should be showing as credits, so where did I go wrong? because they are showing as debits

Well .. that begs a few more questions:

1. Since I'm assuming this is a separate Accounting FUND, what is your ASSET account number for this fund? Full number with prefix.
2. What is the INCOME account number? Again, full number.
3. Since you're using a manual check to move money, how do you show the income in that new fund?
4. How is the CONTRIBUTION Fund setup ?? Please list the account numbers for the DEBIT account (full with prefix) and the CREDIT account.

Having this information would assist.

[shilohchurch]

1. anniversary account number 01-1220-000
2. income account 01-4070-000

3. debit account 01-1220-000
credit account 01-1110-000 (not really sure how to answer this question)

4. contribution account debit acct 01-1110-000
credit acct 01-1220-000

[NeilZ]

1. anniversary account number 01-1220-000
2. income account 01-4070-000

3. debit account 01-1220-000
credit account 01-1110-000 (not really sure how to answer this question)

4. contribution account debit acct 01-1110-000
credit acct 01-1220-000

OK .. its evident that these are all in the same Accounting Fund.

1. There was no need to create a separate asset account unless you're actually moving funds to a bank account (checking or savings).

2. This income account should have been setup as Donor Restricted using the "Maintain List of Donor Restrictions" function, it would have done everything else for you.

3. While I see what you're trying to do, unless you actually write checks or make payments out of that 1220 account, you're moving funds to thin air!!

4. You're debiting the checking account, but CREDITING an asset account. This is why you're seeing negative numbers. This SHOULD have been using 01-4070-000 (or the account you created in the Donor Restrictions). Contributions should (for the most part) use an INCOME account (4000 series account numbers) as the Credit Account.

[shilohchurch]

Thank you for all your help. Is there an easy way to fix it or do I need to start everything over?

[NeilZ]

Thank you for all your help. Is there an easy way to fix it or do I need to start everything over?

Well .. do you really need that extra asset account?? Apparently not. As far as fixing this, how long have you been using the setup as it is now, cause that would determine whether its worth trying to redo it.

If you've only been using this for about two or three weeks, you can probably reverse all the relevant transactions. I'd then create a Donor Restriction for this, which will walk you through creating Net Asset, Income and Release accounts for this.

Then I would create a ONE TIME transaction to load the Temp Restricted Income account with the funds that have been donated so far. I'd then adjust the Contribution Fund to properly CREDIT the Temp Restricted Income Account you created using the Donor Restriction function.

Then whenever you spend funds on this Anniversary you would then click on the Release Restricted Funds button on the Invoice and the system will properly release the funds from the account, which will reduce the funds in the Restricted Net Asset account you created in the Donor Restriction function.

If you don't feel like you want to go through all that, you should at least correct the Contribution Fund to point the CREDIT account to the 4000 level income account.